In Part 2 of my interview with Dr. Michael Breus, we talk about everything sleep related, including the best time to workout for optimal calorie burn, optimizing or altering your sleep chronotype, melatonin versus magnesium, signs symptoms and dealing with sleep apnea, and how to make Dr. Breus’s Banana Tea! Yep! I said banana tea. Most of the questions in this interview, were from you the listener! So my hope is that this podcast will leave you feeling more motivated about learning what your sleep chronotype truly is and how to then structure your day so that you function at optimal level! So without anymore delay, lets get to the good stuff.
If you haven’t listened to Part 1, make sure you do before you listen to Part 2! How Sleep Deprivation Affects Weight Gain.
Q.1 – Should I be working out in the morning?
Not necessarily! Your chronotype actually somewhat predetermines the “best” time for you to workout. Your chronotype is your genetic, predetermined sleeping pattern. It can somewhat fluctuate throughout your life. But in general, it stays pretty consistent. So once you know what it is, you can determine the best time to workout for your body. However, with that said, I am a firm believer that the “best” time to workout is the time that you’ll DO it. So if your chronotype determines you should be working out in the late afternoon and that just doesn’t work with your schedule, then workout when it does!
Q. 2 – Should I force myself to be more of a morning person?
Dr. Brues says no! Listen to the episode to see why!
Q. 3 – What instances should you try to alter your chronotype?
Dr. Brues shares how to handle being in a relationship with 2 very different chronotypes. There are very specific things you can do, like matching up your optimal times! However, I learned from Dr. Brues that the majority of people are naturally attracted to someone with a similar chronotype.
Q. 4 – Should I be taking Melatonin and/or Magnesium to help me sleep?
In this interview Dr. Breus discusses specific brands and dosages for each of this over the counter pills. Some interesting facts are:
– Melatonin takes about 90 mins to have optimal effect. So make sure you take it about 90 minutes before you actually want to fall asleep.
– Melatonin is technically a hormone. So when you take melatonin over the counter, you are taking a hormone!
– Most people are NOT deficient in melatonin. However, once you pass 50 years of age, you can start to produce less. However, a healthy bodied individual under 50 should probably not take melatonin on a regular basis to help them sleep.
– There are high risks and potential side effects for children who take melatonin. Dr. Breus explains why it is so dangerous.
– Dr. Brues supports Magnesium for sleep! If taken in pill form, it should be taken with calcium to help the absorption. It can be taken on its own as a liquid or as a dissolver under the tongue, since in those scenarios it goes right into the blood stream.
If you don’t like taking pills, try making Dr. Breus’s Banana tea!
Banana Tea: Did you know the banana peel has about 3 times the amount of magnesium as the banana itself! So Dr. Breus recommends making banana tea. Take an organic banana, cut the stem and the bottom off, cut it in half, and put it into 3 cups of boiling water. Build for about 3 to 4 minutes.
When should you be exercising for optimal calorie burn? Don’t think this is related to sleep? Well it is! Dr. Breus explains exactly how to figure out when you should be working out for optimal results!
Additional topics covered in this amazing interview!
– How to handle sleeping in the same bed as someone with sleep apnea. Did you know that people who sleep next to someone with sleep apnea lose approximately 1 hour of sleep a night.
– Indicators of sleep apnea: waking up exhausted, a bed partner noticing you stop breathing, and/or waking up choking. Interesting fact… if you have over a 17 inch neck, you have over an 80% chance of having sleep apnea. This includes men and women.
– And Dr. Breus also addresses a ton of rapid fire questions, from you the listener!
– What to use to track your sleep.
Connect with Dr. Breus and take the sleep quiz!
Website >> thesleepdoctor.com or thepowerofwhen.com
Take the sleep quiz >> thepowerofwhenquiz.com
