Sleep: Dr Lynn Anderson On Why You Should Make Getting A Good Night’s Sleep A Major Priority In Your Life, And How You Can Make That Happen

Balance is the key to a healthy life. We need to balance out activity with sleep. At the end of the day try to put your worries away. All of your task and responsibilities will be waiting for you in the morning. There’s nothing you can do about them at night.

Getting a good night’s sleep has so many physical, emotional, and mental benefits. Yet with all of the distractions that demand our attention, going to sleep on time and getting enough rest has become extremely elusive to many of us. Why is sleep so important and how can we make it a priority?

In this interview series called “Sleep: Why You Should Make Getting A Good Night’s Sleep A Major Priority In Your Life, And How You Can Make That Happen” we are talking to medical and wellness professionals, sleep specialists, and business leaders who sell sleep accessories to share insights from their knowledge and experience about how to make getting a good night’s sleep a priority in your life.

As part of this interview series, we had the pleasure to interview Dr Lynn Anderson.

Doctor Lynn is a naturopath, yoga nutritional therapist, fitness professional, karma master, published author, international speaker and video producer with over 30 years’ experience in the field of natural health and fitness. She is the author and producer of the Soul Walking series; Karma, Prosperity, Vitality and The Naturopathic Wellness Series; The Yoga of Nutrition and Recipes for Health, Sex, Happiness and Love; and Doctor Lynn’s Proactive-Aging Workouts; DVDs and TV with international distribution; CEC author, Burnout — it happens to all of us. Online zoom classes and therapy classes at SMH.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to ‘get to know you’. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your backstory?

I grew up on an Island off the coast of Maine in a small fishing village. After graduating from the University of Maine and working in marketing for several years, I moved to LA where I began a clothing business before becoming a naturopath and starting my own practice.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this particular career path?

I went back to school as a young single mother without any money, or resources. It was quite a struggle, but I am glad I did it. However, once I graduated, I collapsed from exhaustion and needed to attend to my health. I chose to take the naturopathic/yoga path.

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the sleep and wellness fields? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?

I’ve been studying, writing about and teaching holistic health for over 30 years. I am a published author and have been an adjunct professor at several colleges, as well as having a private practice in holistic health. My unique contribution is probably my Karma teaching. Its’ a practical guide for living a prosperous life and it begins with a focus on health.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

The Spiritual Science of kriya Yoga. It is my bible. The entire premise is that you should seek to find balance in everything and in everything find balance. Perfect health is perfect balance body, mind and soul.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

From my karma book; Life becomes what life does. It’s a simple lesson and straight forward. What you think, say and do is what you become.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. Let’s start with the basics. How much sleep should an adult get? Is there a difference between people who are young, middle-aged, or elderly?

Experts say 8 hours on average. Yes, at different stages in our lives we expend different levels of energy. Energy must always be replenished and so if you are young, you need more sleep. Middle aged people need a good balance and the elderly often times have disturbed sleep and are low on energy so they need to sleep more.

Is the amount of hours the main criteria, or the time that you go to bed? For example, if there was a hypothetical choice between getting to bed at 10PM and getting up at 4AM, for a total of 6 hours, or going to bed at 2AM and getting up at 10AM for a total of 8 hours, is one a better choice for your health? Can you explain?

When it comes to sleep one size does not fit all. We are all different and unique. There are so many things tied to our sleep patterns such as circadian rhythm, diet, health, age and lifestyle. So, one choice is no better than the other. The key is to get quality sleep.

Just remember health is not limited to our waking hours, it also involves how well we sleep.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for our readers. Let’s imagine a hypothetical 35-year-old adult who was not getting enough sleep. After working diligently at it for 6 months he or she began to sleep well and got the requisite hours of sleep. How will this person’s life improve? Can you help articulate some of the benefits this person will see after starting to get enough sleep? Can you explain?

The Academy of Sleep Medicine notes that sleep is essential to our health. In the wellness field we consider sleep to be one of the three pillars of health; diet and exercise being the other two. The body and the mind need to replenish themselves every day. Sleep is one way we rejuvenate and regenerate the body and the mind.

We all know how we feel when we don’t get adequate sleep. It compromises our moods, posture and alignment. A sleep deprived person doesn’t walk upright and is not vibrant and alert. Researchers at MIT actually found that when we are sleep deprived it effects our gait, or pattern of walking. Walking involves balance and coordination, so when we are sleep deprived it effects our balance and makes us more susceptible to falls.

Sleep therefore improves mobility, balance, awareness and vitality. Again, health is not limited to our waking hours it also involves how well we sleep.

Many things provide benefits but they aren’t necessarily a priority. Should we make getting a good night’s sleep a major priority in our life? Can you explain what you mean?

If sleep is one of the three pillars of health, and it is, what could be more of a priority than taking care of your health?! When you lose your health nothing else matters. Statistic shows that 50% of the adult population suffer from sleep issues. That’s half the adult population. Clearly, we need to make sleep a priority.

The truth is that most of us know that it’s important to get better sleep. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives? How should we remove those obstacles?

1. Technology — as good as it is technology is always with us and constantly vying for our attention. Sometimes we don’t know how to turn it off.
2. We take our health for granted. If you only think about your health when you are ill and wishing you could get better, you have taken good health for granted. As humans we sometimes think we are invincible.
3. Humans are hardwired for pleasure and sleep can seem like a waste of time, or something we can always catch up on. Not true! To truly enjoy life, you need to be rested, rejuvenated and vital.

Do you think getting “good sleep” is more difficult today than it was in the past?

Sleep has always been an issue. Cave people, settlers in the wild and indigenous tribes have all had to sleep with the threats and the stress. In ancient times it was the threat of the Sabre tooth tiger that effected our sleep. Today it is the techno tiger.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. Can you please share “5 things you need to know to get the sleep you need and wake up refreshed and energized”? If you can, kindly share a story or example for each.

1. First that sleep is a nutrient. Just like your body needs a healthy diet you also need the nutrient of sleep. The only way you can rebuild and rejuvenate your body is to replenish your energy. That’s what happens when you sleep.
2. Your body needs the right mix of calcium and magnesium to endure a good night’s sleep. That is why it is important to eat a healthy and well-rounded diet.
3. Balance is the key to a healthy life. We need to balance out activity with sleep. At the end of the day try to put your worries away. All of your task and responsibilities will be waiting for you in the morning. There’s nothing you can do about them at night.
4. Our mental health is as important as our physical health, and in some ways, may be even more important. We need adequate sleep for good mental health, and good mental health causes us to take better care of ourselves.
5. Yogis have a saying; When you close your eyes, don’t count sheep; instead count your blessings and then go to sleep.

What would you advise someone who wakes up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep?

Don’t look at the clock, use the computer, or turn on the lights. Quietly concentrate on taking deep long breathes to relax both the body and the mind, and then remind yourself — count your blessing and then go to sleep.

What are your thoughts about taking a nap during the day? Is that a good idea, or can it affect the ability to sleep well at night?

Some people need naps. If you’re tired and its not effecting your sleep, go ahead and take a nice nap. However, if you are napping because you’re not sleeping, try not to nap and instead adjust your sleep time. Go to bed somewhat early and try to sleep. Then go to bed half an hour later the next night. Eventually you will find a pattern that works for you.

Wonderful. We are nearly done. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Elon Musk. I am not sure how he has the energy to do all the things he does, or when he sleeps, but I sure would like to ask him about it.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

My website has all my details and social media platforms http://www.doctorlynn.com

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!

There are many benefits of maintaining a regular sleep cycle, and improved digestive health is one of them. According to Dr. Kung, “a regular sleep cycle of 7 to 8 hours for adults will keep bowel peristalsis regular by lowering stress levels, which lowers the amount of cortisol your body produces.” If sleep deprivation is contributing to unhealthy stress, you might experience constipation or diarrhea — and both are pretty crappy.