Secrets to a BLISSFUL NIGHT’S SLEEP
THE MAN WHO HAS HELPED THOUSANDS LOSE WEIGHT IS NOW TACKLING OUR ZZZZZS
How did you sleep last night? If you had a blissful, unbroken eight hours then you’re a rarity, with YouGov data showing that only one in seven Australians sleeps through the night. In a quest to cure his own insomnia, Dr Michael Mosley, creator of the Fast 800 diet, took part in sleep experiments and tested every remedy going. The result is a radical, four-week sleep program outlined in his new book Fast Asleep. Here are some of his findings.
GET COOKING AND FERMENTING
Eating more fibre-rich and fermented foods is one of the most effective ways to boost your levels of deep sleep. That’s, in part, because fibre-rich foods feed the trillions of ‘good’ bacteria that live in your gut, which in turn produce chemicals that have been shown to reduce stress and anxiety.
SORT OUT YOUR BEDROOM
Ensure that your bedroom is a place where you sleep and have sex, nothing more. So:
• If you have a TV in your bedroom, take it out.
• Replace any bright lights with bulbs that are softer and more diffuse. noise
• If you like the idea of music or white to fall asleep to, now is the time to get everything set up.
HOW’S YOUR MATTRESS?
As a rule of thumb, you should replace your mattress every seven to 10 years. The main thing to watch out for is sagging. Take the sheets off and have a good look to see whether there is an obvious dip. If there is, a mattress topper will provide extra cushion and support and will be much cheaper than a new mattress.
WHAT SORT OF PILLOW IS BEST?
In theory, you should replace your pillow every two years. To test if it is time for a new one, try folding it in half to see if it springs open. If it doesn’t, it probably won’t be providing a lot of support for your head and neck.
KEEP IT DARK
Make sure your room is cool, dark and quiet. If you have a clock, move it out of sight. Your mobile should, ideally, be switched off or placed face down on a table that is out of reach of your bed. You might want to invest in decent curtains or blackout blinds, though a sleep mask will be cheaper.
While fancy skin products and makeup can boost your confidence, for really glowing skin, it all starts with what you eat, says accredited practising dietitian Geraldine Georgeou. “As exciting new science emerges, we’ve realised the true impact of insulin resistance, inflammation, PCOS, gluten intolerance and coeliac disease and the ways in which food chemicals affect the skin,” she says. Her book, The Australian Healthy Skin Diet, is packed with delicious recipes that are rich in nutrients to help balance hormones and improve skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis, dermatitis, rosacea and eczema.
Smashed Pumpkin with Feta & Pepita Dukkah SERVES 4 PREP TIME: 10 MINS COOKING TIME: 35 MINS
Looking to impress with a simple lunch? This open sandwich has it all: it’s creamy, sweet, peppery and crunchy. Pepita dukkah might sound fancy but it’s easy to prepare. Pepitas pack a punch if you are looking to boost your zinc intake. Zinc has been shown to reduce the amount of oil produced by the skin and helps heal skin damage caused by acne.
INGREDIENTS
400g butternut pumpkin (squash), cut into cubes
4 eggs
4 slices rye bread or gluten-free wholegrain bread, toasted
100g reduced-fat feta cheese
1 cup rocket
Pepita dukkah
3 tblsps pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
2 tblsps sesame seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp sumac
METHOD
1 Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2 Put the pumpkin on the tray and roast for 30 minutes or until tender.
3 Meanwhile, to make the dukkah, toast the pepitas, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and sumac in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 3 minutes or until fragrant, shaking the pan to avoid burning. Remove from the pan and grind with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle until the seeds are split but not powdery.
4 Put the eggs in a saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil. When the water has boiled, remove from the heat and leave the eggs in the water for two minutes. Run them under cold water and allow to cool slightly before peeling.
5 Coarsely mash the roasted pumpkin and season well.
6 Spread the mashed pumpkin onto warm toast, crumble the feta over the top, add a soft-boiled egg and sprinkle with dukkah. Serve with rocket.
Late last year I was feeling sluggish and tired. It may have been the fact I was at the end of a hectic year, but it was clear I had to make a lifestyle change and get my energy back for 2020. I’d heard about the Dietlicious 4 Week Body Reset Program, which has been created in partnership with leading dietician Zoe Bingley-Pullin, and as someone who hasn’t had a lot of success with diets, I thought this could be the path for me.
The program aims to reset eating habits by teaching you about nutrition (via daily emails) and the importance of movement and mindfulness in overall good health. The day before I started the program I received an email with my weekly meal plan (complete with Bingley-Pullin’s recipes and shopping list), and a box arrived with 20 support meals to last me the four weeks.
As a working mum these support meals were essential – let’s face it we’re all busy – so the option of heating up a pre-cooked healthy meal (with no side of guilt) was perfect. As Bingley-Pullin later told me: “These meals make staying on track so easy, as well as showing people what a healthy sized portion meal looks like.”
I’m no chef but I found the meals easy to cook and I used the morning emails as my daily accountability check-in, meaning I stayed on track. I really enjoyed the Pilates and strengthening sessions with trainers Olivia Crumpton and Matt Waterton and the weekly guided meditation with Bingley-Pullin.
“For me, both exercise and mindfulness are my natural antidepressants,” she says. “I wanted to create guided meditations tailored to support our key wellness topics.”
By the end of the month not only did I have more energy, I was sleeping better, and I had lost some weight. I could feel the program was working and I found it not only beneficial but motivating to know what I was putting into my body and why it was important to do so.