How Elements Have Benefited Me and My Epilepsy

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Strategic Relocation

Sleep - is it a good sign or a bad sign if someone falls asleep as soon as the head hits the pillow?

Tiffany says:

Hey Robb and Nicki, love the podcast! I'm so thankful for a level headed, no BS approach to health that includes consideration of bioindividuality (although I find the news topic and Robb's rants are my favorite part).

Question for you. There is so much information around sleep and health, but I'm struggling to find any root cause/real health information about people who fall asleep with amazing ease.

More specifically, my husband. Every night for as long as I have known him (almost 10 years), he falls asleep within 2 to 3 minutes of laying down, head hitting the pillow. We can be in the middle of a conversation, and he's OUT. His labs look pretty darn good, with the exception of cortisol and cortisone (we ran a DUTCH on him in May 2021, and need to run another). He's out of balance, as most people are! But he's 49 years old, 5'10", 195 lbs. Fasting glucose has historically been right around 80, he eats a mostly meat-based diet, although he is quicker to grab a sourdough bagel or some plantain chips than I am. He hits the gym for weight lifting 3-4x a week, does cardio for 20 minutes on elliptical probably most of those gym visits. Has a day job that keeps him on his feet all day, but is not labor intensive (he's a chiropractor). He DOES enjoy screen time at night. Used to fall asleep to movies, but that habit died when our daughter (now just over 2) was born. But he still gets screen exposure right up until bedtime, usually from his phone. He sleeps mostly well, usually with 8 hours of sleep. He's usually not exhausted at the end of the day, so why is it he can fall asleep so darn quickly? I'm honestly jealous since I don't sleep nearly as much and I'm a light sleeper anyway, but I can't help but wonder if this is actually a good thing, or a symptom of something deeper that's been out of balance for a long time. Thanks so much for your thoughts!

REM sleep and toddler protein

Kathleen says:

Hi Robb and Nicki!

Thankful for y’all’s insight and perspective- I’ve so enjoyed your podcast and thoughtful nuanced approach to a variety of topics.

I’ve got 2 questions for y’all:

As a historically “bad” or “light” sleeper I’ve made a lot of changes over the last several years and using my Oura ring has been a big help in the process. One thing I can’t seem to hack is my REM sleep- I’m almost never getting more than an hour for a whole night. My deep sleep tends average or above average. I’ve read all the things and feel like there’s no clear answers to improve REM sleep other than the basics— ie consistent bed time, meditation and prayer, cold room, exercise during the day, no alcohol, etc. It’s safe to say I’m pretty consistent in these places, I eat well, supplement with LMNT and sauna most evenings. My stress levels are fairly low as I work prn as a physician assistant and get to stay home with my two young boys. I’m just not sure what else I can be doing to improve REM- and part of the reasons I’m still trying to “hack” sleep is I do often wake up tired, feel like my brain/memory isn’t always up to snuff, and occasionally struggle with the “wired and tired” sensation. Context: I’m 31, 5’1” and 110ish lbs. Diet is Whole Foods but we do eat a good amount of protein and red meat. No alcohol. No rx drugs except occasionally an abortive for migraines (which I’ve had since I was 3 but have been steadily improving as I continue to work on personal health)

Any insights one improving specially REM sleep would be much appreciated!

Second question- my 2 boys are ages 2 and 4 and while I feel like their diets are fairly diverse and adequate in nutrition I worry because most of the meat they eat is “processed”. We can’t seem to get past some texture issues with meat. They’ll eat hot dogs, meatballs, bacon, sausage, lunch meat, etc for days! But when it comes to a steak or chicken thighs, no matter how I cook it, marinate it, prepare it the best I can usually get is a few bites out of each! Any thoughts or things I should be concerned about?

Thanks again for all you do!

Kathleen

Remote Work and Relocating

CC says:

Hi Rob and Nikki,

I have tried Paleo in the past, but new bloodwork has me figuring out how to implement changes to my family's diet. Thank you for all the work that you put into teaching us and connecting the dots with autoimmunity issues. We have two girls (11 and 9). My question is more of a broad one about the pillar of community. Four years ago, my husband took an opportunity at work, and we relocated from the Eastcoast to the Southeast. While everyone is moving here, we are considering relocating back to family/friends because he works fully remote. There are a lot of websites that compare two cities in categories such as the number of sunny days, schools, cost of living, and average commute. I wanted to know what types of thought process you and Nikki would take when looking at relocating? What are your thoughts on remote and isolated workers? Recommendations on finding community on this side of the pandemic and/or in middle age? Any tips for handling the stress of moving or homesickness? https://www.bestplaces.net/

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