Importance of sleep

Sleep is more important than diet and exercise combined as described in humans –

* One poor night of sleep can lead to higher levels of cortisol the next day.

* When you have cortisol activated, guess what follows?

* Glucose and insulin.

* Do you know what drops when glucose and insulin goes up?

* Ketones!

* Not only that, sleep is where you burn fat, where your brain flushes out toxins and your body repairs.

* Studies show when you are sleep deprived, you are going to have lower levels of leptin and higher levels of ghrelin.

* Ghrelin is the hunger hormone, and leptin is the satiety hormone.

* You will feel hungrier and and less satisfied, leading to sugar craving; leading to breaking your keto diet and having those carbohydrates, having those snacks.

How does this relate to our dogs?

They have exactly the same hunger hormones and cortisol patterns as us. Good restful sleep in our pets is as important. If they follow our sleep patterns and maybe share in our night routine of snacking before bed, tossing and turning at night (if in bed with us), or being taken on late night walks as we cannot sleep; then this disrupts their natural rhythm and they too will experience the same sugar and carbohydrate cravings as we do!

In humans 3 tips for better sleep, starting tonight:

* Make your bedroom cold. Studies shows that 16 – 19C is where you can get the good amount of deep sleep.

* Make your bedroom dark. Light exposure will activate cortisol, suppress melatonin and ketones; we don’t want that at night.

* Another quick tip here for you is to take a hot to warm shower 60 minutes before your intended bedtime.

* When your body gets out of the shower, it’s going to cool itself, and calm itself.

In our pets tips for a healthier happier dog, starting today:

* Stick with a routine for your dog as far as possible to keep their hormones in check

* If you know that you are a restless sleeper, do not have your dog sleeping in bed with you – give them their own quiet space in another room

* Make sure not to place your dog’s basket too close to a radiator as they too need to have an ambient temperature of 16C – 19C for a restful sleep

* Do not feed your dog too close to bedtime as digestion will delay a good restful night’s sleep