877: Sleep Smarter, Not Harder: Biohacks for High-Performing Entrepreneurs with Tanessa Shears
Aug 27, 2024
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In this engaging discussion, health consultant Tanessa Shears shares her journey from personal trainer to sleep optimization expert, targeting entrepreneurs. She explores the architecture of sleep and its crucial role in boosting performance. Tanessa highlights strategies for better sleep, including the importance of creating a calming environment and the power of wearable tech for tracking sleep. Discover how slowing down can enhance your nightly rest and learn biohacks that can transform your energy levels, helping you achieve greater success in your ventures.
Establishing a consistent sleep schedule enhances the body's circadian rhythm, promoting effective hormone regulation for better performance.
Implementing biohacking techniques, like calming pre-sleep routines and wearable technology, can significantly improve sleep quality and overall health.
Deep dives
Understanding Circadian Rhythms
The circadian rhythm, often referred to as the body clock, regulates various bodily functions including hormone release and heart rate fluctuations throughout the day. Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, where individuals go to bed and wake up within a similar one-hour window daily, optimizes this body clock. This consistency allows hormones like melatonin and cortisol to work effectively, promoting better sleep and wakefulness. Disruptions to this rhythm, such as varying sleep times on weekends versus weekdays, can lead to feelings akin to social jet lag and can hinder cognitive performance.
The Importance of Quality Sleep
Deep sleep and REM (dream) sleep play critical roles in physical restoration and cognitive function, respectively. Deep sleep, which occurs predominantly in the first half of the night, is essential for the body to recover and repair, while REM sleep, which is primarily experienced later, enhances creativity and emotional control. Insufficient deep sleep can lead to physical fatigue, while a lack of REM sleep can result in irritability and diminished problem-solving abilities. Therefore, achieving a balance of both types of sleep is vital for optimal performance, especially for busy entrepreneurs.
Biohacking for Better Sleep
Implementing biohacking techniques can significantly improve sleep quality and overall health. Strategies include avoiding stimulating activities before bed, such as heavy meals and screen time, to reduce stress and enhance relaxation. A calming pre-sleep routine that may involve light reading or breathwork can help transition the mind and body into a restful state. Additionally, wearable technology such as the Aura Ring can provide valuable insights into sleep patterns, enabling individuals to make personalized adjustments that enhance both deep and dream sleep quality.
Addressing Common Sleep Misconceptions
Many misconceptions surround sleep, particularly regarding its duration versus quality. People often mistakenly believe that time spent in bed equates to sleep, neglecting factors like wakefulness during the night. Other factors affecting sleep include nighttime disruptions from partners or pets and environmental conditions such as room temperature. By identifying and addressing these obstacles, individuals can work towards a more restorative sleep experience, ultimately improving their overall health and productivity.
When looking to make positive changes in your life, why not start with making sure you’re sleeping well? If you are having a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep, and battling with overall energy levels, then this episode is for you! Joining us is the incredible health consultant Tanessa Shears to discuss how you can sleep smarter and share bio-hacks to become a better-performing entrepreneur.
Tanessa started her business as a personal trainer and nutrition coach and she very quickly realized that so many of her clients were entrepreneurs who needed that extra push to optimize their health. Sleep is often a forgotten component of health and when Tanessa was pregnant, she became more aware of how little sleep entrepreneurs are getting and how that is affecting their businesses. That is why she incorporated a third pillar into her business, sleep! Tune into this conversation to hear a breakdown of the architecture of your sleep, how to sleep better, creating the right environment to help your brain and body wind down for sleep, wearable sleep tracking devices and so much more!
Episode Highlights
The Architecture of Your Sleep. [0:08:37]
How Do We Sleep Better? [0:12:51]
The ‘Zone Out’ Period and How to Fall Asleep Easier. [0:16:43]
What Slowing Down Can Look Like. [0:25:33]
Tanessa’s Favorite Wearable Tech and How She Incorporates it Into Her Work. [0:30:47]
What to Do When Either Your Deep Sleep or REM Sleep is Suffering. [0:36:20]
Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to bossproject.com/podcast.
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