Dr. Erin Koffel | How to Have High-Quality Sleep & Feel Your Best from the Senior Director of Research & Scientific Affairs at the National Sleep Foundation
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One of the biggest problems in our modern society is making time for bedtime. Let’s delve deeper into the everyday struggles people face with sleep, things that can negatively impact our sleep, the significant benefits of maintaining healthy sleep routines, and practical ways to support optimal sleep. This episode will share some strategies and tips to help you achieve better slumber the next time your head hits your pillow. This episode is sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
Why is quality sleep essential?
3 things you can do during the day and at night to better set yourself for sleep
Stress and its correlation with sleep
How food habits and specific food groups impact sleep quality
Does napping help you achieve a balanced sleep-wake cycle?
Disclaimer: All information and views shared on the Live Greatly podcast are purely the opinions of the authors, and are not intended to provide medical advice or treatment recommendations. The contents of this podcast are intended for informational and educational purposes only. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified health professionals when you have any questions regarding your specific health, changes to diet and exercise, or any medical conditions.
About Dr. Erin Koffel
Erin Koffel, Ph.D., is the Senior Director of Scientific Affairs and Research at the National Sleep Foundation. Dr. Koffel received her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in clinical psychology and completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship and postdoctoral residency at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System.
Dr. Koffel is an innovative psychologist, clinical researcher, and public health advocate with an outstanding record of translating research to practice and experience covering all aspects of project management, public health communication, and the design and dissemination of research-based wellness programs. Her primary objective is to help advance the health and well-being of the public through evidence-based education, interventions, and advocacy, informed by insights on attitudes and beliefs of key stakeholders. She specializes in behavior change mental and physical health, and she has content expertise in sleep and chronic pain and digital mental health treatment and implementation science. She has extensive experience with qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, including interviews, focus groups, surveys, and RCTs. As well as experience managing her lab, she has frequently collaborated on transdisciplinary projects and multi-site investigations. She is a sought-after presenter and co-author, translating best evidence for fellow researchers, patients, policymakers, and public members.
Connect with Dr. Koffel
Website: NSF
LinkedIn: Erin Koffel, PhD
About National Sleep Foundation
This podcast episode is sponsored by National Sleep Foundation. Founded in 1990, the National Sleep Foundation is committed to advancing excellence in sleep health theory, research, and practice. Its mission is dedicated to improving health and well-being through sleep education and advocacy.
Connect with National Sleep Foundation
Website: National Sleep Foundation
Instagram: @sleepfoundation
Twitter: @sleepfoundation
Facebook: National Sleep Foundation
LinkedIn: National Sleep Foundation
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Episode Transcript
Kristel (Disclaimer)
Now for a quick disclaimer, all of the information and views shared on the Live Greatly podcast are purely the opinions of the authors. They are not medical advice or treatment recommendations. The contents of this podcast are intended for informational and educational purposes only. Always seek the guidance of your physician or qualified health professional for any recommendations specific to you or for any questions you have regarding your specific health, your sleep patterns, changes to diet and exercise or any medical conditions.
Dr. Koffel (Teaser)
Yep. We want to eat during the day to send some signal that you're awake and alert. And so that's where that consistency comes in handy. At night hough, you don't want to be eating a heavy meal, two to three hours, or right before you're getting into bed. Two to three hours ahead of time is okay.
Kristel (Guest’s introduction)
If you're interested in learning tips and strategies to have a healthy night's sleep, you're going to love today's episode with Dr. Erin Koffel. Dr. Erin Koffel is the senior director of scientific affairs and research at the national sleep foundation. The national sleep foundation is the sponsor for this podcast episode.
Dr Koffel received her PhD from the University of Iowa in clinical psychology. We're going to be talking about different sleep hygiene tips, things that you can do during the day and in the evening to set yourself up for a really great night's sleep. We're also going to be talking about some of the things that can be negatively impacting your sleep.
I'm so incredibly excited about this episode. Sleep is so important for your overall well being. Let's jump into it and welcome Dr. Koffel to the show.
Dr. Koffel:
It is my pleasure
Kristel:
So to start, I would love to hear a little bit about your background and how you got involved with the national sleep foundation.
Dr. Koffel:
Sure. So I actually am a clinical psychologist by training.
So I have my PhD in psychology and I spent 10 years on the clinical side of things, actually treating patients with sleep disorders. And recently I've been with the national sleep foundation. To really be an advocate for public health when it comes to sleep. So I really believe that everyone deserves to get the sleep they need to thrive.
And the national sleep foundation that is their mission for over 30 years, they've been using education and advocacy to improve sleep health and wellbeing.
Kristel:
Amazing. So, you have done. I know there was a poll done recently, by NSF and I want to talk about that. And I also want to talk about some of these habits that people can do to support their sleep.
So there's so many different avenues I want to go down. So to start, let's talk about what do you se the problem being, what did you see in practice and what have you seen with your research and work with NSF as far as like, what are people struggling with as far as sleep and, you know, any statistics or data that you have about that?
Dr. Koffel:
Sure. So I think one of the biggest problems in our modern society is making time for sleep. And frankly, we're just all really busy people. And so sleep tends to take a back. Other things come up, we're working, we're raising kids, we're taking care of parents and it's so easy to put off sleep in favor of other things.
But what I think we don't realize is that we are doing ourselves a disservice for our overall functioning, our ability to really be our best selves during the day.
Kristel:
Right. And it's so interesting that you said like make time for sleep because it's such a key component to wellbeing. That you would think it would be a priority, but I don't know if most people really understand how important, high quality sleep is. So I would love to hear a little bit about that and what sleep impacts. I know when I used to practice an integrative psychiatry before getting into this media and speaking space, but sleep was a huge issue for a lot of the people that I saw. And I know that it can, there's the correlations between sleep and mental health and physical health and lots of stuff.
So I would love your take on that.
Dr. Koffel:
Yeah, definitely. Part of the trap people fall into is thinking they can have it all. And so some of the math I tell people about is you can either have more time awake or you can have more functional time when you are awake. And so part of it is doing the math and trying to figure out is it worth it to actually take the time to sleep so I can be functional during the daytime.
And, you know, our recent poll shows that people are getting there. So 44% of folks are reaching our seven to nine recommended hours of sleep a night, but that's still only 44%. So there's a huge chunk of the population that is not protecting time for sleep. And part of the reason we emphasize this so much at the national sleep foundation is there are so many downstream effects for sleep.
And you mentioned mental health, but also physical health, core sleep and short sleep duration, it's linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and there's been a lot of interest in cognitive health as well. So this idea that we need sleep as a restorative period to actually improve our cognitive functioning and maintain our mental acuity.
And so I think for all those reasons, there's starting to be more recognition of how important sleep is.
Kristel:
Right. And as far as the poll, was this done with Americans are in the U S or who participated in the poll? Just curious.
Dr. Koffel:
Yeah. So we have our sleep in America poll and that is about a thousand Americans. And one of the focuses of the poll this year was daytime behaviors that have downstream impacts on sleep'cause a lot of us don't think of what we do during the day as having any influence on how we sleep at night. But in reality, there's a lot of ways that you can set the stage when you're, uh, to kind of maximize the benefit of sleep at night. And so one of the things we discovered with was, there's a lot of opportunities for improvement and how Americans are spending their daytime to set the stage for night.
And I can dive into those numbers a little more, but that's kind of the big messages. Like there's still more we can do during the day.
Kristel:
Okay. So let's talk about that. So let's chat about what are some of the key components during the day when you're awake. Cause you have control over to set yourself up for high quality sleep.
And I know in our culture, it's like a lot of people are just go, go, go, you know, schedules are packed, you know, the pandemic, I think at least for us, like things slowed down a bit in the sense of like, we didn't have functions to go to and sports events. And so that was like, things were a little bit calmer in that sense, but then there was the high stress and anxiety of the pandemic and all of that. But in general, I feel like the majority of people that I know that I interact with, it's like, there's always something going on. There's always something to do, so that I think sometimes can set people up for having a hard time falling asleep, because they're in that like active, active state.
But I would love to hear your thoughts and what you found in your research as far as what people can do during the day to support themselves.
Dr. Koffel:
Definitely. And I think you're right. We have a culture that promotes being awake and productive as opposed to being asleep. Instead of the perspective that maybe sleep is a waste of time, which as we've talked about is not really the case, but our full findings showed that it kind of comes down to the big three.
So three things we can do during the day better to set ourselves up for sleep. And so the first one I talk about is light exposure. So getting a lot of bright light during the day and the reason that's so critical is we have a sleep wake cycle that basically sets itself based on late exposure. And so if you're getting up and getting a lot of bright light that helps that sleep wake system runs smoother.
And so in our poll, we found that on nearly half of Americans, aren't reporting bright light when they're indoors during the morning and the afternoon. And so that's an area where we can work to really get some light, whether that means going outside on a walk. So how do you date? You get a lot of light exposure outside, or it may mean sitting next to a window, opening up shades, you know, turning out some bright lights when you're endorsed during the day.
So light is really key, you know, during the daytime. The other piece was exercise. So we know we've all been told. Exercise is good for physical health or mental health. It's actually good for sleep as well. So it's going to increase the deep restorative sleep we get at night. And we found that on nearly a third of Americans, aren't reaching the CDCs benchmark of about 20 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous exercise.
So that's going to have some downstream impacts on sleep as well as just overall health. If you want to kind of do a two for two, you can go outside, take a quick walk and you're getting both your light and your exercise at the same time. So those are the first two, the light exercise. And then the third piece that we talk about that I think is a bit off the radar for people is having consistent meal times.
And so in the sleep field we've known for a long time. There are links between like our digestive systems and our circadian rhythms, our sleep wake cycle. But having meals at consistent times throughout the day actually helps your body know that day time, that's wake and it helps set that sleep wake cycle and regulate it.
So I tell people, just be thoughtful of your routine and your pattern and the more consistency you can build into your day, the better it is for your sleeping at night.
Kristel:
Interesting. Okay. So I have a lot of questions and thoughts about what we just talked about. So let's go to the exercise piece.Now, is there a time of day that is better to exercise, heard mixed things about working out in the evening?
I've heard it could potentially negatively impact your sleep if you work out right before bed. Maybe for some people it might help. I don't know. So what, what are your thoughts on that? And I know personally, I'm a big fan of working out in the morning and that's, I think that's a great way. Cause then people think, you know, you're going to get it in.
You feel the benefits throughout the whole day. And like you said, if you could do it outside even better and get that, that sunlight, but yeah. Would love your thoughts on the timing aspect.
Dr. Koffel:
Yeah. I mean, I think. The bottom line is any is better than none, you know? So if people can only work out in the afternoon or evening, that's better than not at all.
I agree with you. I think that morning light is great. And so if you're able to swing morning workout and outdoor run, that is going to really benefit your sleep wake cycle. In terms of working in the evening, generally. We recommend against working out too close to bedtime, because it can actually wake you up.
It increases your body temperature, and that sends a message to your brain that it's daytime time be alert, tend to be active. And so I have nothing against like evening exercise per se, as long as you leave enough of a wind down time for your body temperature to cool back down before you're jumping into bed.
So usually we say, you know, two to three hours before bedtime. So if you can time it out. That's you know, evening exercise, definitely better than none of them.
Kristel:
Right. So last night I play paddle, which is like platform tennis. And I played last night with some friends and I got home late for me, which was like 10 o'clock, which is late night for me.
And we've been playing paddle. We had a lot of fun. I had a hard time falling asleep that plus the daylight savings I was. I'm like, all right, I'm not tired yet. It was interesting, but I've noticed the nights I do play paddle. It takes me longer to fall asleep. And I think it's probably the excitement of being with friends and that, yeah, you're right.
It does make me feel more awake and that exercise right before bed. So that's just, it's interesting.
Dr. Koffel:
We need a long runway in the suite. So having that cool-down period is really critical, whether it's coming down from exercise or working or childcare or whatever it is,
Kristel:
And then I would like to segue a little bit into talking about stress.
And I know stress is something that everybody faces. All humans have stress at different levels, and especially the past couple of years, you know, there's been a lot going on. So, you know, I know that can have a negative impact if it's not managed. And if there's not ways to kind of come down off that stress.
That can negatively impact sleep. So I would love to hear any thoughts you have on that as far as navigating stress and how it relates to sleep and anything people can do if they do have a day that's really stressful, how can they wind down to have a great night's sleep?
Dr. Koffel:
Yeah, definitely. I think, you know, this is something we've seen during the pandemic as well, is that people may have more time at home and more control over schedule, but stress has gone up for all sorts of reasons, for all sorts of people.
So. You know what our market research on, the common things we hear is people have a hard time winding down at night. They feel like they can't shut their brain off, when they're getting into bed. And so I think doing that wind down at night is really critical. So we have, I talked about three recommendations during the day.
We actually have three at night as well. So, and one of the top ones is giving yourself that cool-down period before bed. And it almost doesn't matter what you fill it with as long as it's things relaxing to you. And so that could be a warm bath. It could be reading a book. Sometimes people use meditation or relaxation exercises.
The critical part is that you are not activating your brain. So for some folks that means shutting down the news, not engaging in social media, it's going to look different depending on the person, but you kind of know yourself best and what tends to wind you up. And so those are the things that you should do earlier in the evening and save that last hour to kinda cool down and start relaxing. So that is kind of a critical piece of dealing with stress. We can't control what happens during the day, but we can build in time for that relaxation that wind down at night. And that's also going to send the signal to our brain and our body that this is time to get ready for sleep.
Kristel:
Right. And the dim lighting in the evening. I know that's something that is important. And now that we all have phones, that can sometimes be a challenge because looking at your phone or checking your phone or watching TV, you know, really common things. So what, what are your thoughts on that? And anything that you can suggest, you know, I have my phone on night mode for certain times. So it's dimmer lights. Um, but yeah, I would just love to hear what your thoughts are on that and how impactful that is. And any tips you have.
Dr. Koffel:
Sure. I'm really glad you brought that up. So I said there were three things during the day and three at night, and we already covered the relaxation period before bed. The environment and creating an ideal environment for sleep is number two.
And part of that means putting down the screens, putting away phones at night, and that can be before you get into bed or when you are in bed. This is not a new message. So most people I work with and talk to they've, they've heard it. They kinda know they're not supposed to often they still are, um, because we're kind of addicted to our devices.
So, uh, over half of Americans in our poll are using screens, whether they're right before they get into bed or while they're in bed at night before sleep. So this is still kind of a, a very, um, I would say a large problem in society that we just have a hard time putting down our screens. And the reason it is problematic is it's twofold.
One is light. So you want bright light during the day, but the reverse is true at night. You actually want to tone down the light you get, because you want to send a signal to your body. It's time for bed. So it's kind of like following the sun, right? The sunsets things get dark, you know, it's time for bed.
Um, so the light exposure is one problem. And the second problem is activation. So we talked about needing that line downtime. Well, for a lot of people's screens can be very interactive. And so that can cognitively, mentally kind of wake you up as well. So along with having your bedroom cool, dark quiet, keeping the screens out is really critical for creating a good space for sleep.
Sponsor NSF (Kristel)
I'm excited to share more of this conversation with you, but first, a quick word about our sponsor. This podcast episode is brought to you in collaboration with the national sleep foundation.
It's time to be your best slept self. The national sleep foundation advances, sleep health and wellbeing through education and advocacy. They've been studying and reporting on sleep for over 30 years. Sleep awareness week in 2022 is March 13th through the 19th and every year, NSF takes this time to reemphasize the important connection between your sleep and your health.
This year, they are helping you become your best slept self. Today many Americans are not getting the sleep that they need to live their healthiest lives, the national sleep foundation's annual sleep in America poll indicates that good sleep is within everyone's reach. The 2022 poll show sleep is a process that starts long before bedtime and is influenced by key daytime activities, including light exposure, meal regularity, stress and physical activity.
Learn more@www.nsf.org. Make sure to follow at sleep foundation on Instagram, to learn more about the #bestsleptself giveaway for a bedroom.
Kristel:
Got it. And then, is there anything that you've heard about, about having, like, not having your phone right next to the bed you hear about like EMS and stuff?
I just don't know if there's. Research, I haven't looked into it as far as research about like, don't have your phone next to your bed or all that. Do you know about any of that? Have you looked into any of that?
Dr. Koffel:
So I'm not familiar with the research literature per se. I do know that in my past work as a clinician, a lot of times people get calls in the night, you know, from friends or family.
So obviously there are some situations, some careers where you need to be on call at night, but for a lot of folks that are getting woken up when they didn't necessarily need to be working. Or they'd be checking the time. So if they're struggling with sleep, they might keep looking at their phone and counterintuitively, the more you check the clock, usually the more awake you feel, the more trouble you have falling asleep.
So for all those reasons, I tell people, keep the phone out of reach if you can. You know, have it on a dresser across the room if you have to set the alarm. But to remove the temptation of checking it for whatever reason, when you're trying to sleep.
Kristel:
Right. Know, that's so smart. And you know, there was a message that came in last night, late as I'm like dozing.
And I hear the ding, I'm like, oh man. Cause then you're like, well, who is it? Hope everything's okay. You know, who's texting me this late. So yeah, I think silencing your phone, having it away. That's such great advice. And then I want to go back to something you had said before about eating and, but before I do that, was there anything else about the evening routine that you wanted to mention? Because I know you said there were three things.
Dr. Koffel:
And we covered the relaxing, wind down and we covered the environment. I'm asleep and third one actually has to do with food. So maybe I should let you ask me questions about this. Actually, it's avoiding a heavy meal, two to three hours before bed. So those yep.
You want to eat during the day to some signal that you're awake and alert. And so that's where that consistency comes in handy at night though you don't want to be eating a heavy meal two to three hours before your, or right before you're getting into bed two to three hours ahead of time is okay. And again, the reason is that tends to be alerting.
So if you're eating a heavy meal and then jumping into bed, you're tending to send the wrong signal to your body. And so just like we tell people to try and avoid alcohol and nicotine at night, right before they get into bed, the same goes for having meals.
Kristel:
Got it. That actually was my question, because I was going to ask, what about snacking at night?
You know, I do like to have an apple here and there in the evening, maybe a half an hour, 45 minutes before bed. Sometimes I'll put peanut butter with it. So I don't know if that qualifies as a heavy meal now.
Dr. Koffel:
I think it's a balance, right? So I tell people you don't necessarily want to go to bed hungry because that can make it hard to sleep as well.
You want to be comfortable. Yeah. Um, but you don't want to be eating like your main meal, your biggest meals a day right before you're getting into bed. So anything that is like, kind of, sometimes we recommend protein heavier, you know, complex carbohydrates before you go to sleep. Just so you're not hungry during the night.
So I think light snacking is generally okay. Usually the recommendation is to avoid the sugary, the sugary snacks or food that's generally not good for you teach during the day. You shouldn't be eating it at night.
Kristel:
Got it. Okay. So this was really helpful. I would love to talk a little bit about napping and if you have any thoughts about napping, so.
And kind of two different avenues here. Number one, do you think napping is good? You know, I know like in Spain, certain places, people, or at least I think they do. That's what I've heard. I've never gone said I haven't experienced that, but you know, siestas, is that a good thing? And then also if you don't have a good night's sleep for whatever reason should you nap or should you not nap to hopefully have a better night's sleep that evening. And obviously for all of you listening, this is going to be very independent, always talk to your healthcare provider about recommendations specific to you, but just in general, I'm curious what your thoughts are on this.
Dr. Koffel:
Yeah, I think it's, it tends to be a bit of a controversial topic. And I think in part, because we still need more research evidence. So I think the jury is a bit out, even in the sleep community about naps, the timing of naps. Is there a certain age group where it's okay to nap versus another age group where it's not my general recommendation?
To avoid napping if possible, and consolidate sleep at night. So napping is a little bit like snacking, right before a meal you're napping during the day, you're getting little snacks and sleep that are subtracting from the soup you get at night. And so generally if people can avoid the napping and, and basically get their seven to nine or whatever the recommended duration is for them at night, that is I kind of the ideal situation.
Got, um, and there are some people where nap just part of their daily routine and it doesn't have a negative impact on their sleep. And so it's kind of listening to your own body and your own experience, but especially for people who are struggling with sleep and trying to get better sleep, trying to avoid that daytime napping is going to be key.
And then for people who do not, we tend to say, keep it early in short. And so, you know, if you're going to take a nap, trying to keep it earlier in the day, Will interfere less with your nighttime sleep and trying to keep it brief means that you aren't eating into your nighttime sleep quite as much. Got it.
I think frankly, we need to do more work and kind of figure, figure out what our recommendations are going to be around that.
Kristel:
Perfect. Well, thank you for sharing that insight. And I want to hear your thoughts on caffeine. So caffeine, you know, drinking coffee. It's such a common thing. It's widely accepted in our culture.
And I definitely love having my coffee in the morning and then I'll drink some green tea throughout the day, but I know that caffeine can negatively impact sleep and some people can be really sensitive to it. So do you have any thoughts on caffeine? When to not drink caffeine certain times of day, like you shouldn't have caffeine after this timeframe or any thoughts there.
So as a fellow caffeine drinker, I'm a coffee drinker as well. You know, I know a lot of sleep experts who depend on their coffee to kind of get through the morning. The general recommendation is keeping up before noon, if you're going to drink caffeine. And so that gives your body plenty of time to metabolize it before you go to sleep at night, because like you said, some people, it affects much more greatly and it takes their body longer to process it.
And so that's, you know, my advice is timing is key and then just keeping an eye on amount because there is a creep that can happen. Right. So just sort of keeping tabs on how much you're drinking and listening to your body. If you find that it's affecting you to have how much ever you're drinking, maybe try cutting back a little bit.
Kristel:
That's great advice. And another little thing I'm curious about too, is I've heard.
Dr. Koffel:
Certain types of foods can negatively impact sleep. Even if let's say you ate it two to three hours before, like spicy foods. That's one thing that pops into my mind, but is there research to support that like are certain food groups, could they potentially negatively impact people?
You know, that is an area I'm less familiar with. I think there is definitely a connection between how much you eat and maybe the type of food and gastric reflux. Right. So if you're packing your sock full of like big spice meal in the line, Chances are, that's not going to be doing you any favors if you already suffer from gastric reflux or have problems with that.
But as you mentioned early in the show, definitely encourage people to talk with providers. If they need some personalized advice on kind of what to eat or when they lie down for that. Yep. Totally fair. And do you have any suggestions for people if they are having a tough time falling asleep and I'm, you know, there's so many different reasons why that could be too.
So again, like, this is one of those situations, like if you're having problems, talk to your healthcare provider, but just in general, have you heard any recommendations or when you were in clinical practice, certain suggestions you would have for people. Yeah, I think it's a good question. And it's also a very tricky one because it's a continuum, right?
So all of us are going to have a bad night. And honestly, that's just part of being alive is that there are some days that are very stressful and that leads into the nighttime. And so we're going to struggle with sleep and that happens to the best sleepers in the world. And then there's other people where it becomes more of a chronic problem where it's really.
And they start to dread getting into bed and they worry about it during the day. And it becomes more of a, kind of a chronic issue. And so that's the case. We're talking with a healthcare provider is definitely indicated for the rest of us. We have great resources on our website, the nsf.org, with the information that we've covered about light meal, timing, caffeine, bedroom environment, all of that is going to set the stage and really set you up for good night.
And for those other kind of bad nights, just knowing and trusting your body's natural sleep system, we'll get you back on track. And so I'm trying not too much weight on it and try not to catastrophize and spin out one bad night, meaning, you know, many, many, many more cause that actually, uh, is a self fulfilling prophecy.
So not getting too hung up on one bad nights and continuing to practice healthy sleep behaviors as the advice.
Kristel:
Yeah, I love that. I know it's just kind of like taking a step back, taking a deep breath and focusing on the stuff that you enjoy and all the good stuff going on in the day. It's like the tricky piece of, okay.
You have a bad night and then not to focus on the fact that you had a bad night, because then you'll have another one, which is hard to do. It's like just take the pressure off and just try and have fun and do things that you enjoy. At least that's what I think that's what helps me is just like, all right, I'm going to put my energy into things that make me feel good.
Yep. Exactly. Well, this has been amazing. I've learned a lot. I really, really appreciate you taking the time today to share all of your insights and all of the research and all the good that you and the national sleep foundation are doing. So we are coming to the end. I'm going to do a fun, quick wellness lightning round with you, or ask a few fun questions.
But before I do that, is there anything else that you would like to share? I'm going to put a link to the national sleep foundation in the episode details and social media links as well. So, you know, that'll all be there, but anything else you'd like to share?
Dr. Koffel:
The only last thing I'll say is that we, part of our sleep awareness week campaign this week is how to be your sleep well.
And so that's really what our conversation today has focused on. And so just encouraging people to check us out. You know, hashtag vessel itself and then go on our website because there's a lot more detail that spins off from what you and I have just.
Kristel:
Amazing. Yes. And you guys are also doing giveaway for a chance to win a bedroom makeover.
So yes, the link to the episode to all that stuff will be in the episode details. Perfect. Well, let's get into the wellness lightning round. So the first question that I have for you is what is a self-care practice that you do on a regular/daily basis?
Dr. Koffel:
So a self care practice is specific to sleep.
I try to not check the news or use my computer right before bed has attempting, as it's been, especially in the last couple years, we've had to kind of keep up to date with the new cycle. I actually find for me, it's more activating than helpful. So I'll try to set aside time earlier in my evening to do any like updating on news or news websites.
And then I really try to save that last hour for reading. So I'm not getting exposed to screens and content that is going to wake me up.
Kristel:
Perfect. And then second question, you are on a deserted desert island and you can only bring three foods with you. That's going to sustain you while you're there. What three foods would you bring?
Wow, Allman's definitely. So I eat a lot of almonds and chocolate because those two just seem to go together. But I have to say definitely almonds and chocolate. And I don't know, I'll add dried cherries into the mix because then you can make like this really nice trail mix out of it.
Kristel:
Ooh. It sounds really good.
I'm hungry. It's lunchtime. Yeah. Last question I have for you is knowing what you know today. What advice would you give to yourself from 10 years ago? Oh, let's see.
Dr. Koffel:
10 years ago. I think the advice I would give is that there's not necessarily a straight path through life. And so I know a lot of people get kinda caught up in this idea that there's one right path forward and it's straight and there's no twists and turns.
And I think for a lot of us, that's not the case that life takes us an interesting direction. So being open to that and not pressuring yourself to fit into, you know, one straight. I think it helpful from a stress management perspective, but also just being able to live your value directions.
Kristel:
I love that.
Well, this has been amazing. Thank you so much. I really, really appreciate you taking some time with me today.
Dr. Koffel:
Oh, thank you. I've had fun.