How The Food You’re Eating Might Be Affecting Your Sleep

Intro

Hey what’s happening?!!…

This is Isai Rodriguez… host of the DadSplanation Podcast where I cater to the Professional Working Man, 40 and above, who’s looking to make positive changes to his health, lose weight, and become stronger overall through simple lifestyle changes.

I’m here to share inspiration, tips and proven lessons that I’ve personally learned and lived through in my 40+ years on this beautiful blue planet.

So today we’ll start the discussion off by talking about the topic of Consider asking the nurse to take your blood pressure in both arms in our first segment and then we’ll move on to our 2nd segment and talk about How The Food You’re Eating Might Be Affecting Your Sleep…

And before we get into that, if you’d like to continue the conversation, then get on over to podcast.dadsplanation.com/vip to get on the VIP Insider’s Community where I share more entertaining “behind-the-scenes” stories, tips, and hacks that’ll keep you feeling younger each and every day!

That’s podcast.dadsplanation.com/vip…

Again, that’s podcast.dadsplanation.com/vip… be in the know… starting right now

Also, don’t forget to rate me on Apple Podcasts… OR wherever it is you’re listening to this Episode… AND leave me a NICE… FAT… JUICY… 5-star-review and some absolutely beautiful words of why you love the show so much! It really helps me get the word out and it’s honestly the one place where your vote truly matters!

And now let’s move into our first segment… Healthy Conversations…

Healthy Conversations:   Consider asking the nurse to take your blood pressure in both arms

So what are we talking about here?…

Well, I’m sure you’ve heard about the study that showed how vast discrepancies or large differences in blood pressure between your left and right arms might be a sign of heart trouble in the making

And that’s why I said that the next time you get your blood pressure taken at your doctor’s office, you might want to consider asking the nurse to take it in both arms just to make sure all is good.

Because here’s the deal… a study published in mid December of last year showed that a significant difference in the systolic, or top blood pressure reading between your left and right arms could be a warning sign of a future heart attack or stroke.

And now because of the results of this study, it’s being recommended that if you need a blood pressure check, that it should be checked in both arms at least once just to be on the safe side.

And so first let’s talk about blood pressure in general…

As you know… Blood pressure is measured in units of millimeters of mercury (abbreviated as mm Hg), which consists of two numbers — an upper or systolic reading that represents the maximum amount of pressure in your arteries, and the lower or diastolic reading that shows the pressure in your arteries when your heart muscle is at rest between beats.

Now that being said… The new study found that for each degree of difference between the two arms over 10 points (or 10 millimeters of mercury), the risk of having chest pains, a heart attack, or even a stroke increased by 1% over the next decade.

The results indicate that differences above 5 millimeters of mercury (or 5 points) between two arms predict all-cause mortality, cardio-vascular mortality and cardiovascular events.

For a long time, it’s been known that a difference in blood pressure between the two arms is linked to poorer health outcomes…

But now with the results of this latest study it’s pretty clear that the higher the difference in blood pressure between arms, the greater your risk is of developing cardiovascular issues in the near future, so it really IS critical to measure both arms to (at least) establish if you might be at a significantly higher risk or not.

So the American Heart Association (or as I like to refer to it as… the AHA or Ah-Ha) considers blood pressure normal when the top number reading is less than 120 and the bottom number is less than 80.

And so they say that a difference of 10 points or less between arms is considered normal and isn’t a cause for concern.

But having higher readings between the two arms might be a sign of a narrowing or stiffening of your arteries.

Now THIS is something we DO want to be concerned about because this can affect blood flow.

And here’s the trick… it’s that what you want to do is measure one arm first and then right after that, measure the pressure in your other arm.

So basically taking your pressure back-to-back in both arms… first in the right and then the left… or first in the left and then the right.

Ideally you’ll want this done at the doctor’s office when you’re there for a checkup.

But unfortunately, doctor’s offices don’t find this “requirement” as a necessary one. Probably because that’s what the insurance company is telling them which sucks but unfortunately, that’s the system we’ve got in place…

So if your doctor doesn’t take your pressure in both arms for whatever reason, you can at least do it yourself at home with a reliable blood pressure monitoring device.

You can always bring the machine into the doctor’s office to see how close or how off the reading is and then just make a note of that so you have a more accurate reading at home.

And this is cool because anyone can and should keep track of their blood pressure on their own… just remember to keep track of it for future reference and so you can spot trends that might be of interest to your doctor.

It’s actually pretty simple and straight forward…

The first step is obviously to carefully choose a blood pressure cuff.

And I guess this would be a good time to mention that the AHA recommends an automatic, cuff-style, upper-arm monitor — not a wrist or finger monitor — which are not as reliable.

They also recommend taking your pressure at the same time everyday like in the morning, afternoon, or maybe in the evening.

I’ve spoken to a lot of doctors in my day and if you’re truly concerned about your blood pressure then rather than taking your pressure at the same time everyday, you’ll want to check it at random times.

And here’s the thing with the random times… When you check at random intervals, you’ll get a better understanding of how your body regulates your blood pressure on its own.

There’s a term they use all the time… It’s called homeostasis. This is the word they use to describe this auto-regulation of your body’s internal systems. Your blood pressure being a part of one of those systems.

So your body should be able to normally regulate itself and maintain a constant pressure throughout different activities such as exercise and eating.

Sometimes taking your pressure at the same time everyday won’t catch these homeostatic changes that can uncover other issues as well.

And now… continuing on with the AHA’s recommendations of taking your own blood pressure at home…

I think this goes without say but I’ll say it anyway… Don’t smoke, don’t drink caffeinated drinks or beverages, for at least 30 minutes before measuring your blood pressure.

They also recommend not exercising before taking your pressure but honestly, I don’t get this one really…

Again, in my experience and from what I’ve gathered from several doctors is that you actually want to take your pressure at different times of the day and if you’re exercising as you should, then you should take it after exercising every now and then just to see what that might show you.

Another recommendation from the lovely AHA is to go to the bathroom and empty out your bladder.

And so when you actually go to take the reading, sit with your back straight and supported, which means sitting on a hard-backed chair at a desk or table, not a sofa.

Ideally, your feet should be flat on the floor and your legs should not be crossed.

Your arm should be supported on a flat surface (like on a table or an arm rest) with the arm that’s being read held at heart level.

Roll up your sleeve — don’t take the measurement over clothes. Sit there for at least five minutes of quiet rest before starting any measurements.

And aside from these AHA recommendations, also follow the illustrations on your blood pressure monitor — so for instance, one key step is to be sure the bottom of the cuff is placed directly above the bend of the elbow.

And lastly, take multiple readings and record the results. This trick will give you a more holistic view.

What I do is take 3 to 5 readings, track them in a Google Doc spreadsheet…

And Yes, before you ask, I do have a super simple spreadsheet to keep track of my pressure readings and I suggest you do the same…

Actually, if you don’t have one yet and would like a copy of mine, drop me a comment and I can get that out to you asap.

I was thinking of creating a PDF version and giving that out to my VIP community so you can either get into the FREE community or just drop me a comment.

But moving on with the readings… once you’ve taken your 3 to 5 readings, you can then average them out to get a better understanding of where you stand pressure-wise.

If your monitor has built-in memory to store your readings, you can even take it with you to your appointments to share the readings with your doctor.

Some monitors actually allow you to upload your readings to a secure website after you register a profile so that’s another thing you might want to keep an eye out for when you’re looking into which monitor to buy.

And so with that all said and done… Let’s switch gears and move on to our SECOND segment… “Mighty Man”

Mighty Man:  How The Food You’re Eating Might Be Affecting Your Sleep

So there’s more and more research results that are showing how the foods you eat can affect how well you sleep, and that your sleep patterns can affect your dietary choices.

Now I don’t have to remind you how this past year and a half (or so) have been tortuous on our sleep cycles.

With the coronavirus pandemic, school and work disruptions and (for those of us in the US) a super contentious election season contributing to countless sleepless nights, sleep experts have encouraged people to try a bunch of different tactics to overcome your stress-related insomnia.

They’ve recommended things like getting more exercise on a regular basis, establishing a nightly bedtime routine to re-calibrate your circadian rhythm and also cutting back on things like screen time and social media.

But so many people might be overlooking another important factor in poor sleep: Diet.

Because (as I mentioned earlier) some research shows that the foods you’re eating can have an affect on how good or bad you sleep, and your sleep patterns can affect your dietary choices.

It’s like a vicious cycle. One affects the other… kinda like the whole chicken and egg thing. Like which came first? Same here with diet and sleep. Which affects which?

And so researchers have found that eating a diet that is high in sugar, saturated fat and processed carbohydrates can disrupt your sleep, while eating more plants, fiber and foods rich in unsaturated fat — like nuts, olive oil, fish and avocados — these seem to have the opposite effect. They help promote a good sound sleep at night.

Much of what we know about sleep and diet comes from large studies that, over the years, have found that people who suffer from consistently bad sleep tend to have poorer quality diets, with less protein, fewer fruits and vegetables, and also a higher intake of added sugar from foods like Coke, desserts like Donuts, and ultra-processed foods like fried chicken or any of the flavored potato chips.

But by their nature, these studies can only show correlations, not cause and effect.

So they can’t explain, for example, whether a poor diet leads to poor sleep or vice versa. If poor sleep leads to someone making poor diet choices.

Which kinda makes sense if you think about it… if you don’t sleep well, you’ll be dragging your ass around the whole day and you’ll most likely reach for that Coke and Snickers bar for a super pick me up. Not the greatest choice for energy but that’s what we’re talking about here.

Is it the sleep that leads to the diet choices? Or is it the bad diet choices that lead to the horrible sleep? We may never know but what we do know is that they pretty much go hand in hand.

Now… To get a better understanding of the relationship between diet and sleep, some researchers have turned to randomized controlled trials in which they tell participants what to eat and then look for changes in their sleep.

A number of studies have looked at the impact of a bunch of different foods, from warm milk to fruit juice. But those studies have often been small and not very precise.

In fact, some of these trials have also been funded by some of the titans of the food industry which (as you would suspect) can bias results.

For example… One study funded by the world’s largest marketer of kiwi fruit, found that people assigned to eat two kiwis an hour before their bedtime every night for four weeks had improvements in being able to fall asleep, the duration of that sleep and the efficiency (or “how good” the sleep was).

The people who administered these studies said that these results were in part due to the “abundance” of antioxidants in kiwis. So they basically said that the kiwi helped them get a better night’s sleep because of all the antioxidants they have.

But we have to point out that the study didn’t have a control group to compare the results to, so (I mean) it’s possible that any and all of these benefits could have been a result of a placebo effect.

In some other studies that were funded by the cherry industry found that drinking tart cherry juice can modestly improve sleep in people with insomnia, supposedly by promoting one of the building blocks of the sleep-regulating hormone known as Melatonin.

Tryptophan (or the melatonin building block) is essentially an amino acid found in many foods, including dairy and turkey. This is one of the reasons why so many of us feel so sleepy after a Thanksgiving feast. Think about that!

But the thing with tryptophan is that it has to cross the blood-brain barrier to have any positive sedative effects.

So basically the tryptophan has to make it into the brain in order for it to have any effect.

And when there are other amino acids present from other foods, it basically ends up unsuccessfully competing for absorption into the blood.

So eating protein-rich foods like milk and turkey on their own actually decreases the ability of the tryptophan to cross that blood-brain barrier.

One way that was found to enhance tryptophan’s uptake is to pair foods that contain it with carbohydrates.

This magical combination stimulates the release of insulin, which causes competing amino acids to be absorbed by muscles, and so it makes it easier for the tryptophan to cross over into the brain.

Years of study have gone into the whole relationship between diet and sleep… And many of these studies suggest that rather than emphasizing one or two specific foods with supposedly sleep-inducing properties, that it’s better to focus on the overall quality of your diet.

What the researchers discovered was that eating more saturated fat and less fiber from foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains led to less deep, restorative sleep.

In general, clinical trials have also found that carbs have a significant impact on your sleep also.

People tend to fall asleep much faster at night when they eat a high-carb diet compared to when they eat a high-fat or high-protein diet.

If you ask me, this might have something to do with carbs helping tryptophan cross into the brain more easily.

But the quality of those carbs really does matter.

In fact, your carb quality can kinda be a double-edged sword when it comes to sleep.

It’s been found that when people eat more sugar and simple carbs — such as white bread, bagels, pastries, pasta (or what’s known as low quality carbs) — it’s been found that they wake up more frequently throughout the night.

So in other words, eating carbs may help you fall asleep faster, but it’s best to eat “complex” (or high quality) carbs that contain fiber. These’ll help you get more deep, restorative sleep because these high quality carbs give you a more stable blood sugar level…

So if your blood sugar levels are more stable at night, that could be the reason why complex carbs have been associated with better sleep.

One example of a specific diet that might be optimal for better sleep is the Mediterranean diet because it emphasizes foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, seafood, poultry, yogurt, herbs, spices and olive oil.

And many large observational studies have found that people who follow this type of diet are less likely to suffer from insomnia and short sleep.

And although more research is needed to confirm this connection, the relationship between poor diet and bad sleep is a two-way street.

Scientists have found that as people lose sleep, they experience physiological changes that can nudge them to seek out junk food.

In fact… In clinical trials, healthy adults who were allowed to sleep only four or five hours a night ended up eating more calories and snacking more often throughout the day.

They experienced a lot more hunger and their preference for sweet foods increased.

In men, sleep deprivation stimulates increased levels of the so-called hunger hormone, while in women, less sleep leads to lower levels of the hormone that signals the feeling of being full.

So basically in men, a short sleep cycle promotes greater appetite and a desire to eat, and in women there is less of a signal that makes them stop eating.

What do you think about that, huh? Drop it in the comments.

These are actual physical changes that happen in the brain.

One study actually found that when men and women were restricted to four hours of nightly sleep for five nights in a row, they had greater activation in reward centers of the brain in response to pepperoni pizza, doughnuts and candy compared to healthy foods such as carrots, yogurt, oatmeal and fruit.

And then… After five nights of normal sleep, this pattern of stronger brain responses to the junk food practically disappeared.

It’s also been shown how proper sleep can increase your willpower to avoid unhealthy foods.

So some studies have found that habitually short sleepers who went through a program to help them sleep longer — resulting in their getting roughly an hour of additional sleep each night — had improvements in their diet.

The most noticeable change was that they cut about 10 grams of added sugar from their diets each day which is more or less the equivalent of about two and a half teaspoons of sugar per day… Simply by getting at least an extra hour of sleep into their day.

That is some stuff!

And the overall takeaway here is that diet and sleep are linked together as one.

So improving one can and will help you improve the other and vice versa.

It basically creates a positive cycle where they feed off one another…

Because the best way to approach it from a health point of view is to emphasize a healthy diet and healthy sleep.

These are two very important health behaviors that can feed off of and reinforce each other.

So… With all that said…

Closing

That’s it you guys… That’s my show for today!

I hope you found some valuable information here and if nothing else, I hope I’ve entertained you for a few minutes and was able to bring a little man-ly sunshine to your day.

Thanks for taking some time out of your day to listen to me… it’s very much appreciated!

On next week’s episode, we’ll be talking about the 5 Simple Ways to Burn Off Belly Fat so Gentlemen I’m speaking directly to you when I say that you definitely don’t want to miss out on that!

And if you’d like to continue the conversation with me, then get on over to podcast.dadsplanation.com/vip to get on the VIP Insider’s community where I share even more “raw-behind-the-scenes” stories, tips, and hacks that’ll keep you feeling younger and younger… each and every day!

That’s podcast.dadsplanation.com/vip…

Again, that’s podcast.dadsplanation.com/vip… be in the know… starting right now!

Also, don’t forget to rate me on Apple Podcasts… OR wherever it is you’re listening to this Episode… AND leave me a NICE… FAT… JUICY… 5-star-review and some absolutely beautiful words of why you love the show so much!

It really helps me get the word out and it’s honestly the one place where your vote truly matters!

Until our next chat… Take care!