In this episode, Nikou speaks to sleep specialist Dave Gibson who has over 20 years' experience in healthcare, providing advice and supportive intervention across a wide range of conditions to promote good sleep patterns and quality sleep. His background is in all things wellness; having worked as a hypnotherapist, a naturopath, an osteopath and has multiple degrees in osteopathy and food science, and he's on the [podcast to talk all things sleep with Nikou.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A lot of my clients, as an osteopath, suffer from bad sleep because of their jobs and technology they use – as did I – which is how I got into sleep science.
• We fit our sleep around our life rather than putting our sleep first and at the centre of our well-being.
• There are sleep disorders and disordered sleeping. Sleep disorders include sleep apnoea and restless legs, and disordered sleep is someone who is consciously depriving themselves of sleep and not worrying about it, or people that suffer from insomnia.
• Depriving yourself of sleep is the same as depriving yourself of water, your thirst centre turns off and you don't know that you're dehydrated. Same with sleep; you body goes with the flow until the point that you crash and then you're in trouble because your immune system is gone, the detox of your brain's gone, your cognitive processes are down, you have a higher risk of cancer and then there's all the long-term bits.
• There's no animal on the planet that actively deprives itself of sleep, just humans. It's vital we get 7-9 hours each night.
• 40-50% of people in the UK are sleeping less well than they were doing before lockdown due to adrenalisation.
• Cavemen saw the sun go down, and darkness is the biggest single trigger of sleep, meditation and yoga can help in these days of over-stimulisation by relaxing the body and slowing down our breathing.
• If you can fall asleep within 30 seconds, you're not good at falling asleep, you're sleep-deprived. Our brains don't naturally switch off – especially if you take your phone to bed with you.
• 60% of people that use apps before bed are more likely to grind their teeth due to fear of missing out.
• The Circadian Rhythm looks for the difference between light and dark. Device screens literally give out the same light as the morning light. To combat this you can dim the screen light, used blue-light-filtering glasses and ‘flux' filters for the screens for the devices.
• Regularity is the key to your Circadean Rhythm. If you can't keep to a routine, because of shifts or whatever, make sure you get up at the same time and top up with naps to balance out your sleep and avoids social jet lag, which happens when you bounce your sleep around.
• Some people have taken the extra hours that they used to commute, now they work at home, and are either working longer hours or watching more TV rather than using them for exercise or something that keeps them healthy.
• People look at two things on their fitbits: deep sleep and REM sleep. Exercise helps elongate that. Top athletes sleep longer hours than most people because their bodies need to recover from their training.
• Sleep is a rejuvenation process, if you sleep too long and you're waking up tired that's something you should go to your GP for. It could be anaemia, depression, seasonal affective disorder.
• A good night's sleep is to get up at the same time every day without needing an alarm and feeling great.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You'd think with all my qualifications I'd be getting good sleep, but I have to really work at it.'

‘The care we take with children's sleep is something we switch off in adulthood'

‘There's a lot of kudos and machismo still attached to under-sleeping.'

‘It's harder to lose weight if you under-sleep than if you properly sleep.'

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dave has over 20 years in healthcare providing advice, advice, support and intervention across a wide range of conditions to promote good sleep patterns and quality sleep.

His wellness training and qualifications include being a registered hypnotherapist, naturopath and osteopath, with BSCs in Osteopathy and Food Science. He works both online and face to face treating a range of conditions from back and neck pain as an Osteopath to low self-esteem, overeating, addictions and anxiety as a Hypnotherapist and specialises in sleep advice and support. Dave's extensive background and expertise in Wellness enables him to bring a wealth of knowledge to solving sleep problems.

He launched his well-regarded sleep blog, www.thesleepite.co.uk in 2014. Dave has worked with the national press and BBC National and local radio, along with major commercial stations and has also worked on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing as their Osteopath.

Dave's sleep service includes bespoke one to one advice, help with family sleep problems and running webinars and workshops for companies.

His sleep interventions are always tailor made to the individual. They are holistic, built on selecting specific lifestyle changes with nutrition, exercise, meditation, and relaxation techniques at their core. He creates bespoke hypnotic recordings to help improve the quality of your sleep too. 

“My belief is that sleep plays a huge part in our lives. It affects how we feel, how we behave and our ability to perform, whatever the age. I believe it is the fundamental pillar of physical, mental, and emotional wellness. My aim is to help you feel more energised by learning how to improve the quality of your sleep to leave you feeling fresh, boosted and ready for your day – whatever that may look like.”

GUEST RESOURCES

https://thesleepsite.co.uk/

Instagram: @devesleepexpert

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Email: nikoulohse@gmail.com

Instagram: @nikouela

ABOUT THE HOST

Nikou Lohse is a mom of three, wife to former MLB pitcher Kyle Lohse, Master Pilates instructor, yoga teacher, and lover of all things MOVEment, MINDFULness, and commUNITY. 

Nikou is a serial entrepreneur. She started her first company at 21 doing sales & marketing for Fortune 500 companies, made her first million at 24, and decided to exit at 30 in order to pursue her passion for helping others. She became a yoga, Pilates, barre, and mindfulness instructor, but her own struggle with SIBO and postpartum depression led her to redefine the way she took care of her body. Now, as a holistic health coach, she is on a mission to empower women and help them heal their gut through nutrition, movement, mindfulness, and spirituality. 

CONTACT METHOD

Email: nikoulohse@gmail.com

Podcast Description

Failing forward is about the successes we find after enduring failure. Each episode is an opportunity to hear interviews and stories from professional athletes, entrepreneurs, executives, doctors, and loved ones who have fallen down, struggled, and transformed.

They'll be sharing how they got to where they are today, and the lessons they learned along the way. We'll be covering topics in entrepreneurship, careers, relationships, holistic wellness, mindfulness, gut health, and finding your competitive edge. With raw human moments and empowering information, this podcast is here to inspire you, remind you of your greatness, and give you the knowledge to up-level in every area of your life. 

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