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The Power of Zzzzzzz

I used to think sleep was overrated – my philosophy mandated that I squeeze as much activity as possible into every 24 hour period, lest I miss something! Rest was for the weak. The less I slept, the more productive I believed I was! I lived this way throughout my youth and my 20s and maybe even the first year or two of my 30s…but I’ve changed my tune.

So what do I believe now? I believe sleep is grossly under-valued. We take it for granted, those of us who generally get a good stretch of it every night. I suppose that the chronically or severely sleep deprived have a better handle on the true value of sleep than the rest of us, since the absence of it makes its value painfully clear. I have great empathy and respect for night shift employees, those who suffer from insomnia or sleep-related disorders, etc. And at the moment I can relate just a teensy bit as the mother of a newborn. My 2-week-old daughter is actually a good sleeper so far, going 3-4 hours between feedings and not waking up much otherwise during the night; relative to some newborn behavior, I clearly have nothing to complain about! Nonetheless, the interrupted and shortened nights I’ve been living with lately have reminded me of how valuable good sleep is to my overall health and well being! With just 2-3 hours a night shaved off my norm, I can see and feel negative effects on my skin, my eyes, my patience, my energy level, and my temperament. In my go-go-go days gone by, I’m not sure I even noticed the ill effects my lack of sleep and rest were having on my body, but now I’m acutely aware of the impact of lost sleep and inadequate rest.

At Nourish, I eventually talk with all of my clients about Rest. Rest with a capital “R” encompasses sleep, but also includes other forms of recovery and rejuvenation (like quietly reading a favorite book or magazine or sipping a lemonade in a lawn chair). But sleep? It’s at the very core of Rest.

Why? Because sleep has physical and psychological benefits that can’t be overlooked. To highlight just a few:

Cellular Repair
As we sleep, the cells in our bodies produce proteins that repair damage inflicted by stress, exercise, pollutants, and all sorts of other things we battle during our waking hours. The more sleep we get, the more restoration our bodies can perform.

Easier Weight Maintenance
Adequate sleep is believed to keep two appetite-regulating hormones (leptin which signals fullness and ghrelin which stimulates the feeling of hunger) in check. When they are in the right range, you are less likely to overeat. Beyond that, people who are overtired have less willpower to make healthy food choices – they are more tempted by sugar, caffeine and snacks with their promise of quick hits of energy.

Enhanced Focus and Alertness
Simply put, sleep refreshes us. We are more alert and can think better, drive better, and perform better after a good night of sleep.

Improved Memory
Sleep has a positive effect on short term memory, allowing the brain to consolidate information taken in throughout the day so that it can be more easily recalled. This is why the ubiquitous college “all nighter” is counterproductive – wrapping up a study or work session and getting some sleep actually improves performance the next day.

Increased Energy
I used to believe that NOT sleeping a lot increased my productivity – I had more waking hours to get things done, right? Wrong. What I know now is that getting enough sleep actually boosts my energy level and focus so dramatically that I’m able to get more done in less time.

Better Skin and Clearer Eyes
Pick up virtually any women’s magazine and you’ll find an article touting the benefits of sleep on skin and eyes. When you haven’t slept enough, it shows. Simple as that.

More Even Temperament
Tired people are prone to mood swings, anxiety, anger and depression. Simply getting more sleep can help to regulate all of these emotional conditions, thereby improving relationships and overall quality of life.

Most adults need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep a day to perform at their peak. Yet many people today pride themselves on how LITTLE sleep they need. Haven’t you heard people bragging that they can get by on 4 or 5 hours? To that I say, if you feel great on 4-5 hours of sleep, just IMAGINE how you’d feel on 7!

Having learned and experienced the benefits of sleep, it’s now easier for me to justify an afternoon nap after a rough night with the baby. It’s easier to choose to go to bed early vs. staying up to finish one more thing on my never-ending To Do list. It’s easier to make those choices because I know they will pay dividends in all the benefits outlined above.

My hope is that you’ll give yourself the gift of experiencing these benefits firsthand by ensuring that you, too, are getting enough Zzzzzzzs.


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Summer Gazpacho

It’s HOT outside! The kind of hot that makes your makeup melt off and your clothes stick to you. The kind of hot that begs for gallons of iced tea to be in the fridge and for ceiling fans to assist the AC in doing its job. The kind of hot that makes people start thinking about making gazpacho….well, at least that’s what happens to ME!

Isn’t it convenient that just when the summer heat hits its peak, so too does the produce at the farmer’s market? It makes this gazpacho all the better.

For the uninitiated, gazpacho is a cold, tomato-based, often spicy, vegetable soup that can be pureed or left chunky. My personal preference is for the chunky version – the kind where you can still identify the vegetables that were used to create it. This one, which I’ve adapted from a Barefoot Contessa recipe, perfectly suits my style.

Be sure to make this before the summer produce starts to wane…then kick back on your patio or deck and serve this gorgeous soup in clear glass bowls to show off its colors and sheen. Top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream or Greek Yogurt and a sprinkle of freshly cut herbs. Open a bottle of a simple white wine (a Chenin Blanc perhaps) and toast to the heat of summer. Aaah.

Gazpacho
adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

serves 8

2 English cucumbers, seeded
3 red peppers, cored and seeded
6 heirloom tomatoes
1 large red onion
6 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups tomato juice (buy the best quality you can find)
1/2 cup white (or red) wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop the cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and onions into 1″ cubes. Separately put each vegetable into a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped (be careful not to puree!).
After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving.

Garnish each bowl with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of freshly cut herbs.

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Green Beans and Sweet Corn with Summer Vinaigrette

I am loving the bounty of fresh produce available at my local farmer’s markets and in my parents’ garden this summer! Every day presents another opportunity to do something simple and wonderful with all those fresh flavors. I’ve worked my way through tomato sandwiches, BLT’s, caprese, Greek salad, fresh tomato dressing (the one I wrote about in my July newsletter), corn on the cob, grilled zucchini and squash, ratatouille, and all my other standby favorites. And then I started trying new things…like this salad from a cookbook called Clean Food that my husband got me for Christmas last year. It was written by Terry Walters, a fellow graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and since all of the recipes are vegetarian (many are even vegan) it’s a great source when I’m looking for vegetable recipes in particular! This one jumped out at me when I found myself in possession of a rather large quantity of fresh green beans.

I’d serve this with a simply grilled meat or fish (flank steak? pork tenderloin? salmon? tilapia?) and a big bowl of fruit for an easy summer meal. It would also pack well for a picnic or barbecue – I’d add the dressing just before serving so the tomatoes don’t get overly juicy.

Green Beans and Sweet Corn with Summer Vinaigrette
photo credit: Whole Foods website

adapted from Clean Food Cookbook by Terry Walters

serves 6

1 1/2 cups fresh corn, cut from the cob
2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed
2 c. grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steam corn in microwave or steamer basket until tender (about 5 minutes). Set aside to cool.

Steam or boil green beans for 3 minutes or until bright green or just tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking, drain and add to corn.

In small bowl, whisk together olive oil through salt and pepper and pour over beans and corn. Add tomatoes and onions and toss to combine. Serve at room temperature (or cold).

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