Amanda Wright Hypnotherapy

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Podcast 09: Specialty weight loss and sleep

Amanda Wright podcast. This is your special time. You’re listening to the official podcast of Amanda Wright. This is your special time. sharing suggestions and insight for your happier, healthier, inspired life. I’m coming to you today from Perth in beautiful sunny Western Australia. Nobody wants anything from you right now, so tuning and enjoy this episode. You’ll find me on www.hypnogenie.com.au and on all the podcast channels. Hypnogenie is spelled H-Y-P-N-O-G-E-N-I-E. Amanda Wright podcast.

Hello and welcome to another edition of This is Your Special Time with renowned hypnotherapist Amanda Wright, a specialist in weight loss, anxiety, ADHD for children and teens, and sleep issues. I’m your host Richard Sinclair and in this episode, Sleep the Essential Ingredient, we’ll be looking at the very interesting and quite new area of hypnosis specialty weight loss and sleep.

Good evening Amanda, it’s a real pleasure to have you with us tonight. Hello Richard, I’m so pleased to be here talking about sleep and weight loss. So this is an area that many people might not be aware of. What do you see as the role of sleep and weight loss? Typically the goal of weight loss or as I often call it weight reduction is usually to decrease the body fat while retaining as much muscle mass as possible. Not obtaining the correct amount of sleep can determine how much fat is lost, as well as how much muscle mass can be retained while on a calorie restricted diet. One of the studies that I’m familiar with talks about how 5.5 hours sleep every night of a two week period with restricted calorie diet resulted in a less fat loss when compared to sleeping eight and a half hours each night. But it also resulted in a greater loss of fat-free mass, including muscle. That’s very interesting.

So first, tell us about sleep in the modern life when so many people are time for people might see extended sleep as a luxury. Why do we need to sleep anyway? Well we need sleep to be able to function correctly as humans. If you think of all the things that happen in our body, sleep is the downtime that we need to revitalise our bodies. It’s essential for good health. It helps the mind recharge and process waking experiences, thoughts and feelings. I often think of it as your mind being like a filing system at night during rest, state, at sorts and files and archives, all the activities of the day and links them to thoughts and beliefs. So it’s a very important time. it allows brain neurotransmitters to rest, relax, and regain sensitivity. It also allows the body to repair itself and perform essential biological functions. So we also know that prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to serious health risks and over time sleep deprivation, long-term can lead to death. That’s very interesting about this.

So how much sleep do we need? Well there’s no absolute number but we see that between 7, 8 or 9 hours is a good average sleep for the adult but it can vary from person to person. And however much sleep is needed to wake up with you feeling refreshed and bright and fully awake all day is a pretty good indication that you’ve had sufficient sleep. It’s not all about the hours you sleep, it’s also about the quality or sleep. But we talked about that in a previous podcast. It’s not a really well understood science, the science between sleep and weight loss, but certainly more and more is coming to light as time and science moves on. So if we get enough of that good sleep, what are the benefits that we’re going to get? Oh, it makes me sleepy just thinking about it.

Sleep is good for our health and our mental wellbeing. Sleep, boost our immune system, improve our brain function. It’s really good for anti-aging. It improves our mood, helps us stay more balanced and keeps us healthy alert and activates efficient and effective brain function. It also burns calories and keeps weight off Richard. So that’s the benefits that we get from sleep on the other side of the coin.

What are the risks from not enough sleep? Well this is the news that we often hear about way too much. There seems to be a lot of talk these days about the risks of not enough sleep and we don’t want people going into that sleep spiral where they get concerned about not having enough sleep but let’s talk about some of the risks of not getting enough sleep. So in terms of what we’re talking about this evening two particular things are potential weight gain and potential to increase the risks of type two diabetes inflammation, high blood pressure and risk of stroke. It can also increase our risk of accidents and incidents, poor coordination, lack of coordination and creativity, mood swings and can also damage our immune system. Along with the cognitive function that can be impaired in the problem solving memory recall and the area of focus. That sounds terrible, Amanda.

But back to our topic for tonight, sleep the essential ingredient. What exactly is the sleep weight loss connection? Many people might be tempted to associate longer sleep with laziness and associate that with weight gain. What’s the mechanism for less sleep leading to more weight? Well Richard in a nutshell, it’s all to do with the interplay between sleep, hormones, metabolism, appetite, circadian rhythm. Let’s look at that in a little more detail, shall we?

Changes in metabolism and food selection can be impacted as well as appetite and sleep influences two appetite hormones in particular. Ghrelin and leptin. Leptin decreases appetite. So more leptin, we have the fuller we feel. Ghrelin stimulates appetite. So the more Ghrelin you have in your system, the hungrier you feel. Or should that be the more hungry you feel?

There have been a number of studies but two quite famous ones that looked at sleep, a restriction, and these, the interplay between these chemicals, the increase in ghrelin and the decrease in leptin. And essentially, the more hungry we feel and the less full we feel. So sleep influences both appetite and the regulating hormones in the body. getting a good night’s sleep should be prioritised. Otherwise the interplay between these hormones can be disrupted and we’re really not sure about when we’ve had enough to eat, how hungry we are or how fault we are.

When sleep is reduced it’s also being shown that the impact of food selection can be compromised and the way the brain perceives food is also affected. People tend to eat more sweeter, high carbohydrate foods. They prefer these type of sweet tasting foods when they have less sleep.
This in association with the areas of the brain being responsible for reward strongly impact people’s choices in food when they have insufficient sleep. A lack of sleep can also impair our body’s response to insulin, which helps process glucose. In the longer term, this can lead to health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.

A single-night sleep restriction of over four hours sleep is enough to impair the insulin response to glucose intake. An excess of glucose that can be stored as fat, collectively this can accumulate over the long-term leading to weight gain.

That’s fascinating Amanda. So getting that recommended sleep period can actually help with weight loss. What else can people do to lose weight and get better sleep? Well physical activity shows promise as a countermeasure against poor sleep. Exercise reduces ghrelin levels, so we’re not as hungry and increases the peptide yy feeling satisfied and full, and full. So after exercise people tend to eat less as well as they already have expanded some energy during exercise. So this helps to reverse some of the effects of sleeplessness.

Some research also shows that exercise improves the body’s response to insulin leading to improved glucose control. So the right amount of sleep as part of our natural daily rhythm of life and maintaining a healthy weight is connected to this.

What other factors in this pattern can contribute to weight gain? Richard, eating or exercising at unusual abnormal times of the day can also have an impact because our bodies have what’s called a circadian rhythm and if the circadian rhythm is not working in its normal rhythmic state, it can impact our physical and mental wellbeing and our immunity. Circadian rhythms are physical, mental and behavioral changes that allow a natural 24-hour cycle to regulate our bodies. They respond to light and dark and affect most living things, including animals, plants and microbes.

So studies have shown that we do our best eating during daylight hours in sync with our natural circadian rhythm. Disturbing the circadian rhythm and night eating changes important hormones that regulate appetite, energy expenditure and glucose regulation. These These hormonal changes increase appetite while decreasing energy levels leading to more calories eaten but fewer burned throughout the day. And this can lead to weight gain.

So tell us Amanda, are poor food choices associated with a particular time of day? Some studies have shown that eating more calories in the late evening has been linked with weight gain and obesity, late meals disrupt circadian rhythms and increase appetite while reducing energy levels. So we eat more but are less likely to exercise the following day. Eating more of your calories in the morning can be linked to greater weight loss even when consuming a similar daily food intake and activity levels. Eating more early in the day increases energy levels and promotes increased activity which uses calories and reduces weight. Of course the types of food and the portion sizes that you choose have a greater impact on your health but if it’s the case that eating time is linked to differences in your body weight and health then when you eat may also be included in any dietary considerations.

So thanks for that Amanda. Now we know that not enough sleep can contribute to weight. Does extra weight also contribute to sleeplessness?

Well Richard, I think most people know about the health risks of being overweight these days, at least in Australia.

It seems to be quite commonly available, this information and advice and has been now for some time. But we know that there are other things associated with being overweight, that people don’t always consider. It can have an impact on breathing, it can make sleeping more difficult. Being overweight puts strain on joints, can cause liver and kidney disease, diabetes, gout, can raise blood pressure and may even be a contributing factor to cancer. Being overweight often increases the likelihood of snoring and can contribute to irritable our syndrome, often known as IBS, can also impact on people’s motivation, mindset and their ability to move easily and freely and their overall wellness.

There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly great about being overweight and no one’s trying to body shame here, we’re just working with what we know to be appropriate for our best health and wellbeing.

But an increasing sedentary, high-tech society is constantly tempting us to stay still, eat more processed food and more snacks and more and more things are loaded with sugar and fat. So it’s quite hard to avoid.

That’s amazing Amanda. So how can hypnotherapy help with weight gain, for instance?

There are so many ways that hypnotherapy can help. Hypnotherapy works by retraining the brain away from weight gaining behaviours. It can also help people to relax more, learn relaxation techniques, reduce their anxiety and stress and allow them to sleep more easily. I use techniques to encourage people into a hypnotic state, putting their mind in a peaceful, calm, relaxed state where they can resolve any negative habits and reverse them with positive behavioural suggestions. The hypnotic state allows them to connect with their subconscious mind in an altered state of awareness ready to accept positive suggestions to impact upon their thoughts and behaviours at a deeper subconscious level. This hypnotic state is particularly relaxing and calming and it feels just like that feeling that you have before you go to sleep, but you’re certainly not asleep, you’re awake through the whole session and aware of everything that’s going on around you. It’s ideal for anyone who wants to shape those negative habits where they’re overeating or not sleeping. We can use those things combined in our hypnosis sessions and many studies have shown that people who used hypnosis reduced their weight twice as much weight as those who diverted without hypnotherapy.

That’s incredible Amanda thanks for that and how about sleeplessness can hypnotherapy help there too? Yes absolutely. I teach hypnotic techniques that will help you deal with the barriers currently making your life difficult by targeting restlessness with sleep strategies such as induced relaxation, focused attention, symptom control, I will use guided imagery to help you ease any worries or tensions that may be preventing you from sleeping easily and effortlessly. So if you have trouble falling asleep or if you’re waking at times during the night or having more intense dreams, perhaps you need my support. If you’re waking up feeling tired and groggy the next morning, finding it difficult to concentrate or function, or you’re feeling highly irritated when you wake up, chances are you’re not getting the right quality of sleep, or something else is disturbing you. So the bottom line is, sleep becomes more elusive, the more anxious or concerned we are about things in our life.

Hypnosis can help with many forms of sleep issues such as insomnia. Hypnotherapy is a new approach. It’s an alternative to traditional methods that perhaps many people haven’t tried before. But unlike sleep medications, Sleep hypnotherapy is all natural. It has no side effects. It helps you to self-suit and aids you in learning new habits that help you sleep and help you get those sleeping cycles happening easily and effectively and naturally. Being able to sleep only creates a wonderful peaceful sleep for you and rest and relaxation for your body whereas being unable to sleep creates frustration and more tiredness and this becomes the cycle of dread and we need to break this poor sleep cycle with sleep hypnotherapy. In the meantime

Amanda do you have any tips that could help our listeners tonight and gain a calmer and better sleep until they have the opportunity to consult with a hypnotherapist such as yourself. – Oh, thank you, Richard. Yes, here are five tips for a calm relaxed sleep.

Before you go to sleep, it’s a very good idea to limit your screen time. We’re talking here about anything that has blue lights, electronic media, phones, TVs, iPads, all of these things.

Try some mood lifting podcast something that you can listen to rather than watch so at least that way your eyes are closed.

It’s great to have structure in your day, going to bed about the same time, each evening is good,

doing some exercise during the day,

eating well before you’re sleeping at night. There are all things that can help create a more healthy routine for you so that your body and mind know what to expect. bodies love routine.

 

Working for many years with mindfulness and hypnotherapy, learning a breathing technique that is right for you is a very, very helpful thing. So breathing in to a count of four, an out for eight is really useful following your breath in and out.
Whispering in on the in breath and out on the out breath to induce that sleepy state. Learning to relax, relaxing, getting your body in mind to switch off that stress response by physically and mentally learning to relax. your breathing techniques or listening to a mindful meditation or doing
a progressive muscle relaxation, self hypnosis is also a very good thing to learn so that you can send yourself to sleep and self-soothe.
 I can teach you that. If you can’t sleep and you’ve been in bed for some time tossing and flipping pillows and you still can’t get to sleep. It’s really important that your bed shouldn’t be a battleground. Instead, enjoy the sensation of merely resting or get out of bed for a short time.

These are five simple suggestions that may help but sometimes there’s a lot more involved and people need some professional assistance. Thanks for that Amanda I’m feeling a little bit sleep in myself after that. Those are great ways for getting people to increase their sleep, and at the same time establishing that connection with weight loss. And that sounds like an absolute win-win situation, Amanda. Thanks for giving us your insights tonight in this special edition of the Amanda Wright Hypnotherapy podcast. This is your special time, and tonight’s special edition sleep the essential ingredient.

Thank you Richard and thank you everyone for listening. Amanda Wright podcast. This is your special time. Thanks for listening to this official podcast of Amanda Wright. This is your special time. I hope you’ve enjoyed our time together. Of me sharing suggestions and insights for you, for your happier, healthier, inspired life. Have a fabulous week, feeling fantastic, better than you felt in ages, and be sure to tune in next time. You’ll find me on www.hypnogenie.com.au  H-Y-P-N-O-G-E-N-I-E.com.AU and on all the podcast channels

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