Secrets to Better Sleep, Stress Management, and Eco-Conscious Living with Martha Lewis

Ever toss and turn at night, wondering how to get that deep, rejuvenating sleep? Join us as sleep consultant Martha Lewis shares her journey from a tired parent to a sleep expert. She reveals the real culprits behind sleep issues, like gut health and cortisol imbalances, and gives practical tips on diet and lifestyle changes to improve your sleep.

But we don't stop at night. We also tackle how stress affects your well-being and sleep, and Martha shares ways to restore balance and calm. Plus, she inspires us to live consciously, supporting local growers and the planet.

Tune in for an episode that’s eye-opening for night owls and anyone seeking better health and harmony!

CONNECT WITH MARTHA: https://www.thecompletesleepsolution.com/

CONNECT WITH NIKA: https://mtr.bio/nika-lawrie

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*This podcast and its contents are for informational purposes only and are not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or a qualified health provider for any questions concerning a medical condition or health objectives. Additionally, the advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every individual and are not guaranteed for business, personal, or wellness success. Use discretion and seek professional counsel when necessary.

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Transcript

Nika Lawrie: 0:06

Welcome to the Inspired with Nika Lawrie podcast. Martha, welcome to the show. I'm so happy to have you here. Yeah, thanks for having me. Yeah, so you are a sleep consultant, among other things. Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started in that and kind of give us your backstory a little bit?

Martha Lewis: 0:29

Yeah, definitely. Well, it started from my own experience, which probably isn't surprising but similar for many of us?

Martha Lewis: 0:36

Yeah. So my sleep problem started in late pregnancy, which I figured was just hormones and there wouldn't be anything I can do about it. But it continued even after my son was born it's funny because he wasn't a great sleeper and I ended up hiring a sleep consultant to help with his sleep. And then I became a sleep consultant to help parents with their babies and kids sleep, parents with their babies and kids sleep yeah, and then I still wasn't sleeping. And so, yeah, about two years after I had him, I finally decided to take an adult sleep certification course, and I was pretty skeptical that it could help, because I already know a lot about sleep. But it totally did.

Martha Lewis: 1:20

I made some changes to my schedule, what I was eating and when, so my habits, and I started sleeping great within a month. Oh my gosh, that's quick, yeah. But then I went through a stressful period in my life about a year later and my sleep deteriorated again, and all those things that I had done before didn't work. And so, luckily, I became aware of doing functional lab testing. I was a nutritionist and so I've been in the health and wellness space for a while, and so I decided to take a certification to do these tests and hopefully help solve this problem for me and for others. And so I found out that I had things going on in my body that were way out of balance, that were causing this, and so once I corrected those, then I sleep great. And so now that's what I help other people with is because I think a lot of people know the basic sleep advice, but there can be something more going on in your body if those things aren't working.

Nika Lawrie: 2:22

I absolutely relate to you in that sense.

Nika Lawrie: 2:24

I had kind of a similar issue, same thing.

Nika Lawrie: 2:27

I had sleep issues towards the end of my pregnancy my daughter's six and a half now and it wasn't until about, maybe, maybe close to two years ago now that I started to like really dive into like what is going on. Why am I having such a hard time? What I found after doing tests was that my cortisol was completely off, so it was really low in the morning, super high at night, and so I had this stress and anxiety that was kind of keeping my you know the brain in the loop at night trying to go to sleep, and it was really having to reset and recalculate kind of what I eat, how I, how I sleep, what I do before I go to sleep, what I'm thinking about all of those activities and same thing. It took some time, but eventually I was able to get back to having a pretty solid night's sleep without using melatonin or any other kind of sleep aids. So Right, awesome, yeah, yeah. So what are some of the most common issues that you see with people, with their sleep habits and when they're struggling?

Martha Lewis: 3:24

Yeah Well, like you mentioned, cortisol definitely plays a role. So cortisol, we know it as a stress hormone, but it's also an anti-inflammatory hormone, and so whenever there's inflammation, then your body's releasing cortisol. So, yes, high cortisol can be from that mental stress, but it can also be from physical things going on in your body causing that too, but that is a common reason why a lot of people have a hard time falling asleep or wake up in the middle of the night. Another reason is having a pathogen in the gut, so yeah, so something like a parasite or bad bacteria like H pylori, or yeast like candida.

Nika Lawrie: 4:10

Yeah.

Martha Lewis: 4:10

So all of those creatures are nocturnal, and so it's the middle of the night that they are eating and excreting and releasing a lot of toxins and causing a lot of inflammation, and so then your body releases cortisol to deal with that, and that's going to wake you up. Yeah, so that's another to wake you up yeah. So that's another thing that I see in a lot of my clients.

Nika Lawrie: 4:28

Yeah, I'm similar. I've seen a lot of sleep issues with Candida specifically, and then, you know, trying to figure out the sugar issues and how to manage all that. And yeah, it kind of has a ripple effect in a sense.

Martha Lewis: 4:40

Yeah, definitely.

Nika Lawrie: 4:41

Yeah, so what are some of the things that you know, let's say Candida for instance, just to kind of build off that? What are some of the things that people can do to kind of help remedy that and maybe help manage their sleep issues a little bit better?

Martha Lewis: 4:54

Yeah, yeah well, candida is tricky and you can find all sorts of advice on the internet about. Candida thrives on sugar, so you know eliminating sugar is definitely important. But I think what people don't know is that candida is fed by these bigger infections or by these bigger pathogens, and so if you have a parasite or if you have H pylori, that's actually feeding candida. So you can eliminate sugar forever, but until you work on that primary infection that feeds candida, candida isn't going to go away. So that's part of the puzzle is really looking at the big picture or what's going on in the gut.

Nika Lawrie: 5:36

Yeah, and for something that maybe isn't necessarily gut related. Like you know, you hear a lot about the blue screens and people staring at screens late at night before they go to bed and there's circadian rhythm being off. What are, what are the things that you're seeing that people you know maybe easier changes that they can start to kind of implement now that help reduce some of those issues.

Martha Lewis: 5:59

Yeah, definitely. I mean, you know, dimming the lights a couple hours before bed and avoiding screens. Some people will say two hours, I start with, let's do half an hour. If someone's used to watching TV or used to being on their computer right before bed, say, let's start with half an hour or possibly, and then move to a full hour beforehand. But that's so important because the blue light from screens is the same blue light from the sun. It's not quite as strong, but it's telling your body that it's daytime, that it's time to wake up, and it suppresses melatonin, which is that hormone that regulates our sleep. So that's why that staying away from screens is so important. So that's definitely somewhere to start.

Nika Lawrie: 6:46

Do you think the blue light glasses actually help or do you think that's more of a fad kind of thing?

Martha Lewis: 6:53

They help with the blue light. I think the other problem with screens is that they make us wired. Yeah, so you know you can be so tired, but still wired and glued to the TV or to your phone or whatever it is. So, yes, so they help with the blue light. But again, I think it's that avoiding the screens in general is is really important too.

Nika Lawrie: 7:12

Yeah, I mean I found too that you know on nights that I kind of goof and don't do the wind down time. It's usually I'll. I'll be like reading an article or something that makes me start to think about something work related or you know, more of stress related in life, and then it kind of is a spiral effect that even though I wasn't stressed out, I then became kind of anxious about something else based off of whatever it was I was reading, simply from just being on the screen. So yeah, definitely yeah. Do you think? Do you think things like meditation or you know, some people use grounding things like that Do you think those help kind of reduce that, maybe the energy or kind of the the cortisol levels and the anxiety? Do you think those are helpful tools?

Martha Lewis: 7:59

Yeah, definitely, like I know meditation. I mean. It's shown to lower cortisol, it also lowers our heart rate, it lowers our blood pressure and so that that is a more relaxing state to be in, to fall asleep easily. So meditation is definitely helpful. I don't always recommend for someone new to meditation to do it right before bed, just because doing something new can cause, you know, more anxiety than relaxation. So I always, I always suggest like starting meditation in the middle of the day or something for a couple weeks and then, once you feel comfortable with it, then doing that before bed can be really helpful. But I found that so helpful for my sleep and I too want to point out that meditation isn't about stopping your thoughts. I think a lot of people think that they're not good at meditation because their thoughts keep spinning and that's actually normal. So I like to do it until I get to the point where my thoughts are slowing down and I am able to let them go and get into a more relaxed state.

Nika Lawrie: 9:03

So we've talked already quite a bit about stress and its relationship to sleep, but do you want to deep dive a little bit more into the, maybe the correlation there in the sense of sleep issues? Because stress is so rampant, one just in the world in general, but two especially in the last two years or so, with everything going on and there's a lot of chaos and I think people are kind of at a heightened state of stress compared to maybe any other time in their life. Really. But what do you see tend to see in your clients or in the community that you work with in that correlation between the two?

Martha Lewis: 9:40

Yeah, yeah, well, you know there's a lot of talk and kind of common knowledge that stress causes sleep issues, but but I think we tend to think of as mental stress in that way Like, yes, mental stress can definitely affect your sleep. If you're worried about something, then that can keep you awake. But I think what's not talked about is how stress affects the body, and especially over time. And so what happens is that when, if you're constantly stressed and I want to point out there are different kinds of stress so there's this mental, emotional stress that we're pretty aware of, but there can also be things going on in your body that are stressing it that you don't even know about. So it can be the combination of both of those.

Martha Lewis: 10:24

And when your body's constantly releasing cortisol to deal with stress, at first that feels really good, because cortisol gives us energy, it helps us focus and concentrate and think quickly, it pretty much prepares us for survival, even if we don't need to survive something in that moment. But it, yeah, it feels really good if you know and this is how people get addicted to stress and you know, performing with a deadline and things like that Like they're depending on that cortisol. But what happens over time is that your body can't make enough cortisol, it doesn't have the resources it needs to make enough cortisol to deal with all the stress you're under, and so cortisol starts going back down and that's when you start not feeling as great, right, you don't have energy, you feel tired, you have minor aches and pains, and we tend to self-medicate a lot Like okay, if you're tired, let's have some caffeine or sugar, or aches and pains, we're going to have some Advil, whatever it is. And this is why, when you go to your doctor and get your cortisol levels tested and they tell you it's normal, it's because it's not high anymore, because it's becoming depleted. But if you're not feeling normal, if you're having sleep issues, if you're feeling tired all the time, then obviously something isn't normal, right, yeah.

Martha Lewis: 11:49

And and then your sex hormones and cortisol use the same resources. They're all steroid hormones, and so if your body's constantly making cortisol, then it prioritizes that and it doesn't prioritize making those sex hormones. And so that's how sex hormones get depleted. And especially for women who have, you know, had babies and gone through pregnancy and childbirth and breastfeeding, all of that, it's yeah, it's really easy for that to happen. And and then, you know, the more the stress continues, then different systems in the body start breaking down, and it's different for everyone, depending on your genetics and your individual body, what's going to go first, and so that's why some people develop sleep issues and others develop other issues, but it really all goes back to the stress, like the stress that we're under all the time.

Nika Lawrie: 12:38

Yeah, yeah, I mean, I absolutely agree with you. I think it's so important. We often overlook that. You know, we think about stress, we think about the feeling maybe in our chest, or we think about the frustrations we have towards you know the daily activities that are causing that that. You know the rush of cortisol, but you're absolutely correct, we forget about the inflammation inside, we forget about the damage that's happening to our endocrine system and all of our hormones in general and how they're communicating with each other and interacting.

Nika Lawrie: 13:08

We're forgetting about the, the damage or or I think a lot of times people aren't even aware the damage that's happening to our mitochondria and being able to, you know, create energy based off of how they function and and it really is this just continuous ripple effect of issues and and we have to look at, you know, pinpointing that root cause again, and kind of building out from there and healing the body from the inside out. Yeah, exactly, yeah. So what are some of the ways? You know, if we, if we think we have an issue or not really sure what to do, but we're pretty sure there's a thing, how do we start kind of diagnosing that or kind of figuring out, you know, pulling out the pieces or pulling off the layers to figure out what's really going on inside our bodies, to start to heal.

Martha Lewis: 13:59

Yeah well, I mean, the first step I would say, you know, is to do a hormone test, and ideally with you know, a functional medicine practitioner who's interpreting those in that way and you know and I always like to take it one step farther too and there's a reason. Hormones are out of balance, so why is that happening? But the initial first step is to see what's going on there and honestly, I mean I've had women who you know we see progesterone's low and supplement with progesterone and everything gets better, and so that can make a big difference really quickly. Focusing on an anti-inflammatory diet is a great place to start before doing any testing. I mean I've run a food sensitivity test on all my clients. But if you don't want to do that, then just eliminating gluten, dairy, soy, corn, like those major inflammatory foods, can go a really long way in removing that stress from your body. So I definitely suggest that.

Nika Lawrie: 15:04

Yeah, yeah, it's. It's amazing how you know, even just removing it for a period of time and to see how your body reacts, you know, after maybe 30 or 90 days and you can test it and see. But yeah, I mean, I agree, Removing as much of that as possible is always a good thing. Yeah, definitely, yeah, exactly so. So if people want to connect with you to learn more or maybe find out about these testings and stuff, what is the best way that they can reach out to you?

Martha Lewis: 15:36

So my website is the complete sleep solutioncom and I'm on Facebook, and Instagram is complete sleep solution, and I also have a Facebook group called Sleep and Insomnia Help for Adults that you're welcome to join, and I talk about these things every day in there.

Nika Lawrie: 15:52

Awesome. I will make sure that I link to everything in the show notes as well. Before I get to the lightning round questions, I want two things. One is I want to acknowledge you for the work that you're doing. I think it's so powerful and so important, and there are so many people struggling with sleep issues that it's just. I commend you for what you're doing. It's really great.

Martha Lewis: 16:13

Thank you. I know how much it sucks not to sleep, so yeah, and I believe there's an answer and there aren't fix kind of thing, opposed to the real really fixing the long-term issues.

Nika Lawrie: 16:29

Yeah, so before we get the lightning questions, the last one I had for you is there anything really specific that you would want to share around sleep for someone, a specific tip that you really love to share, or something that you would want to drive home?

Martha Lewis: 16:52

Yeah, I think the main thing is that there is an answer. I think a lot of people try all these things and you know they do all the sleep hygiene stuff. They take supplements. Sometimes they even resort to medication because they're so desperate and nothing really works or doesn't work for long or they don't want to be on medication, right, and so I just I want people to know that we can find what's causing this and fix it. There is an answer. This is fixable.

Nika Lawrie: 17:16

Love that, absolutely agree. Yeah, yeah, okay. Are you ready for the lightning round? Okay, okay. So the first question is what is the most impactful book you've ever read and why? So the first question is what is the most impactful book you've ever read, and why?

Martha Lewis: 17:28

Well, that's always a tough one. Yeah, my go-to is the Miracle Morning by Hal.

Nika Lawrie: 17:33

Elrod, I haven't heard of that one. I'm curious.

Martha Lewis: 17:36

Yeah, so he talks about having this morning routine and yeah, I don't know how in-depth you want me to go. Go for it. Yeah, but he calls it the sabers. And so you're scribing or journaling your um affirmations, you're visualizing, you're meditating, you're in your learning. So it's those six things and like starting off that your day with that intention, um has really made a huge difference for me and it's actually crazy, but a morning routine can actually help you sleep better.

Nika Lawrie: 18:11

Yeah, that's just true. Yeah, I've heard that too. Yeah, definitely. So what is your best tip for living a toxin free life?

Martha Lewis: 18:24

I would say eating organic.

Nika Lawrie: 18:30

Awesome. And then what? What is your best tip for living an eco-friendly life?

Martha Lewis: 18:37

I would say, support local agriculture and and buy local?

Nika Lawrie: 18:43

Yeah, definitely. And then a last question for you what does living consciously mean to you?

Martha Lewis: 18:51

It means living with intention and and with the, the desire to make an impact and to make a difference in the world. Absolutely.

Nika Lawrie: 19:02

Yeah, love that Well. Thank you so much. I'm so grateful for your expertise and sharing all this knowledge today and just being on the show, I'm super grateful to have you here.

Martha Lewis: 19:11

Yeah, thanks so much, thank you.