In this episode of The Matcha Guardians, we dive into sleep—why it’s crucial, what affects it, and how we can improve it. Diana Weil, Elara Hadjipateras, and Jon Gay share their personal experiences with sleep struggles, night wakings, and the impact of lifestyle habits like alcohol, caffeine, and screen time.
Jon shares how cutting alcohol after 5 PM has significantly improved his sleep, but one late-night drink led to a restless night—reinforcing what we know about alcohol’s effect on blood sugar and sleep cycles. Diana explains the science behind this, highlighting how alcohol disrupts blood sugar levels, leading to middle-of-the-night wake-ups. She also notes that caffeine affects people differently based on genetics, with fast metabolizers able to drink coffee at night without issue while slow metabolizers, like Jon and herself, suffer from disrupted sleep.
Elara, as a parent of a young toddler and currently pregnant, shares her reality of fragmented sleep. She’s learned to manage by going to bed early and using audiobooks as a calming ritual before sleep. She recommends The Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros as a great bedtime escape- "dragon smut" as she refers to it.
The discussion shifts to sound therapy for sleep. Jon has experimented with frequency tones, while Diana swears by brown noise, which she finds much more soothing than white noise. Elara explains the different types of background noise—pink, brown, white, and green—and how they each serve unique purposes, from drowning out city noise to helping anxious minds relax.
The hosts also discuss sleep training for their babies. Diana initially planned on sleep training but found co-sleeping worked best—until frequent night wakings led her to try a gentle sleep-training method with her husband stepping in for nighttime soothing. This quickly resulted in longer sleep stretches for her baby. Elara, on the other hand, takes a more relaxed approach, still offering a bottle during night wakings and embracing the unpredictability of toddler sleep.
Diana shares her experience with night terrors, which started at age 12 and continued into adulthood. Surprisingly, she found relief when she began supplementing with B12 and omega-3s, hinting at a possible nutritional link. Elara reveals that she used to talk—and even cry—in her sleep, raising interesting questions about the subconscious mind and sleep habits.
Breathing exercises for relaxation also come up. While the 4-7-8 breathing method is well-known for reducing anxiety and aiding sleep, Elara finds that box breathing (equal-length inhales, holds, and exhales) can actually increase stress when done at night. She suggests it’s better suited for daytime stress management.
From a dietitian’s perspective, Diana emphasizes the role of nutrition in sleep quality. She advises against going to bed overly hungry and suggests balanced meals with proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbs to keep blood sugar stable overnight. If mid-night wake-ups are frequent, a small snack like peanut butter with an apple or string cheese with nuts can help. They key is combining two of the three macronutrients: fat, protein, and carbohydates.
Finally, the conversation turns to caffeine, particularly the benefits of switching from coffee to matcha. Elara breaks down how matcha provides a gentler, longer-lasting energy boost without the crash, thanks to its high L-theanine content. She suggests replacing afternoon coffee with matcha to improve sleep quality. They also highlight the new decaf matcha option from Matcha Kari for those who are caffeine-sensitive.
The episode wraps up with a reflection on society’s bias toward early risers and whether night owls are unfairly judged. The hosts also discuss the pressure of tracking sleep and fitness with technology, debating whether wearable devices actually help or just create unnecessary stress.
Ultimately, the key takeaway is that sleep quality is influenced by a mix of lifestyle choices, diet, stress management, and personal rhythms. While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, small, intentional habits—like cutting caffeine earlier, using sound therapy, or adjusting diet—can make a meaningful difference in how well we rest.
The Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros: https://www.goodreads.com/series/345921-the-empyrean
Hatch Sound Machine: https://www.hatch.co
Nanit Sound Machine: https://www.nanit.com/products/nanit-sound-light
Spotify Brown Noise Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/brown-noise
(00:00:00) – Intro to The Matcha Guardians Podcast
(00:00:21) – Why Sleep Is an Obsession for Us
(00:00:51) – Alcohol & Sleep: How It Disrupts Rest
(00:01:43) – Is Caffeine Affecting Your Sleep? Genetics & Processing
(00:03:08) – Why Some People Can Drink Coffee at Night & Others Can’t
(00:05:15) – Elara’s Sleep Struggles as a Mom & How She Manages
(00:06:23) – Sound Therapy: Brown Noise vs. White Noise
(00:09:59) – Do Babies Need Sleep Training? Different Approaches
(00:13:47) – The Reality of Sleep Deprivation for New Parents
(00:17:41) – Night Terrors, Sleep Talking & Strange Sleep Behaviors
(00:22:00) – Breathing Techniques for Sleep: What Works & What Doesn’t
(00:26:38) – How Diet Impacts Sleep: What to Eat & Avoid
(00:29:16) – Best Late-Night Snacks for Better Sleep
(00:30:15) – The Dangers of Overusing Sleep Medications
(00:31:59) – Are Sleep Trackers Helpful or Harmful?
(00:35:26) – Hara Hachi Bu: The Japanese Approach to Eating Mindfully
(00:38:01) – Are Night Owls Unfairly Judged? Early Birds vs. Late Risers
(00:40:09) – Should Schools Start Later for Better Sleep?
(00:42:26) – The Matcha vs. Coffee Debate: Which Is Better for Sleep?
(00:46:04) – Jon’s Experiment: Switching Afternoon Coffee for Matcha
(00:48:09) – Matcha Kari’s New Decaf Matcha for Better Sleep
(00:48:50) – Final Thoughts & How to Improve Your Sleep Tonight
Matcha Sleep
Speakers: Diana Weil, Elara Hadjipateras, & Jon Gay
[Music Playing]
Voiceover (00:00):
Welcome to The Matcha Guardians Podcast, brought to you by matcha.com. Here we focus on the biggest trending health topics of our time, featuring the greatest and upcoming wellness advocates. Now here are the Matcha Guardians, licensed dietitian, Diana Weil and medical journalist, Elara Hadjipateras.
Elara Hadjipateras (00:21):
Hello, and welcome to this week's episode.
Diana Weil (00:24):
So, since becoming a mother, this has been a topic that I am obsessed with. I talk about daily. I also appreciate when someone talks to me about it (laughs).
We are talking about sleep, which I think even if you're not a parent, is something that is so important to all of us and has huge health implications. And we kind of just want to dive into the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between.
Jon Gay (00:51):
I'm going to go back to something we've talked about in previous episodes of the podcast, which is alcohol and sleep. I have made it a point to not have any alcohol after probably 5 or 6:00 PM and it's immensely helped my sleep.
But we had friends pop over last minute last night, and he wanted to have a drink. So, I had a drink with him at eight, nine o'clock, and my body woke up at 2, 3:00 AM for half an hour before I could fall back asleep.
So, I am definitely on the do not drink within several hours of going to bed. And last night, it's funny we're having this conversation today because I did not follow my own advice.
Diana Weil (01:29):
So, you notice, and okay, here's a question that I have for you. Is that something with alcohol that is like a new thing? Or when you were in your 20s, if you had something to drink, would you wake up at that 2, 3:00 PM or 2, 3:00 AM?
Jon Gay (01:43):
And for our listeners who haven't heard previous episodes of the podcast, I am older than Elara and Diana, I am now 44. And I have noticed it as I got into my later 30s and into my 40s. As I got older, it definitely became more pronounced, alcohol and especially also, I'll mention this, caffeine.
Whether it's coffee or matcha. I have made it a point, sometimes I had that mid-afternoon lag, and I'll have a coffee at three, four in the afternoon. After about 5:00 PM, no, I have to cut off the caffeine, whether it's, again, soda, matcha, coffee, whatever it is, or it will really mess with my sleep cycle.
Diana Weil (02:21):
I have two little tidbits for both of you coming from a dietetics perspective. So, that happens to me with alcohol too. If I drink before going to bed, I will wake up at that 2, 3:00 AM timeframe. Almost without a doubt, I'll wake up.
And it didn't use to happen to me, but it does now late 20s and now that I'm in my 30s. And so, one of the reasons for that is that alcohol really messes with your blood sugar. And so, at that 2:00 AM, 3:00 AM time is when your blood sugar tanks and that kind of wakes you up.
So, if you get out of bed and have a little snack, you might be able to go back to sleep rather than spending 30, 60 minutes lying awake, looking at the ceiling. And then with caffeine, this is also really interesting. Have you guys heard about those people who drink a cup of coffee at 11:00 PM and then they're like, “Oh, it doesn't affect …
Elara Hadjipateras (03:08):
That’s like my father, he has like two espressos and a cappuccino at the end of a meal, just like goes to bed.
Diana Weil (03:13):
I can't imagine, I would have to be in the hospital. You would have to give me some very heavy medication. So, that comes down to genetics. There are two different processors of caffeine. And so, people who are fast processors of caffeine can drink an espresso at 11:00 PM and go to sleep.
Whereas the slow processors, like Jon and I, Elara I'm curious where you're at with this, the slow processors, if we have caffeine too late, it really messes with the sleep. So, I think it's important to know what — most people listening probably have an idea listening to this, “Oh, I'm a fast processor, I'm a slow processor.”
If you're a slow processor and you don't want to mess with your sleep, I'd really recommend cutting caffeine off. 5:00 PM’s actually pretty late, Jon.
Jon Gay (03:55):
Yeah. And I'm trying to get closer to three or four, but you asked us both how we slept last night. We should probably ask Elara the same question.
Diana Weil (04:00):
I know. Well, let's get into the meat Elara.
Elara Hadjipateras (04:04):
If you've listened to previous podcasts, you probably know that I have a young toddler at this point, like 13-month-old who (news flash) is not sleeping through the night. He sleeps in my room with me in his own bed next to me.
And he actually routinely wakes up between two and three in the morning. I don't think he has any sort of drinking issues or habits, but he tends to wake up at that time, which means I'm waking up at that time.
I'm also pregnant at the moment, so I feel like I'm a bad barometer. I'm waking up to either pee, to stick a pacifier in my baby's mouth or let the dog out because the dog has woken up from the baby crying and now has decided that he wants to go outside and pee or sniff coyotes.
So, not so great. But for me, my barometer of good sleep these days is like, I need to just be in bed early and I need to be off of my screen. So, if I am in bed by 8:30, that's really good because then by the time two or three rolls around, I've gotten like a pretty good chunk of sleep.
If I can get four to six hours of uninterrupted sleep at this point, that's really good. And then I pick up another two or three hours, that's a win for me. And then I'm kind of like at that eight-hour mark, which tends to be good for me.
Jon Gay (05:15):
I'm impressed you can make it to bed by 8:30 because (laughs) sometimes I have designs of wanting to go to bed at eight or nine, and the next thing I know it's 10.
Elara Hadjipateras (05:23):
Okay. So, I'm going to share my latest healthy sleep habit that has been a game changer for me. Because normally what happens is I put the baby to bed between 6:30 and 7:30 and then it's like “Okay Elara, this is your time.”
During the day, I want to stay up, I want to do whatever I want to do. I want to take a bath; I want to hang out with Peter. I want to watch some TV shows. I've gotten really into a new audio book series, so I could just-
Diana Weil (05:46):
Share the series Elara, share the series.
Elara Hadjipateras (05:47):
I've been very into the romantasy series by Rebecca Yarros, the Empyrean series. So, like the Fourth Wing, Iron Wing, it's some quality dragon smut writing. And it's really helped me honestly, so I'm excited to just jump into bed about an hour after I get the little guy down and I fall asleep listening to it. After about 30 to 45 minutes, I'm out.
And then it's been this really nice way to fall asleep without having any racing thoughts, without feeling like I need to look at my phone to check emails, anything like that.
Jon Gay (06:23):
Okay, let me ask you this. I have found, thanks to incessant Facebook ads, there are several Spotify playlists that have certain frequency sounds that are supposed to help you sleep. I went through a period of a few weeks where I think I was really busy with work, and I was stressed out and had a lot on my mind.
And I listened to these tones of like 400, 600, 800 hertz, whatever it was. And it actually helped me fall asleep. Either one of you have experienced with that?
Diana Weil (06:51):
Yes, absolutely. I got to whisper it because it puts me into such a relaxed state. So, everyone listens to the white noise, and I found listening to white noise was so grating for me. And would make me feel really anxious and I could not sleep with any white noise on.
But when we had Elio, I got the Hatch sound machine. I don’t know if you guys have heard of it. And the first one that popped up was brown noise, which I'd never heard of before. And so, we started playing brown noise and it was a game changer for me in terms of helping me fall asleep. Made me feel really relaxed.
And Spotify has a deep brown noise playlist that plays for something like 13 hours. And it's so relaxing and calming and it's the only sound that seems to work for me. And so, I actually, I did some research on this, and I don't know if this is true or not, I haven't done deep research. But from what it looked like for people who tend to be a little bit more anxious, brown noise is a lot more helpful than white noise.
Elara Hadjipateras (07:53):
There's a bunch of different, not white noises, but noises, background sounds you can listen to. There's the brown noise, which stereotypically it's used for focus, to focus. So, I think that makes sense to me, that if you're anxious and you have a lot of different thoughts competing, it just kind of creates this linear effect.
Then you have pink noise, which is supposed to be especially good for sleep. Green, which makes you calm if you're like high cortisol levels stressed out, maybe watching some murder shows before bed.
And then white noise is- just the benefit of white noise is just drowning out background noise. So, it's especially beneficial if you live in a city. There's dump trucks, there's fire engines, there's a bunch of stuff in the background that you don't want and you want to drown it out. But it's not good as just a noise to introduce into a space. Apparently.
Jon Gay (08:42):
It’s funny and anybody who has lived or grown up in New York City or a large city where the sirens just become sort of part of the atmosphere. And sometimes you bring them out to the country for a night and they can't deal with the silence because it's so foreign to them.
The other point that I want to make is, as an audio engineer and a podcast producer, we're talking about colored noise, brown noise, pink, white noise, white noise. For me, I think in terms of audio frequency, like how many hertz, how many kilohertz? And there's translations for all that as far as what audio frequency each one of those colors is.
Elara Hadjipateras (09:15):
So, are there certain voices that hit a certain audio frequency, Jon, that are considered to be more calming or attractive in a podcast?
Jon Gay (09:23):
Both of yours.
(Laughter)
Elara Hadjipateras (09:25):
That was-
Diana Weil (09:26):
We pay him to say that.
Elara Hadjipateras (09:26):
The right answer. Yeah (laughs). He’s our producer.
Diana Weil (09:29):
Elara, do you play noise for Koa?
Elara Hadjipateras (09:33):
I do. I guess I play … I use the Nanit sound machine, like sound and light machine. And I use the feature for wind. It creates a wind effect, which is kind of like a whooshing sound. I have to say in the beginning it drove me absolutely crazy. I hated it. I grew up in the countryside. I like quiet. But I've gotten used to it at this point. It doesn't even seem to register.
Jon Gay (09:59):
You've both mentioned your sons at this point. Where are you both on sleep training? And I know that Koa is a couple months older than Elio, but where are you in terms of sleep training, in terms of do you buy it? Are you trying it? Have you tried it?
Diana Weil (10:16):
Okay, I wanted to get into this topic. Elara, do you want to go first?
Elara Hadjipateras (10:19):
No, you go first. Because I feel like you're kind of like at a crossroads of trying something new versus I've just kind of — not to say I've given up, but I'm just kind of-
Jon Gay (10:26):
And just for reference, we're recording this on February 14th. Happy Valentine's Day, by the way.
Diana Weil (10:30):
Happy Valentine's Day.
Elara Hadjipateras (10:30):
Happy Valentine's Day.
Jon Gay (10:32):
How old is Elio as we're recording this now?
Diana Weil (10:34):
He'll be eight months in five days. So, he's just about eight months. So, before having him, I was really pro sleep training. I was like, it's good for the mom. What's good for the mom, is good for the baby. Teaches the baby how to sleep.
I also want to preface this by saying that I have a hard time sleeping. I'm not a good sleeper. I'm a very light sleeper. I have a history of night terrors. I want to share that with you guys too because that's also an interesting story. I'm not a good sleeper.
So, for me, I was like, oh my gosh, if I could give the gift of sleep to my baby, why would I not want to do that? And then I had him and (laughs) I was like, “I'm not letting him cry alone in a room. Are you kidding me?”
So, he ended up in bed with us (laughs) which I'm not against co-sleeping. I think that you can do it safely. I think it's important to learn about co-sleeping and know the correct ways to do it. I think falling asleep on a couch or in a chair is not safe. So, there's safe ways, there's not safe ways.
But I was turned out to be not against other people's sleep training, but it just didn't feel right for me personally. And Elio was also a pretty good sleeper. I mean, he was a fairly decent sleeper up until I would say about six months when he was waking up every hour and a half to two hours just to nurse. And I got to the point where that was no longer working for me because-
Jon Gay (11:59):
There was a point where that was working for you (laughs)?
Diana Weil (12:01):
Well, you know, it was like for the — I'm someone who does okay on with sleep deprivation.
Elara Hadjipateras (12:06):
Women are incredible, Jon. Women are incredible.
Jon Gay (12:08):
You don’t have to tell me.
Diana Weil (12:08):
Women are incredible. If Harley wakes up once during the middle of the night, he's a demon monster and I'm okay, I can deal with sleep deprivation. So, I was okay with it for a while. Also, he's on the skinnier side of babies, so I wanted to make sure that he was getting plenty of calories during the day.
And then I realized that he was so distracted during the day and only nursing at night. So, we kind of got into this bad pattern where he was getting his calories at night. I was waking up every hour and a half to two hours and then as a reaction, I would just bring him into bed with us.
And that wasn't working for me anymore. So, we decided to do some very gentle sleep training. For anyone listening, there's a lot of different methods for sleep training. The one that worked best for us is I would send my husband in because if he was around the boobies, it wasn't going to work for us.
One because I wouldn't deny him. And two, he knew what he wanted. And it wasn't my husband (laughs) so well, it wasn't me without nursing him, is what I should say. So, we spent one night where Harley would go in at every waking and he would just hold him or put a hand on him or hold his hand and allowed him to fall asleep on his own.
So, he wasn't alone crying in a room, but he also wasn't nursing to sleep, which is what he is used to doing. And what felt right for me was still nursing one time in the middle of the night. I picked any time after 1:00 AM and I would nurse him, but the other times he would have to fall asleep on his own.
We spent one night doing this and he has been sleeping through the night ever since. That feels really good. We're only on week two, so we're still new in this, but I am glad that we did it. It feels right to me. I also have no judgment towards what works for other people because babies are-
Elara Hadjipateras (13:47):
Question, when you say sleep through the night, like he's not feeding once during the night.
Diana Weil (13:50):
Yes, okay. This is a good question too because what is sleep through the night?
Elara Hadjipateras (13:55):
You can bleep through this out. But if that's the case [bleep] you. Lovingly, but that's amazing.
Diana Weil (14:01):
So, like last night I put him down at 6:30 and he didn't wake up until four and then I fed him and then we went back to sleep until 6:15. And then the other night he woke up once at 9:00 PM and then he slept until 5:30.
So, for me, that's sleeping … I mean that's not a seven-to-seven chunk, but that's good enough for me.
Elara Hadjipateras (14:21):
But it's not a huge disruption. Yeah. It's like a quick 10 minute, wake up-
Diana Weil (14:24):
10 minutes, I nurse him really quickly. And then also, we're doing daycare and daycare naps were terrible because he didn't know how to put himself to sleep. So, now that he has gained that skill, our daycare naps have gotten better. So, anyways, that's my sleep training story. My brain is turning back on.
Jon Gay (14:41):
So, based on Elara's visceral reaction to Diana, I'm guessing your sleep training with Koa has been slightly different.
Elara Hadjipateras (14:50):
I don't think there's been any training. I guess we tried some sleep training the first three months of his life, which looking back was kind of a ridiculous notion because he was like just out of my womb, and he didn't know what was going on.
I do think there's something to certain babies, like they're better sleepers than others, maybe it's genetic, maybe it has to do with like how much meat they have on their bones. Koa has also been a little bit on the skinnier side, so I've never been the type to deny him eating in the middle of the night.
That being said, slightly different approach than you Diana, since about two months I stopped nursing through the night. So, I gave myself the optionality to not be the person waking up in the middle of the night to feed him.
So, Peter and I would basically switch on and off. Like one night he was on bottle duty, feed Koa, it was about like two times, sometimes once a night up until now. So, fast forward to now, he's now 13 plus months, like 13 months and change. And he wakes up usually at least one time a night.
When he wakes up, like I said, it's kind of between — now it's been between the 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM range. I will just stick a bottle in his mouth. I will change his diaper and then he'll pass back out and usually sleep until 5:30 to 6:30. And that's like a quick kind of like 10-minute thing.
Then for whatever reason, there are nights that he “pops off” as they say, and I will do the whole stick the bottle in his mouth. It's like a watered-down bottle at this point. Because I think our house is very dry, so I'm almost like, I wake up with a dry mouth, like maybe he just has a dry mouth and wants to be hydrated.
So, I kind of do half water, half milk. He's on whole milk at this point. And I give him that. I change his diaper because he doesn't like being in a wet diaper, much like Elio. And sometimes he just is like, “Nope, I'm up. I just want to be up.”
And from what I've read, that tends to happen sometimes when they're developing new skills. So, Koa has become a little bit more of a proficient walker. And in the middle of the night, he wants to walk around, he wants to hold the Swiffer, he wants to go into the kitchen and bounce up and down.
This can last, these night crawler episodes can last for about 45 minutes to an hour and a half. And those are the tough nights. But at this stage they're more few and far between, which has been nice. But they do still occasionally happen.
And like I said, he sleeps in the room with me. He's in a separate bed. I don't bring him into bed with me because I just found that I do not sleep well because I just have this constant feeling of like, what if he falls off the bed? What if I roll over on him? What if Peter rolls over on him? What if I elbow him?
Because much like Diana, I don't have the history of being the best sleeper myself. So, I know that Diana mentioned her night terrors, which I really want you to get into. In college, I discovered from my roommate that sometimes I'm a night crier.
Jon Gay (17:40):
Whoa.
Elara Hadjipateras (17:41):
Yeah. I cry in my sleep. I don't know if this is a red flag in terms of me not being opening up with my feelings during the day when I'm awake. Who knows?
(Laughter)
Jon Gay (17:51):
You have it on this podcast through 20-some-odd episodes.
Elara Hadjipateras (17:53):
I know, right. I don't know. I was a different breed I guess in my late teens and my early 20s. But yeah, she said that sometimes I'd like be crawling, or I'd be crying in my sleep. And she was very disturbed by it, and I was like, “I have no recollection of that. I slept well.”
Diana Weil (18:07):
Do you still do that? Has Peter said that you cry in your sleep?
Elara Hadjipateras (18:10):
I don't cry in my sleep, but I talk in my sleep a lot. And when I was younger, and I had bunk beds with my brother at one point who's a year and a half older than me. So, close to Irish twins, but not quite. We would talk to each other in our dreams.
Jon Gay (18:24):
Whoa.
Elara Hadjipateras (18:25):
My mom said, yeah.
Diana Weil (18:26):
Wow.
Elara Hadjipateras (18:27):
Yep.
Diana Weil (18:28):
That is so interesting.
Elara Hadjipateras (18:30):
Yeah. And it would be about weird topics. Like the last time my mom told me she heard us having a conversation was we rented an Airbnb and we were sleeping in twin beds, next to each other in the same room. And she came in and said that we were arguing over putting coins in a bucket.
We were like, “No, no, no, coins in the bucket.” He was like, “No, no, no, dump them out of the bucket.” Nonsensical stuff.
Diana Weil (18:55):
That is so interesting.
Elara Hadjipateras (18:57):
Kind of weird, right?
Jon Gay (18:58):
Yeah.
Elara Hadjipateras (18:58):
Kind of weird.
Jon Gay (18:58):
Okay. Diana, you mentioned the night terrors. What was your experience?
Diana Weil (19:02):
Yes. So, night terrors in children are pretty common and usually kids grow out of them. But I had the reverse, where when I was 12-years-old I started having night terrors. So, I would have these really violent dreams, and I would scream bloody murder in my dreams.
And they would always happen about 20 minutes after I'd fallen asleep. I think the very first one I had, I was sharing a bed with my sister, and I had tried to attack her, so if I was having a sleepover with a friend, I would hit them with a pillow.
I mean, they're very real to me. And I had them almost every night up through high school. And then when I went to college, I had a lot of anxiety about waking up the whole dorm room screaming. And so, I think that I kind of, I still had the dreams, but I would train myself not to scream anymore.
But so, here's the really interesting piece. So, I've been a vegetarian my entire life and as a vegetarian, the two, I mean there's a couple, but two of the main deficiencies that you're very prone to are omega-3s, which you get from fish or algae. And then B12, which are mostly from animal sources.
And when I started my master's program for nutrition, I was learning about all these vitamins and supplements, and I started taking a multivitamin that contained a high dose of B12, and an algae Omega-3 supplement. And my night terrors stopped.
And so, I don't know if it was a deficiency that was causing these or if maybe eventually, I grew out of them and every now and then I'll still have them. I don't scream anymore. But it was a life-changing experience for me that I could take one of these supplements and these dreams went away.
But I did have, when I had my baby, I did have a concern. Sometimes I'll just wake up because I think that the house is on fire, but I'll wake up and I'm in a place that's not the bedroom, where I'll be doing something that's kind of weird.
And so, when I had him, I had so much anxiety and just a lot of intrusive thoughts that I would do something weird in my sleep. And so, that's been a process of knowing that I would never do anything to actually … there is a conscious part of me even during those moments and I would never do something that would put my baby in harm or something like that.
But that was the first couple nights for home from the hospital, I was really scared that I would have one of these dreams and like do something to him like think that he was, I don’t know-
Jon Gay (21:21):
How did you work through that Diana?
Diana Weil (21:23):
I think I just had to process it of just knowing that there was a conscious part of me and that I've never hurt someone in my sleep before. I mean, maybe I've thrown a pillow at them but that I am still in control of myself and that these dreams aren't a true representation of reality.
And I just have had to trust myself and yeah, I mean, they've largely gone away, but really, they're hard to have, it's hard to have these really scary night terrors.
Jon Gay (21:52):
For sure.
Elara Hadjipateras (21:53):
Did you try any particular breathing techniques kind of before bed to help you prime yourself?
Diana Weil (22:00):
Yes. Okay. So, I want to get into this too. So, I did occasionally, but I have a secret here to admit to people while I recommend everyone does breathing exercises, I have a very hard time doing them. And I think that that's something that I could largely improve upon.
Let's talk about good habits. Are you guys good at doing breathing exercises before bed or meditation?
Elara Hadjipateras (22:21):
When I'm actively teaching yoga, yes. When I'm not, no.
Diana Weil (22:25):
Elara, you shared something really interesting with me about box breaths before we logged on here. Will you share it?
Elara Hadjipateras (22:32):
Yes, absolutely.
Jon Gay (22:33):
We talked about box breathing in a previous podcast.
Elara Hadjipateras (22:35):
Have we talked about box breathing? Yes. So, something I've found just working with clients, personal experience and just getting feedback is usually during a yoga class there is a component of breath work. It's all about connecting the breath with the body. And I found that when I did the 5, 7, 8 breath-
Diana Weil (22:53):
4, 7, 8.
Elara Hadjipateras (22:54):
4, sorry, 4, 7, 8 breath, correct. The 4, 7, 8 breath. It was very effective at creating a nice, calm, relaxed state. It was very good when I started classes with people lying on their backs, like in the position of Shavasana.
So, it's kind of that full surrender, that full release position where I had a lot of clients say fall asleep in my yin or slow flow yoga classes, which is great.
Jon Gay (23:18):
What is the 4 7, 8 breathing?
Elara Hadjipateras (23:19):
Diana?
Diana Weil (23:21):
Okay, so this is really powerful breath technique where you inhale for a count of four through your nose. So, 4, 3, 2, 1, you hold for seven and then you exhale forcibly through your mouth as if you are blowing out a candle for eight, like that.
And then you do it four times. So, in for four, hold for seven out for eight, you're going to do four rounds of that. And the more you practice this, the more beneficial it gets. And so, ideally you would do it in the morning and you do it in the evening and it can help with breath, it can lower blood pressure.
It's really good for anxiety. It can really prevent or improve if you're having a panic attack, highly recommend it to pretty much everyone. And yet I'm not so great at practicing it (laughs).
Elara Hadjipateras (24:10):
Easier than done.
Jon Gay (24:10):
Do as I say, not as I do.
Diana Weil (24:11):
Yes, exactly (laughs).
Elara Hadjipateras (24:13):
Easier said than done. I don't tend to do the 4, 7, 8 breath before bed, but I do at least what I've heard it referred to as the Navy SEAL breath. Have you guys heard about this?
Diana Weil (24:21):
No.
Elara Hadjipateras (24:22):
So, it's 5, 5, 5 all through the nose. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Hold 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Exhale 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. So, obviously being a Navy SEAL, it's a very stressful job. You find yourself in a pickle quite a lot and you need to be able to keep your cool.
So, it's something that's very impactful when you're already kind of at a really heightened stress and it's going to bring you down. So, it's also a really good thing for athletes to learn when they're doing interval training, anything like that. If you're into high rocks to kind of, you're spiking your heart rate, how do you quickly bring it down in between?
So, I've always been the type of person who loves yoga for athletes. So, that's something that I employ a lot in my classes, but something that I personally have always loved is the box breath, which is basically you are breathing for the same amount of time as you're inhaling, then you're holding your breath in for the same amount of time, then you're exhaling in the same amount of time.
It could be five seconds and then you're just sitting at the bottom of your breath. So, you're neither breathing in, nor out, nor holding your breath for the same amount of time.
I have found when teaching this in a class that's at night or people are lying down, this can actually increase your anxiety. It can make your stress skyrocket and go through the roof and actually send people into panic attacks.
The only time when I found box breathing to be an effective method to calm the central nervous system was during daytime classes where it was taught in a sitting upright position. So, it's something that I like to use. So, say if you're kind of having road rage, that's a really good time to use the box breath.
If you're sitting and you're commuting on a train into work, that's a good time to use the box breath. Maybe you're stressed out on a Zoom call, that's a good time to use the box breath. But it was not good as far as relaxing people or not something I would recommend for you to do to sleep well.
Jon Gay (26:18):
So, your mileage may vary when it comes to breathing at night. Diana, you had mentioned, alluded this a little bit earlier and that is nutrition with your role as a licensed dietitian here, wondering what thoughts or experiences you have or advice for what to eat, how to get a better night's sleep through what you're eating and drinking.
Diana Weil (26:38):
Yeah. Well and I kind of mentioned it right when we started about the snack. I think a lot of times people wonder about snacks and yeah, exactly what you mentioned about how food impacts sleep. And I think it has a big impact.
One of the things that I see with people is, especially if they're trying to lose weight, which a lot of times people are just chronically dieting, we're always trying to lose weight. So, they get into these patterns of not eating enough for dinner and then they either go into sleep starving or at say 11:00 PM they're raiding the freezer and eating an entire tub of ice cream, which isn't going to set you up for success with sleep either.
So, I think it's really healthy to have a substantial dinner around 5, 6:00 PM have complex carbohydrates, a good solid fat and a protein. And then, if you want to have a little dessert, have a little bit of dessert.
I do think it's really healthy to have a fast while you're sleeping. So, if you fast from you have dinner at 6:00 PM and then you have breakfast at 6:00 AM I think it's good to let your body do the things that it needs to do while you're sleeping rather than just constantly digesting.
But having a meal that has fats, proteins, and complex carbohydrates are going to help balance your blood sugars while you're sleeping. For some people though, depending on your how you're eating patterns, I think it can be helpful to have a little snack before bedtime.
Especially if you find yourself waking up at that 2, 3:00 AM time, which is usually because can be because your blood sugars are tanking. So, if you want to have a snack before bed, I always recommend pairing two macronutrients.
So, either having a snack with proteins and carbohydrates or fat and carbohydrates or fat and protein so that it can kind of balance those blood sugars and keep you going through the night. So, Elara, you mentioned whole milk.
So, maybe you have a glass of whole milk and a handful of nuts, or you have some cottage cheese and a piece of fruit. I don't necessarily recommend having the bowl of ice cream or the chocolate bar right before bed. I don't think that that sets you up for success.
But when I was pregnant, I would wake up starving and I'm not a nighttime eater and like I said, I usually recommend a 12-hour fast while you're sleeping. So, I was really hesitant to get out of bed and go grab a snack.
And then finally one night I was like, “Okay, I'm going to get up. I'm going to go get myself a snack. I would have a snack, and I'd fall right back asleep. So, if you are someone who always wakes up at that 2, 3:00 AM time, having a snack might be really beneficial for you.
Elara Hadjipateras(29:02):
Are you guys-
Diana Weil (29:03):
Yeah, go ahead.
Elara Hadjipateras (29:04):
Well, no, I was going to say what are five easy snacks off the top of your head that someone can grab. Like they wake up two to three, pop into the kitchen, easy snacks.
Diana Weil (29:16):
So, I would say apple and peanut butter or banana and peanut butter, string cheese and a handful of nuts. A bowl of cereal with whole milk. What else? Maybe avocado toast. Cottage cheese. And what do you put in cottage cheese? Cottage cheese and berries.
Elara Hadjipateras (29:36):
Everything you named I think I routinely get up and eat sometimes in the middle of the night. Yeah.
Diana Weil (29:42):
I do want to clarify that a bowl of cereal is not like Cocoa Puffs.
Elara Hadjipateras (29:46):
CRISPx. Where does CRISPx fall in spectrum?
Diana Weil (29:49):
That's a pretty good cereal, right? It's not like a super high sugar.
Elara Hadjipateras (29:52):
I'll take it.
Diana Weil (29:52):
Some fiber in there.
Elara Hadjipateras (29:54):
Yeah.
Jon Gay (29:54):
Not the sugar bombs that I grew up with in the 80s for sure.
Elara Hadjipateras2 (29:56):
Yeah, I probably wouldn't recommend those, but some lucky charms not going to be good for sleep. Have you ever fallen into the pattern of, I don't know, not taking … maybe taking prescription grade sleeping pills, but like become reliant on like Advil PM or anything like that?
Jon Gay (30:15):
I'll say I had a respiratory thing I think back in December or January, and I had a couple of them actually. And because I was waking up with a cough or waking up with a sore throat or waking up all stuffed up, there were a few times that I took Tylenol PM and knocked myself out because I needed a full night's sleep.
But I really tried to be careful about not doing it for more than like, two nights in a row. Because I really didn't want to open up Pandora's box when it came to that.
Diana Weil (30:45):
Yeah, I feel the same way. There have been a couple times, I think even when I was pregnant where I would take like half a Unisom because I hadn't slept in two weeks. And I was like, wow, what a gift, what a gift that was to sleep through the night.
And then I was like, I can't do it for more than two nights in a row, because that feels like opening Pandora's box a little bit and I don't want to become reliant on it.
Jon Gay (31:08):
Elara?
Elara Hadjipateras (31:09):
I would say there's been a handful of times, when I've had a really bad cough to your point, taking some NyQuil has worked wonders. Dealing with jet lag while traveling, popping an Advil PM has been great. But to your points, not doing it more than two days in a row.
Diana Weil (31:26):
Where do you guys land on — so this is a question that I've been thinking about a lot lately. We have all this technology, like the Oura rings, the watches that measure our sleep. And so, a lot of times people wear them, they'll wake up the next day, they check their score.
And then I notice that if you have a low score, it's almost like we're letting our watches and rings tell us how we feel the next morning. And I'm like, well, what happens if you get a low score, but you actually feel good? I don't know, it's like something that I've been thinking about lately.
Jon Gay (31:59):
I've got to jump in onto this one.
Diana Weil (31:59):
Yes, please.
Jon Gay (32:00):
So, I am a slave to my Apple watch. Again, not to promote anything. I'm not on the take from them or anything. But I am a slave when it comes to the working out on the Apple watch and closing my rings and my minutes of exercise and my calories burned and my stand hours. And I'm pretty good about following that because it keeps me honest, and it makes sure that I work out.
So, for a while I was wearing my watch to bed, put it on theater mode so the screen doesn't light up and keep me awake or mess with my sleep cycle. And then I would wake up the next morning and I'd check my sleep score, and it was never accurate.
So, I think this might be where you're going with this, Diana, is I would feel great. I felt like I had a great night's sleep. “Your sleep score is 20.” And I'm like, what? And then there were nights where I tossed and turned all night, and, “Your sleep score is 85.” So, I gave up on it.
Now I just put my watch on the charger and go to bed and don't even mess with it anymore. Haven't used the rings or anything like that. But that's been my experience with the Apple watch.
Diana Weil (32:54):
Elara, where do you land on this?
Elara Hadjipateras (32:56):
I'm with Jon. I have gone through phases of using an Apple watch, of using a Polar Ignite, which also tracked my sleep, of using a Whoop that tracked my daily strain and then my recovery overnight. It was all over the place. It was not accurate by any means.
And if anything, it kind of affected my mentality for the next day where I would justify like, “I'm not going to go to the gym today. I have so much strain,” and I had like zero recovery. Or the opposite effect of just like, “I must not be … I'm feeling pretty good, but like according to the watch I really should just take a break.”
Diana Weil (33:33):
Yeah.
Jon Gay (33:34):
Have you heard the phrase gamification where everything is turned into a video game and it's probably for Gen X, elder millennials and younger. I mentioned the exercise rings on my Apple watch. I had a goal for 2024 that I was going to close my move ring, which was to burn 660 calories, every single day in 2024.
And I did it, I did it when I was traveling. I was in some really bad hotel treadmills at one point. I did it when I had COVID in 2024. I got the whole year and at the end of the year I was at my highest weight ever because I was so focused on checking the box and finishing the video game and closing the ring that I really wasn't paying as much attention to exercising versus food intake.
It didn't matter what I put in my body, as long as I got to my 660 calories burned, I was good. So, in 2025 especially, I've got an event coming up that I'm got a new suit that I'm trying to fit into. I really want to make sure that I am balancing what I'm putting in and what I'm working out in a much more healthy way than just so I can say, “Look at me, I closed my rings, I got fireworks on my watch.”
Diana Weil (34:45):
Yeah, I think that that's my gripe with them is that I almost feel like rather than being in tune with our bodies and saying, maybe today it's not best for me to hit my steps because I'm sick or my cortisol is really high, and I should have a chiller workout that's not going to spike my stress levels.
Or last night I actually slept really well, but instead of being in tune with our bodies, we're allowing technology to tell us how we feel. And I don't like that. It just doesn't sit right with me.
Elara Hadjipateras (35:18):
Have either of you ever been familiar with the terminology, it's a Japanese terminology, Hara hachi bu, have you heard of this?
Diana Weil (35:26):
No.
Elara Hadjipateras (35:26):
So, it's the Japanese phrasing of eating until you feel 80% full. So, that's been something that has been a mantra of mine for this year. As far as you say, like goals like closing your ring. So, mine is eating until I'm 80% full. Not until I'm six feet deep underground, because I'm very hungry as a pregnant woman, especially my second trimester.
But stopping and eating when I'm 80% full, not feeling totally full, trying to be more mindful of eating slowly and paying attention to eating. That being said, I'm still doing a lot of standing and eating, which I know isn't great because of having a toddler.
But that's been something that's been pretty impactful for me, especially while I'm trying to maintain a high workout regimen. To your point Jon, it's like just because I'm working out, just because I'm going to CrossFit five days a week, that doesn't mean I can unleash the floodgates and just eat as much as I want.
Jon Gay (36:20):
You did learn from your first pregnancy to realize there's a stopping point to the CrossFit at some point, right Elara (laughs)?
Elara Hadjipateras (36:28):
Yes. Well, I'll have you know, and for all the listeners, we're going to be having a pre and postnatal exercise expert coming on the podcast a few weeks from now. She's going to be part of season three's releases, and she's going to be debunking some of the common theories as far as when you're pregnant.
And I want to preface this where, look, everyone's pregnancy is different and you should obviously always have clearance from your doctor, but there's a lot of myths around women. They shouldn't do weight training; they shouldn't do strengthening while pregnant.
And actually, more new research has come out to support the fact that strength training, weight training can really help you through your birth and your recovery after pregnancy. So, the answer is, is no I'm — okay, I did have a one-rep max PR last week, but I think that I'm at my final arc, now approaching 20 weeks and like today, you'll be proud to know that in my class, I did not go for a one-rep max snatch. I stopped.
Jon Gay (37:25):
For those that are new to the show, Elara had to be told to slow down in her first pregnancy, which is why I asked that question.
(Laughter)
Elara Hadjipateras (37:32):
Yes, it's a common theme throughout my life. I get told to slow down. So (laughs) yeah.
Diana Weil (37:39):
So, I have a philosophical question for you guys. Do you think that as a society, we are unfairly prejudiced against night owls and that we reward early risers and is that right? Should we or should we not?
Jon Gay (38:01):
That's a really good one. I have changed over the course of my life. So, in college I was writing papers at three, four in the morning. I pulled a couple all-nighters that I pulled, stuff like that.
And as I've gotten older now, some of it is my wife and I both work from home and she's up, her alarm goes off at five, six o'clock and she's getting ready to be on camera for calls all day. I'm typically not on camera as much.
But I have started as I've gotten older, kind of gotten into the habit of waking up at 5 or 6:00 AM and then by 9, 10 o'clock, I'm toast. I'm ready for bed. And my eyes are closing on the couch. Especially as a sports fan when I really want to watch a game and I'm like, I used to be drinking beer with this game, now I need a coffee.
But I have changed from night owl when I was in my 20s to early bird when I'm in my 40s. And I think there's that stereotype, Diana, of the early bird catches the worm and all that kind of stuff. But I think I know people that are just as productive being up at all hours of the night versus having that early morning productivity at 5:00 AM.
Diana Weil (39:03):
Well, I mean, I'm an early riser too, but for me, I think there is this part of that I have to wake up at five or six so that I can be productive. I can get things done. I think that if you sleep in until 10:00 AM you're viewed as lazy. Even if you're up until 2, 3:00AM then you're viewed as not a productive member of society. But I don't know that that's fair of us to say.
Elara Hadjipateras (39:25):
I don't think it's fair. I think that there's absolutely a bias towards the early bird getting the worm and being more productive. I just think about a lot of productivity podcasts and books that I listened to and read and kind of a theme that runs through all of them is, “I'm an early riser. I get up early, I have like two to three hours by myself in the morning. I'm up between 4:30 in the morning to 7:30 AM.”
And for some people's work schedules or social schedules for whatever reason, that's not an option for them. So, it's kind of not fair to set everyone up for that.
Something that Diana and I were talking about the other day was about the time that schools start classes, right?
Jon Gay (40:09):
Yeah.
Elara Hadjipateras (40:10):
I think there's been a push for schools starting later because children, when they're in their younger years, elementary school, teenage years in high school, they need more sleep. It's like, what is the purpose of dragging kids out of like a deep REM sleep?
It's seven in the morning instead of maybe just giving them that extra hour, so then when they do go to class, like there's a much higher productivity rate and they're getting a lot more return from their time.
And then maybe staying a little bit on the later side, which I'm a proponent of.
Diana Weil (40:40):
I am too, especially for high school students. I don't think it makes sense that elementary students are the ones that go latest. And then high school students are the ones that go earliest when high school students need more sleep.
Jon Gay (40:51):
I'll tell you the reasoning behind that, which is problematic. But the reasoning behind that is, and you'll both see this in a couple years. The theory is the little, the smaller kids need more help getting to school. So, they need to give mom and dad a chance to get them to school because they've got to get to work and worry about that and get them up and get them ready.
But the high schoolers, yeah, I don't know any high school ever that's gone to bed at 8:00 PM, they're up till midnight 1:00 AM whenever it is. I can tell you that when I was in high school, I had the worst time getting up in the morning and I remember my dad told my mom, “You know what, we're going to stop going in there 10 times to get him up.
He's going to oversleep school one day and that's going to be his (no pun intended) wake up call.” And sure enough, that's what worked. Like, “Oh shoot, the bus is going to be here in three minutes,” and I'm looking at my alarm clock still.
Diana Weil (41:37):
Yeah, I remember for sports I had to be at school at 5:30 in the morning. And I'm like a 16-year-old girl. I think that that's when I absolutely needed more sleep. It was physically painful. It was, honestly, I feel like I was more tired than I am as a new mom (laughs).
Jon Gay (41:54):
Wow.
Elara Hadjipateras (41:55):
5:30, that's utterly ridiculous.
Diana Weil (41:57):
Yeah, it was crazy. Elara, can you touch on what Jon mentioned about the caffeine? I think is actually a really important topic. And a lot of times with clients, I think it's a little funny.
I love you all, but sometimes people will come to me and say, “I'm having a really hard time sleeping.” And then I say, “Okay, well how much caffeine are you having?” And they're having something absurd like six coffees a day, but they're like, “No, no, no, no, no, it's not that. That's not the reason I'm not sleeping.” (Laughs). School us on matcha and caffeine and why that is-
Jon Gay (42:26):
Before we get to that, I do have to do a callback to Dr. Weil, Diana’s dad, mentioning that when people ask him if he drinks coffee, he says, “No, I don't do hard drugs.”
(Laughter)
Elara Hadjipateras (42:36):
Yeah. We got to put that on a T-shirt.
Diana Weil (42:38):
Yeah, we do.
Elara Hadjipateras (42:39):
So, one of the reasons why I tend to actually tell coffee drinkers to not necessarily replace their coffee, because it's a daily ritual that you really enjoy. You love getting up in the morning, you love the smell of the coffee, you love grinding the beans, not going to take that away from you.
Maybe the alternative is, to your point, Jon, swap out that afternoon slump coffee for matcha. Reasons why that might be good is matcha, compared to coffee has a high amount of L-theanine. L-theanine is an amino acid that is especially good at promoting relaxation and reducing your stress levels.
And if you look at the studies, if you're bringing down your stress levels, it also reduces your anxiety. That's going to help with your ability to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Also, in comparison to a coffee, like a cup of matcha versus a cup of filtered coffee, there is just simply less caffeine in it.
A cup of matcha, if it's a high ceremonial grade, it's going to have let's say between 35 to 55 milligrams per gram. Well, let's just say that that's a cup. Versus filtered coffee, you're looking to be more in that 80-milligram range. So, that's double.
Jon Gay (43:56):
Elara, I'm going to have you back up there because you said 35 to 55 milligrams per gram.
Elara Hadjipateras (44:01):
Yes. So, you want me to explain that? So, per gram of powder of matcha. So, how much matcha you're using for one serving. So, one cup of matcha like-
Jon Gay (44:11):
Got it. Okay. Thank you.
Elara Hadjipateras (44:12):
Across the board compared to say one cup of filtered coffee. Now if you're having a really high quality matcha, like we're talking as far as Matcha Kari, our brand goes, master ceremonial grade, usually the higher quality, the matcha, it's going to have more caffeine, but it's also going to have more L-theanine.
So, a high-quality cup of ceremonial grade matcha, you might have 80 milligrams of caffeine in one cup. That's kind of still at a filtered coffee level versus having a little shot of espresso, which puts you into the 120 range to 150 range sometimes, depending on the strength or type of espresso that you're drinking, depending on the bean.
So, obviously just having an overall reduced caffeine content, that’s going to work in your favor. And then because it has a high amount of L-theanine, your body is processing caffeine differently than it would coffee.
So, I'm sure all of us have experienced when you drink coffee within, I would say minutes, you feel that jolt, you feel that rest of energy. Some people love it, some people hate the jitters when they're on the floor with anxiety holding their hand on their belly thinking, “Oh my God, when is this going to end?”
And usually it really peaks, it's about like 15 minutes afterwards, and then you feel a crash three to four hours later. So, now what makes matcha a little bit different is it's a little bit more of a slow, it's not that rollercoaster effect.
So, it's more of a bell curve. You're just going to come up and you're going to feel a focused yet relaxed energy because of the L-theanine, and it's slowing down the processing of the caffeine in your body. So, it's going to also then allow it to last longer.
So, that matcha energy, it's going to be lower, but it's going to stick around for six to eight hours versus that three-to-four-hour window, which-
Jon Gay (46:04):
With that in mind and having listened to you both on this podcast for a number of those and not knowing anything about matcha before we started this podcast, one thing I've done is exactly that, is I'll make myself a matcha lemonade with my lunch at noon, one-ish, as opposed to the afternoon coffee at three or four. And I have noticed a big difference in how I would sleep that following night. So, your point is spot on Elara.
Elara Hadjipateras (46:26):
Even though your Apple watch might not agree with you.
(Laughter)
Jon Gay (46:30):
The Apple Watch can go take a flying leap as far as I-
Elara Hadjipateras (46:32):
Exactly. So, the other thing that's really great that matcha is going to be doing because of its high L-theanine content, it has high antioxidants, is that it has really wonderful mood boosting benefits. Drinking matcha makes people happier. It's also going to improve your mood.
So, if your mood is better, once again, the stress levels, the cortisol levels, anxiety. It's lower, heart rate is lower, you're going to have less shallow rapid breathing. It's going to help with your sleep and get a better night's sleep.
So, that's kind of to wrap it up, it's got improved mental health. Your body's going to process their caffeine more slowly, a bit differently than coffee. It has reduced caffeine content, and it has a high amount of L-theanine, which is it combats stress really well.
Yeah. So, basically, to round things out, the moral of the story is to have a cup of matcha in the afternoon as a really simple daily habit you could do to improve your sleep health. If I was going to give any piece of advice when it came to sleep.
Diana Weil (47:38):
Love that. That's actually something that's been really helpful for me is cutting back on the coffee, even if it's like a 10:00 AM coffee, just swapping that for matcha has been super helpful for me.
Elara Hadjipateras (47:49):
And we also have sorry, I'm going to toot the Matcha Kari line a little bit right now. We actually just came out with a decaf matcha option. So, you're able to have absolutely super minimal trace amounts of caffeine with pretty high amounts of L-theanine, which is a really good option for someone if you're especially sensitive to caffeine.
Jon Gay (48:09):
And if you're not familiar with all the offerings at matcha.com, you can check them out. We even have a discount code in the show notes of this episode. You can refer to that for more.
Diana Weil (48:18):
Alright, well on that note, I hope we all get a wonderful night's sleep, Elara. Do you think we (laughs) I'm like, but will we?
Elara Hadjipateras (48:27):
Unfortunately, it's not only up to me, it's the other members of my household. So, we'll see if they heard all that we were talking about.
Jon Gay (48:34):
I thought you were going to say the other member of your body right now (laughs).
Elara Hadjipateras (48:37):
Well, that too. I guess, I have, yeah, it's the invasion of the body snatchers as well. So, a couple of different things need to fall into place. But with the combination of healthy habits and some hope, I think-
Diana Weil (48:50):
And some dragon smut.
Elara Hadjipateras (48:51):
And some dragon smut and matcha. I'll get there.
(Laughter)
Voiceover (48:55):
Sip, savor and live well with new episodes of The Matcha Guardians every Wednesday. Follow our show for free on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you're listening right now. Leave your questions and comments below. Find us on Instagram at The Matcha Guardians or click on matcha.com.