2023 - 4:10 Interview Dr. Audrey Wells -Sleep & Obesity Bonus Public Audio
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[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to the concierge weight loss podcast. My name is Cara Hackleman, and I'm a certified life and weight loss coach. I help people just like you lose weight for the last time. Are you a little people pleasing, a little procrastinating, and maybe a little perfectionistic? Do you eat when you are not even necessarily hungry?
I can help you overcome that so you can finish losing weight and get out of your own way. Join me each week to get a little motivation and a lot of inspiration. Hello. We are here with Dr. Audrey Wells. She's a board certified in both sleep and obesity medicine medicine. Couldn't get that word out. And she's the founder CEO of super sleep MD.
She helps people with sleep apnea get fully treated without sacrificing comfort. And I am thrilled to have you here. The clientele that I work with are all trying to lose weight and I like to say that sleep and [00:01:00] water are those magic pills that everybody's looking for. We all understand there's something to do with food and what we're eating, how often we're eating, all of that.
But the magic is really, I think, in your sleep. And, um, like I said, water, how specifically do you work with people, um, that are trying to lose weight? How does the sleep thing, um, all. kind of go in. Yeah, I'm happy to discuss any and all of it. Um, so I, uh, have practiced sleep medicine for about 15 years and, uh, I have a couple of subspecialties within that.
So, sleep apnea and insomnia. are, uh, two disorders of sleep that, um, I have particular expertise with. And you might imagine how, uh, problems with sleep overlap with problems with weight. So that kind of motivated me to go get formal training in obesity medicine. And so, um, I do coaching, uh, [00:02:00] and private consultation for both of those disorders.
Uh, I have sort of an integrative approach, um, because a lot of times people feel like they're in a, uh, place that's in a rock between a rock and a hard place. It's really hard to kind of manage. Both of those situations, especially if there's any time scarcity going on. So I do, um, private consultation, but under super sleep MD, uh, I'm helping people who've been diagnosed with sleep apnea, either make their CPAP work for them in a way that's comfortable or move on to a different treatment for their sleep apnea and not just abandon therapy altogether.
So happy to talk about any of that, Kara. Yeah. Um, I, I loved that you're also a coach and that you work with that mindful piece of it. How so, um, and this is, this will go out to both my clientele and [00:03:00] my, uh, public podcast. So just real quick, uh, mindset is working on your thoughts and how they affect your feelings and motivate your actions.
And that's, you said you were a mindset coach, so you're a life coach with that. How are you utilizing that with your sleep? The, um, one of the most common things I hear from people is I can't shut my brain off to sleep. And so when you're lying there in the darkness and the quiet, your mind can be quite active with thoughts, which produce feelings.
And there are feelings that are incompatible with sleep. So I like to take the stance that access to sleep is through feeling, and I'll give you an example. Um, some people. Describe a monkey mind. So their thoughts are bouncing around. Um, they may be ruminating on something which produces a feeling of, let's say, anxiety, [00:04:00] anxiety and sleep are incompatible.
So I like to work with people to reframe their thinking, um, in order to have the peace and the, um Serenity that is necessary to initiate sleep. And sometimes that looks like working on your thoughts and thought processes earlier in the day, instead of waiting for bedtime for that to occur. I know a lot of the clients I work with, um, and a lot of people just trying to lose weight.
They'll say, you know, it gets to the end of their day and they start eating and they can't shut their brain off. They just want to like veg out and watch TV and have their snacks. And how would you, um, help with that? So the frontal lobe, which is our executive brain that does like the strategic thinking and the decision making has a relatively short span for [00:05:00] attention.
So by the time you're at the end of the day, your frontal lobe is what is craving sleep. It's really susceptible to feeling tired. Or overworked. And so it goes offline a little bit, which kind of unmasks a person's hedonistic tendencies. So wanting to, um, snack, wanting to consume, uh, social media, wanting to You know, really kind of do things that are pleasurable, but maybe doing them too long.
So kind of recognizing that I think is a first step. Um, and I also work with people to get reacquainted with what their sleepiness signals are, because sometimes those are overlooked, just like hunger signals. I haven't, I haven't heard of sleepiness signals. Do you, do you have a few that you want to like, tell us about that?
would be something we quickly understand. Yeah, I, I, um, maybe we'll go into [00:06:00] some things that are actionable because I think that really helps connect the information with what you're experiencing in real life. Okay. So I want to say that, um, you know, human beings are naturally tuned into the sun and a 24 hour.
Rhythm for the day. So it's really important to realize that a melatonin spike, which is a hormone. Um, melatonin spikes in the evening, and that is an internal signal for sleep. And I wonder, Kara, if you've ever had the sensation that, um, you get very sleepy, but if you push yourself, you kind of get a second wind after a while if you're staying up too late.
Has that happened to you? Oh, yeah. And I think I did. I used to eat. When that would happen and think, Oh, this food is fueling more. But as I, you know, worked in my own weight loss, like I realized I didn't have to have the food sometimes like something like a quick break or a cold glass of water. [00:07:00] And then it was just like, Oh, okay, now I can go again.
Yes. Yeah. So what you're experiencing when you get that second wind is the, um, the window closing for that prime sleep opportunity. So if you have that sleepiness signal and you adhere to it by going to bed or preparing for bed and then, uh, actually getting into bed. You're able to sleep more deeply and you're able to go through your sleep cycles in a more productive way compared to if you override that sleepiness signal and stay up later than you should.
Um, and to your point, I want to mention that, um, a lot of people who aren't getting enough sleep. Um, have this tendency to look for other things to improve their energy and food is a way to do that. So if you're not getting your energy replenished from sleep, your appetite increases. [00:08:00] And that's a well described hormonal, uh, event where ghrelin, the hunger hormone increases and leptin, the hormone that helps you feel full and give you, gives you satisfaction from food, decreases.
When you are sleep deprived. In fact, I would go so far to say that sleep loss, if it's happening routinely and cancel out your efforts at weight loss. So I really want to highlight that as an important thing to consider if weight loss is a goal. Yeah. Yeah, we talk, um, a lot about like how insulin plays into this, but, um, I haven't really mentioned before how the, the ghrelin and the leptin are affected by sleep.
So that's super interesting. Um, I think there would be a ton more to figure out in those sleep signals, how you compare it to hunger cues, hunger signals, the sleep signals, I could [00:09:00] see that being a whole, a whole course of its own on figuring out how to follow that and what to do about it. Yeah. Yes, totally.
Um, it, it's just, I think the first step is always awareness. What is my body telling me? What can I pay attention to and dial into to know what I need? I think that mindset piece of it too, um, I think that. It's and I work with women. So like primarily women, we have, you know, all of our family tasks to do.
And a lot of times it's the end of the day before they even get to feel like they have some time for themselves. Everyone's in bed. And so figuring I work with them on how to do that earlier, you know, in the day, how to Plan for time for yourself, you know, your kids maybe go to bed earlier so that you can have some time to rest and recoup and recharge for yourself.
And so I can see how that whole mindset piece [00:10:00] plays into the sleep, because. Especially as women, we're so used to like giving up all of ourselves, our time, our energy. And so there's just not anything left at the end of the day, unless you really hone into making yourself a priority to it. It's so true.
And I like your approach of like helping people to recognize that and work in me time earlier in the day. Another possibility is to go to bed earlier if, if that's when you're sleepy and then wake up earlier to have that me time, which is nice because your brain, a well slept brain at that point is going to, um, have a better or more productive me time, which is Kind of giving yourself your best version, the well slept version of yourself in the morning.
Oh yeah, I know my brain definitely is more productive in the morning and, [00:11:00] um, if I, and it's almost like choosing. It's like, there's no right or wrong answer. Just choose a bedtime, make sure it has enough hours to possibly allow you to have that seven to nine hours that they recommend, you know, and then just choose it and then figure out what happens, which leads me to some other questions.
So knowing that I was going to get to talk with you and pick your brain about all this fun stuff. I started collecting questions that, um, some of the people would write in and tell me for you. Oh, sure. So, um, some of them just cannot fall asleep, others, they get to sleep and they wake up throughout the night or they wake up too early and then can't get back to sleep.
So what do you say for them. So, one of the fundamental things that I like to let people in on is how you spend your day. Significantly informs how you spend your night. And there's a lot that, um, [00:12:00] I sort of preach on my soapbox about contrast and balance. So during the day, you want lots of light exposure, you want physical activity, you want to take your meals earlier in the day and, and hopefully stop eating, uh, at least three hours before bedtime to kind of align all of your sleep signals.
to increase the chances that you're going to fall asleep when you want to, and then wake up when you want to. So spending some time like really working out, um, how you can have more contrast between your day and your night might be helpful. When it comes to, uh, sleep and sleep timing, it turns out that the wake up time is more important than the bedtime.
So let me tell you what I mean by that. Um, I think that if you had to choose between your wake up time and your bedtime and keeping one of those times constant, You want to choose [00:13:00] your wake up time, and I recommend to people that they keep that same wake up time seven days a week so that the brain has a point to anchor on.
And it also helps with, uh, aligning the circadian rhythm of cortisol, which is a stress hormone produced by the body. And it's naturally more high in the morning. to give us that feeling of get up and go. So if you can hold your wake up time steady, then your body will naturally Uh, put that cortisol out at a time that's optimal for you to give you a better wake up feeling in the morning.
Then you will also kind of learn to figure out when your best bedtime is. And that can vary somewhat. So if you are listening to your sleep signals, you should be sleepy seven to eight hours before that wake up time that you're holding constant. And having a relaxing [00:14:00] bedtime routine before that can support your getting to sleep when you want to and sleeping through the night.
Now I will say, it's a little bit of a misnomer that it's abnormal to wake up during the middle of the night. If your wake ups are relatively short, meaning you're spending less than 30 to 45 minutes awake during the night, there's not necessarily a problem there. Human beings in the past had actually two sleep periods.
They would go to sleep when the sun went down because there was no electricity and then they would wake up when the sun rose and because that time span can be, you know, 12 hours or so there was a period in the middle of the night when people would wake up and do chores and tell stories or sing songs have sexual relations and that second sleep.
Kind of got moved into one single sleep period after electricity [00:15:00] was invented. So humans naturally wake up between five and ten times per night, but it takes more than five minutes of awakening to actually remember that awakening the next day. I think the problem becomes when you wake up in the middle of the night and your awakening is now prolonged.
more than an hour or so, you know, that certainly encroaches on your rest. And so doing the things to, um, support your sleep with your daytime activities and your bedtime can really help shorten those and even eliminate them to some extent. Okay, so this one's personal. I have noticed and I and I shared with you a little bit of my story before I started losing weight.
I had complete exhaustion. I shared about like the hairdresser was a tug of war when I get my hair done because I'd finally just rest in the chair. And I would be out like snoring, getting my hair done. And now [00:16:00] sleep is a priority for me. And I, I guess I did not know whether it was my weight or just the routine of sleep or a little of all of it that now I I'm pretty good about, like when I go to go to bed, I go quite, you know, instantly to sleep and I sleep at least seven hours a night.
So, um, I, like, I wasn't sure why. What if it was the weight or my food or what it was that changed in that if you want to talk about that and then I have one more piece to it. Yeah, I think, you know, I'd love it if I could solve everybody sleeps problem with one single piece of advice, but the truth is, it's, it's.
A multifactorial thing that we're dealing with when we want to support our sleep rhythms. Yes, um, food, uh, certain types of food and patterns of eating can make you feel sleepier. Um, and there's underlying sleep disorders that are related to a person's [00:17:00] weight or more frequent if you're heavy. But, um, the, the thing is there's a lot of experimentation that has to take place to kind of optimize your sleep routine.
And sometimes you just have to take a deeper look with something like a sleep study. So I think that by the time you're falling asleep with a hairdresser, you know, there's an issue there. I'm so glad to hear that it resolved for you. And my question is, now that you have that problem fixed. How would you ever go back to it?
I mean, isn't it so wonderful to sleep and feel rested during the day? Well, back then, you know, I was 100 percent focused on, on weight loss. I think I emailed you maybe that, um, in my head, I was thinking, Well, back then I thought you have to exercise to be able to lose weight, but I thought I can't exercise because I can't even stay awake to drive half the time.
And so it w it just felt like a never ending [00:18:00] cycle that I would never be able to conquer, you know? And so I just started making little, little bits of things. And I remember What food felt so out of my control in the beginning, but I felt like I can drink water and go to bed. And so I don't know how to do anything else, but apparently I'm good at sleeping because I was doing it, you know, all the time.
Okay. So the other part of the question with my personal, um, so now I'm really seven to nine hours cut kind of depending seven and a half to eight is probably my, my most frequency sweet spot, but my husband has a different work schedule than I do. So he gets up. Oh gosh, good hour and a half before I do.
And it used to be that I could sleep straight through all of him getting ready. And now like the doorknob, and this could be 24 years of marriage is the problem, but like, um, Like now the doorknob sounds like it's clicking too loud or the light is too bright [00:19:00] around the edges of the door to go to the restroom and him moving in bed to get up.
It's waking me up. And I don't, I don't know why it's changed. Like I used to be able to, like, he'd have to wake me up to get me to be awake for work. And now I'm, when he's getting up, it wakes me up. It's it's, I can't sleep through that anymore. I would guess that in the past, you always had some sleep deprivation going on.
You had some underlying, um, sleep loss that you were always trying to compensate for, so it was more difficult for you to arouse with him getting up an hour and a half before you needed to. Now that your sleep need is more satisfied, um, you are probably prone to waking up more because, uh, you just don't have that debt to repay.
And, you know, there's a few things I might suggest, uh, if you're open to it, um, just to reduce those awakenings. [00:20:00] I'm, I'm, one is. One is that if, if the light is an issue, um, you might just try a sleep mask, um, when you go to bed. Um, there's one by Manta that I really like because it doesn't put any pressure on your eyelids or your eyeballs.
It has sort of a rounded padding. And, uh, keeping the light out of your eyes is going not, it's not going only going to help you stay asleep longer, but, um, it will help you to keep sleep cycling like you should be for the extra hour and a half that you'd be, um, before you needed to get up. The other thing you might think about is a sound conditioner or a sound machine, uh, just to kind of, um, mute out those sounds in the room from him getting ready.
Uh, so you want to look for something with just a consistent noise. Uh, a white noise is kind of like what an airplane makes [00:21:00] or, or like the sound of a fan, and you want it to be very monotone, not anything that spikes like nature sounds or anything like that. Uh, the tricky part is. For anybody, um, in that situation, in the first part of the night, you've satisfied the majority of your sleep need.
So if you wake up due to something in the environment or something going on internally, it's harder to get back to sleep at that point. So the focus becomes what could keep you asleep, um, that hour and a half before you actually need to get up to start your day. I don't know if I'll let him listen to this.
I like to blame it on him that he has suddenly started turning the doorknob louder. Yeah. That is what I told him. You can check in with him, um, but I, I'm always a fan of the woman, uh, and the woman getting her sleep. Oh yeah, and I, I did, and I even did the earplugs. And the both the combination of the [00:22:00] mask and the plugs kind of help, but I definitely want to check out the the eye mask that you were talking about.
Mine doesn't quite keep all the light out, you know? Yeah, the mantas do a great job and they've got different variations. They've actually got one that has a cooling system, so you can pop these, um, the little inserts into the freezer. I'll give you a tip. Um, sometimes that's helpful for getting back to sleep in the middle of the night to have something cool or cold on your face.
It's especially effective if you feel a little bit psychologically agitated. So if you wake up and something's bothering you, you can put a gel pack or a cooling pack on your eyes, which triggers our sympathetic or our parasympathetic rest and digest mode. Yeah. So if you do that and you're breathing slow and your exhale is twice as long as your inhale, that can be a really potent [00:23:00] way to get back to sleep.
I had another question making sure that I have this. Okay. So I have someone in mind that I've worked with and she had quite the issue with her CPAP machine. And so, um, she, and it was so much mindset. So that's why I'm even more in love that you're a coach. So she was having issues with. Being okay with using it with her partner in the room.
She was, you know, it was a hassle. Um, she had some thoughts of she shouldn't have to use it. Like if I just lose all my weight, I wouldn't have to have that anymore. Almost like she was punishing herself. To not use it and get a good night's sleep because she should, she felt like she shouldn't have even put in herself in that position.
And then it even carried over into some embarrassment about traveling with it and how to, you know, did it need its own bag or [00:24:00] any of that kind of thing and, and how that would work with travel. So what would you speak to with that? The very first thing that I would tell this woman is you are not alone.
These issues come up so commonly, and it's something that motivates me to try to help people to overcome with a ton of different tools. So, the idea that you just want to sleep normally again is something that I hear a lot from people who are struggling with their CPAP as a treatment for sleep apnea.
Uh, and It's totally justified. I mean, you have to tolerate the sensation of a mask on your face. You have tubing going into a machine. And I think there is a very big psychological impact when somebody brings a machine home for their health. Have you ever considered [00:25:00] that? I mean, You need help breathing during sleep and now you have this machine in your home and I think it, it's just something that creates resistance because like you said, I shouldn't to do this.
I shouldn't have gotten myself in this place. Some guilt, shame kind of stuff going on. Yes, exactly. And a lot of times it's tied to weight. So for anybody who's got sleep apnea and is listening to this. I want to bust that myth. Sleep apnea and weight are not always connected. If it was, then losing weight would cure sleep apnea 100 percent of the time.
And that is simply not true. In fact, 20 percent of people with sleep apnea are not overweight. At all. They're in. They have a normal body mass index and I put myself in that category. I have mild sleep apnea. [00:26:00] I am not overweight and I am not alone. There's plenty of people out there whose weight is not a factor.
Now, you don't know if it was a factor or not until you lose weight. Okay. So it's kind of one of those rear view mirror things. But what I can tell you is that if your sleep apnea is going untreated, in other words, You block your airway, you have drops in your blood oxygen because you can't get your air to your lungs, your brain has to wake up to gasp because it doesn't like a low oxygen level.
All of those things are going to impact your ability to lose weight. So untreated sleep apnea will lead to weight gain, and you're kind of creating a situation that you don't want. I haven't. worked with very many people who are able to put the weight loss first. Most of the time it comes with fixing their sleep apnea that [00:27:00] accentuates the weight loss and then they can be retested to see if they still need CPAP.
And that's the route I recommend. So for people who are struggling with CPAP, I can help with that. Yeah. Um. Oh, the last thing I, I had on, as far as on my end of it was what is your recommendation about the sleep? There's so many things people are taking to help them improve sleep. Um, I've heard of magnesium, um, melatonin, valerian root.
Um, there's some entire, I don't even know what is all in that compound, but some other things that have like more of a complex something to them. What are your opinions on those? So I'll start by saying that no scientific research study has demonstrated a significant effect on sleep from any one supplement or even a combination of supplements.
[00:28:00] Um, I, I never really recommend combination supplements because you don't know what's working or not. And. putting things in your body that are pill shaped is not a great idea. Over the counter supplements are not very well regulated for pill to pill consistency, and even where melatonin is concerned, there's a great variability between one brand to the next and even the pills within the same bottle.
Melatonin degrades on the shelf. over time. And so you may not even be getting melatonin at all. Or one study showed you could be getting 400 percent more than the amount shown on the bottle. So supplements is a tricky game. Um, magnesium. I've had folks say anecdotally that magnesium works and it's a relatively safe, uh, pill or supplement to try.
So I don't have a [00:29:00] huge issue with that. I would only recommend melatonin for adults, never for kids because it is a hormone that has some associations. with accelerated or delayed puberty. Uh, so you have to be really careful with that. Um, but overall supplements and over the counter medications are not very sustainable in the longterm.
You'd be better off just fixing your patterns, uh, that support your sleep both during the day and at night. I, I agree with that. I, I've had, uh, some people who were doing NyQuil to like just get themselves to sleep and that has so many other things in it that I am not a doctor, but I, I just think that if you're taking NyQuil, that it's not even designed for that, that can't be a good long term solution.
You're absolutely right. Um, in fact, if you take any over the counter medication with sleepiness as a side effect, [00:30:00] For sleep, it will wear off usually in a couple, three weeks. And I want to tell everyone that. Anything in pill form that's used for sleep is starting to show up as having problems with cognitive decline if it's used over the long term.
So Ambien is one example, but even over the counter medications like the Diphenhydramine or Benadryl have been shown to be associated with cognitive decline if they're used consistently. So you're not getting the effect and there's a significant detriment to these supplements for sleep. And so the bottom line is you really have to take a look at your behaviors.
I was thank you for all that. I was looking at your website and you have a great blog page. Um, I was had so many great topics on there. So definitely check out your blog page if you're listening to this, but um, One of the things that cracked me up a little bit was [00:31:00] uh, your power nap versus a turbo nap And I I was like, what is she talking about?
And so as do you want to talk about that one? Yeah, I think that, um People have heard of power naps, uh, which is taking a short little siesta during the middle of the day. And, and I'm a proponent of that. I, I think that, um, it's potentially one way to assess whether you're getting enough sleep or not. So if you absolutely need a nap during the day, then you're not getting enough sleep at night.
If you take a nap during the day and you tend to go into the deep stages of sleep during your nap, that tells me you're not getting enough sleep at night. But if you want a rest for 20 or 30 minutes at a time to kind of refresh your mind and have a little break during the day, that's a great power nap.
A turbo nap is somebody who's got sleep apnea and they're using [00:32:00] their CPAP machine for that nap. So that is a great way to support your breathing during that nap because people with sleep apnea. will have their sleep apnea when they're untreated, taking that nap. So I like to just give it a fun name so they can be reminded to put their CPAP on.
I, that all made total sense what you just said. I think the part that cracked me up when I read it was the caffeine component. Oh, oh yes, you're right. Uh, thanks for reminding me. So. One little trick you can do, especially if, um, you need to get a lot done or, you know, you have some driving ahead of you. So you can take a cup of coffee, down it, and then start your nap.
By the time those 20 or 30 minutes are up, the caffeine's kicking in, so you're going to be bouncing out of bed and ready to complete the rest of your day. I, I kind of self medicate with some caffeine from time to time. And, [00:33:00] um, some of my friends and even a couple of clients have found out that I have what's called a napping mat that I've, I've gotten.
And so it's, it's a heated mat. It does the infrared, you know, all that. And I, I don't know how much there is science to that, but it just feels so good on my skin to have that, that heat from that infrared mat. And so I'll. If I'm just really having a hard time focusing, I'll go set a timer for 30 minutes and it doesn't quite feel like it's enough.
Like I want to stay there, but it's kind of like when you want, you're wanting to finish your plate because it tastes so good. Like I just feel so good. I just want to stay there. Um, and so I'll do that when the caffeine's not working, but I've not tried to pair the two up. Yeah, it was, it was fine. You have some fun stuff on your website.
People will have to check that out for sure. So do you, do you think that like if And I have one lady in mind, she has to start, she has to be at work at like 4 AM, but [00:34:00] she also helps take care of her grandkids too. And so like the amount of sleep that she gets, it's just, and I'm thinking even new moms, like this one's a grandma, but like new moms even who just, it's not going to happen seven hours of sleep or nine hours of sleep.
It does the napping like contribute to the overall sleep or does it have to be even closer together? It depends. I, you know, I really sympathize with new moms. My youngest is two and a half years old, so I'm kind of just getting out of that point where he's sleeping through the night. Um, I, I want to tell you that for anybody who is having a short sleep time at night, a nap can be a great way to kind of, uh, supplement that time.
And It's a little, um, tricky with the timing though. So it's better to have a nap around midday. You really don't want to be napping past 3 p. m. or so because that can [00:35:00] sort of cannibalize your nighttime sleep or make it harder to get to sleep in the first place. So for people who have shortened nighttime sleep or unpredictable nighttime sleep, a nap can be a great tool to make sure that you're getting at least closer to the total sleep time that you need.
And then in that instance, would it be? Still the 30 minute nap, like the 20 to 30 minute or would it be okay to be longer than? I wouldn't go past an hour and a half. Um, the reason is that allows for one sleep cycle or approximately one sleep cycle. Doing more than that is really going to give you some sleep inertia.
Um, meaning it's really hard to wake up. Uh, you would feel groggy and it wouldn't really be worth it. But, um, That longer nap is probably something to do if your sleep time at night is six hours or less, um, then you can supplement your [00:36:00] total sleep time with a nap. Okay. Yeah, that's good information.
Alrighty. What words of advice would you have for someone who's just starting with weight loss maybe and trying to figure out this sleep part of it? I know you said if you've got some sleep apnea, start there. Um, maybe they don't have sleep apnea. What would you suggest they do with their sleep side of things when they're just starting out?
It's a great question. I think that anchoring their wake up time is one important thing. Really get your mind trained on one specific time that you adhere to seven days a week. And to support that you're going to want to get bright light exposure first thing in the morning. Uh, a walk outside is best because that sun is something that the human body is really attuned to.
So bright light exposure in the morning paired with a little bit of exercise is a really strong signal for [00:37:00] wakefulness. And then during the day, take opportunities to get more exercise. If you can, that'll help help you get deeper sleep at night and start to tune in on those sleepiness. signals. Does your concentration kind of go offline?
Are your eyes feeling droopy or tired? Does it occur to you that this may be a good time to go to bed or to start to prepare with that? Just having more focus on sleep and getting it can really make a big difference. Oh, this has been great. I can't wait to re listen and take more notes just for myself, even.
All right, so if someone would like to get a hold of you, how can they do that? There's actually a contact form on my website supersleepmd. com. It goes right to my email, and I'd be happy to take questions. I want to tell you, Cara, that I've prepared a little freebie for your listeners. with [00:38:00] the four mechanisms by which sleep loss sabotages weight loss.
So I want to give that to you and hopefully that'll be helpful to somebody who's considering improving their sleep. I love that. I think they will love that. And then also, like I said, her website is just amazing. So many great topics in her blog section. Um, she had a freebie on if you are a CPAP person and how to get used to that.
Some more. Specific information I saw on like asking, um, I think it was another freebie on if I lose weight, will I still have to use my CPAP? So there were so many great things if, if, um, you have the time, just run over there and eat it all up for sure. All right. Thanks for joining me today. My pleasure, Kara.
It was great to talk to you. Thank you for listening to the concierge weight loss podcast. Like what you heard today, leave a review or share with a friend and check out the next step quiz where you'll find what has held you [00:39:00] back from lasting weight loss and what to do next. You will find the link to this and many other helpful podcasts and videos in the show notes.
I can't wait to see you there.
