Ep#96 Get Asleep Fast with Sleep Lists | Helen Sernett | Empowering Family Health

Ep#96 Get Asleep Fast with Sleep Lists with Helen Sernett. 
In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of sleep with our special guest, Helen Sernett, creator and the brilliant mind behind SleepLists.com. Helen shares her personal journey from a successful career in non-profit fundraising to the creation of Sleep Lists, a unique podcast designed to help people overcome sleep challenges and find the rest they deserve.

Helen's motivation stems from her own struggles with sleep, driven by burnout, anxiety, and depression. Leaving behind her demanding career in 2022, she embarked on a path of recovery, wellness, and personal growth. Living in rainy Seattle, Washington, Helen is joined by her loving family, including her husband, daughter, and cat.

Throughout our conversation, Helen emphasizes the fundamental role sleep plays in overall well-being. She believes that even in the midst of sleep struggles, one can still achieve meaningful rest. Her podcast serves as a beacon of comfort for those who may feel alone in their sleep-related challenges.

Join us as we explore Helen's inspiring story, learn about the creation of Sleep Lists, and gain valuable insights into the importance of prioritising sleep for a healthier and happier life. If you've ever wrestled with sleepless nights or are seeking ways to improve your sleep, this episode is a must-listen. Because, as Helen Sernett reminds us, you are not alone, and a good night's sleep is within reach.

Contact Helen Sernett
https://www.sleeplists.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/helensernett/ https://www.facebook.com/SleepLists https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKfMvDMHSELtQyGWfYIkmwQ https://www.instagram.com/sleeplists/

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:00

Sleep lists are single category lists that I recite in my most calm and relaxing voice possible. Uh, they're backed with a little bit of soothing music or sound, and um they help people get to sleep. And I came up with the idea because I searched and searched for this podcast. Like I just assumed it already existed in the universe, and I wanted it to help me sleep because I had a lot of trouble sleeping um at the peak of my burnout, anxiety, and depression. And so I I was looking for a new tool because my previous tools weren't working and um it didn't exist, and so I thought, well, I I can make that that I can do. I can I can create this. And so I actually listened to Sleepless to go to sleep.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Just a little taster of what is coming up on the show. But first, please do like this video and subscribe to the channel, and also tell your friends and family about this podcast. Please let us know in the comments if you would like to hear any particular topic in relation to sleep or health. Then I will create a show especially for you just for asking the question. So let's get on with the show. Helen Cernett is gonna be talking to us all about sleep lists. What are sleep lists? Yeah, I hear you ask. Well, before we bring Helen in, let me read you out her bio and we're gonna talk all about everything sleep and sleepless. It's my favorite, favorite topic to be discussing. So Helen uh left a successful career in non-profit fundraising at the end of 2022, and she was experiencing burnout and the anxiety and depression that go with that, as some of us may know. Part of her path to recovery and wellness and personal growth has included the creation earlier this year of our podcast called Sleep Lists. She lives in Rainy, Seattle, Washington, USA, with her husband, her daughter, and her cat. And she loves to cook and enjoys working out, beachfront walks and the occasional cup of hot cocoa. Oh, wow. Yes, you're talking like my cup of hot cocoa too. You're welcome, Helen. Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

I am so glad to be here and so appreciative of the opportunity to um talk about my favorite topic too, which is getting lots of sleep as much as I can.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Yeah, yeah. It's a topic that many people wouldn't really consider having that conversation about. You know, many people think it's a boring topic, we're just asleep. This is this is what I get from people, you know, uh it's we're unconscious. So how can we actively be doing anything, you know? Because people think, you know, when you talk about getting fit or been healthy, you have to do something, you know, you have to eat healthy foods, you have to go up your exercise, but sleep, you just sleep, you know, how can you be proactive? But there is so much that we can do to be proactive, you know, when it comes to having a good night of sleep. And what I always say, your sleep begins from the time you wake up in the morning and it's what you do during the day. So um that really impacts your sleep at nighttime and your overall well-being. So, Helen, I'm really curious, right? You have a podcast called Sleep Lists. What is sleep lists? And where did you come up with that idea from?

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Great question. Um, sleep lists are single category lists that I recite in my most calm and relaxing voice possible. Uh, they're backed with a little bit of soothing music or sound, and um they help people get to sleep. And I came up with the idea because I searched and searched for this podcast. Like I just assumed it already existed in the universe, and I wanted it to help me sleep because I had a lot of trouble sleeping um at the peak of my burnout, anxiety, and depression. And so I was looking for a new tool because my previous tools weren't working and um it didn't exist. And so I thought, well, I I can make that, that I can do. I can I can create this. And so I actually listened to sleep list to go to sleep, which is very, I think, strange. A lot of podcasters, a lot of people don't like hearing their own voice. Yeah, but um, I listen to my own sleepless to go to sleep sometimes. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Wow, brilliant. So sleepless, yeah. So yeah, it's and you would you would think that there'd be something like that out there because you know, there's lots of apps out there, Cam and um uh T T what's it not T timer. Um oh there's another one, Timer, something timer. Oh god, I can't think the name.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

And there's what there's one called Breathe. Uh there's Calm, there's Headspace. Here in the States, Headspace is very popular. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

Yeah, I can't remember that other one. Something timer, anyway. I'm sure maybe someone will show it in the comments. It is a popular one, but there are, but there are lots of apps out there that help people to, you know, with sleep or with relaxing with meditation, um, all these kind of things. And even sleep stories, you know, like the most boring, boring, boring sleep stories that put people to sleep. Now that's not my cup of tea, but it is, you know, it might might be something that some people would would like. And you specifically had something that you were after was sleepless. And and I know what what other tools, by the way, Helen? What other tools H A Us prior that didn't work? I'm just curious about that before I go into Right.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

So for a while I was listening to uh sleep meditations that were working for me um through an app called Breathe. Uh, I I was listening to them and they stopped working. Um, they also really annoyed my partner, my bed partner. Um, so I was trying to find ways to listen that didn't disturb my bed partner, but that also didn't cause me discomfort while I was trying to fall asleep. So that was um an issue. White noise, brown noise, gray noise, green noise. I tried all of the noises. Yep. I tried all the noises. Um, none of those ever worked super well for me, but I did try them. Um, I tried several different versions of sleep stories. I always found them to be too interesting, even when they were boring. Um, my my level of anxiety was so high that if you introduced a new concept to me, I had to understand how it how it came out. Otherwise, I would just keep on thinking about it. So I was waiting and waiting and waiting to for the for them to get to the point. And of course, the whole point of a sleep story is that they don't really get to the point very quickly. Yeah. So it it did not work well for me. Um, and I think it doesn't work well for a lot of high anxiety people. Um I'd actually I'd actually rather turn on, um, which is a terrible idea, but I've done it before, um, is uh television shows. I've fallen asleep to television shows. That's a terrible idea because then you've got that light just sort of like there. Um, and it doesn't help you with your sleep rhythms um and your waking times. Like it just messes up a lot of things uh for me that way. Um, I tried uh over-the-counter sleep aids. Uh I've tried um in Washington State, um both CBD and THC um cannabis products are available uh in retail spaces. And so uh I tried some of those. Um they worked well until I started on some antidepression medication, which then interfered with that functionality. And the antidepression medication was very important. Um, I was it was definitely helping me, and I didn't want to interfere with uh its functionality, so I I didn't take the um cannabis uh gummies anymore.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

The ability to rest is the body's key to healing. Do you struggle with getting asleep at night time or staying asleep during the night and waking up the next morning feeling absolutely exhausted? My book, How to Get a Good Night's Sleep, is easy to understand, it's solution based and it's patched with research to help you take back control of your night's sleep. My book is available on Amazon and it's also available on how to get a goodnightsleep.com. This book is also available in audio and ebook. So get your copy today and start having the best night's sleep that you've only ever dreamed of.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

Let's see, what other things had I tried? Counting in my own head. That was my oldest, um, most tried and true counting and telling myself stories uh to fall asleep. That was like childhood things that I did that used to work really well and just stopped working. And in fact, what I really was after when I was seeking out sleep lists was somebody in a calm, soothing voice to just count from like one to 500 outside of my head because I I used to or I still can sometimes, but at the peak of my sleep dysfunction, I wasn't able to do it for myself. I wasn't able to count in my own head myself. And I I just wanted somebody else to just like be an external voice to really help shut down my internal voices that I didn't focus on here.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

That's what it is, isn't it? At the end of the day, you know, is um our brain is so busy trying to, you know, if we're most most people in my experience have uh go to bed with worries, concerns, upsets, all this sort of thing. And it comes plooding into the head right when the head is gone on the pillow. And people ask me, why is that like, you know, why is that? And you know, we're so busy during the daytime with distractions and what have you. And then when we're going to bed at nighttime, this is when we don't have the distractions, and that's why it comes up. So that's kind of it in a nutshell, you know, there's obviously more that you can add to that, but that's ultimately what's kind of happening. We're so busy and keeping ourselves distracted, and then the brain comes along, and the brain is just trying to find something or do do something to to help us, you know, to keep us safe, because that's what the brain is doing. And so the brain is going off there trying to find a solution to your worries, to your problems, and and that's all it's so when we focus our brain on the counting, you know, like what you were suggesting, the counting, and and that that is a practice that I um I'm gonna get into the sleepless now in a second, but it is giving our brain something to do, and therefore taking the focus off the worries and concerns. So that's ultimately what the purpose of of all this is. So, so that's gonna bring us in nicely to your your sleepless themselves. So what because you've got a lot of sleepless, and I've listened to them, and your voice is very, very soothing, I have to say. I I had to double take it. Is that really Helen? But really, really, really soothing, a lovely, lovely voice. So tell us um, you know, the different types of sleepless and and you know why they work or what your favorite one is, because there's loads of them.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

Yes, and I think they work differently for different people. I continue to be really quite surprised that the presidents of the United States and their vice presidents is my most popular episode. Um because I thought it's boring, but it actually was sort of interesting. And it was one of those sleepless that as I was recording it, it was interesting for me from my history research kind of brain to dive into. Um, and so I I was I was surprised when so many people are like, oh yeah, this is exactly what I needed to fall asleep, because I found it so fascinating that I sort of thought, oh, at the end after I recorded, I was like, this is gonna keep too many people awake. But in fact, I I managed to make it boring enough, apparently. Wow, yeah. A lot of people fall asleep. Um, but it's not like uh other people have said to me, Oh, I don't like that episode or the states and capitals episode at all, because as an American citizen, I feel like I should know this, but I don't. Yeah. And so I feel like I need to um like listen to learn. And I'm like, oh, that's not the point. I didn't want anybody. I mean, you can listen to learn, but honestly, I'm getting ready to make the transcripts available on my Patreon so that folks can just download them if they need them.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Wow. I I think I think you know, there's no end to the kind of lists and the kind of people they can serve. And, you know, the more lists that you have, you know, people have the choice and they're not gonna like everything. Do you know what I mean? And yes, some of them can be, you know, more suitable to if you live in America or if you live in Ireland, or you know, I I suggested to you to do um to do one on um the best sites to visit in Ireland because I'm always been asked that as an I would, you know, from the American people, you know, where's a good place to go? I want to visit Ireland, you know, and uh the cliffs of Moore, you know, all those kind of places, they're really top places to visit in Ireland. So that might be something as well. And and you mentioned learning, right? And I think um when you have the the lists and the learning, uh our our brain waves actually slow right down when we're asleep. And Bruce Lipton talks a lot about this. Bruce Lipton and Joe Dispenza, you know, about uh the subconscious brain, because that's that's highly um suggestible to when we're going to sleep at night time. So it can actually help us learn, you know, your your your your list, whatever the list is, you know, if it's I don't know uh whatever whatever list that you know, the the names of states or or or rivers in America or whatever, I don't know, that's your area. But but I I think I think it's I think it's I think we can actually learn um more easily because the brain might have slowed down, and this is when the learning sticks. And um and when we listen to something like that as we're going to sleep at nighttime, there's more probability of it sticking and us learning. So we're learning something whether we're consciously kind of doing that, and it's going into the subconscious, so it's a great way to learn. What do you think? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:42

I think I think people can use um, you know, that for all kinds of things, especially if you can figure out the best ways to get their recall from it, right? But um I mean, for me, it's fun to research topics from like this season. Uh I've had I've I've focused on expressions about sleep. Um, and I don't know how many of them translate uh for you for you in Ireland, but we use counting sheep, of course, um, which I think is pretty universal. Uh let sleeping dogs lie. Um, and I did a whole list of 300 and some breeds of dogs. Um I did uh the for the sheep, I did breeds of sheep. Um watching grass grow is another thing that we talk about as being boring, and so species of grass uh came up, and so we did a whole list of um grasses, and then um watching paint dry is another expression that people use to talk about something being really boring and and making you sleepy, and so I generated a list of 499 names of beige paint.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Oh uh god I didn't think there'll be that many colors of beige.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

You know, the they've been making beige paint for a really long time, but they come up with new names all the time. And there are only so many colors on the spectrum, but you can rename things over and over again. Um so yeah, a lot of them have uh sort of beach themes or desert themes, or um, my favorite are the cheese themed ones. Like there's you know, like golden gouda or like creamy brie. Wow. And yeah, so anyway, that that's the list that actually just uh I released most recently was the the 499 um shades of beige. But the idea is that that's gonna work for somebody um maybe a very different person um uh in terms of what they need for falling asleep than um the list of sheep, which is an actual list of actual breeds of sheep that exist in the world versus a fantasy of colours of beige.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

And I listen to I listen to your podcast, and and as I said, your voice is lovely. And I think my my interpretation is you know, the pot, you know, for some people is they may listen, you know, um, you know, consciously, they may listen to what you're actually saying, but it will get to a point, and I could be wrong, but but this is my uh get to you, you get to a point where you're just hearing the it's the vibration of your voice, that that lull, you know, and then the background music as well, and it really brings the brain waves down, it really slows the brainwaves down because your brain waves is matching that. So you're you stop focusing on the words that you're saying, but it's it's more the vibration then, and it's just lull lulling you into that into that sleep as well. So there's different things happening in your podcast.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

And people use it um, you know, both to fall asleep initially when they go to bed, but I've also had a lot of listeners tell me that um if they wake up in the middle of the night and can't shut their brains off um for whatever reason that they were disturbed or interrupted in their sleep, they put one of those on. Um, have one listener who like if she can't fall asleep, she knows that if she turns on the list of the original 150 Pokemon, she will be asleep instantly. Like she will just go right to sleep. Wow. And that's her jam. Like Pokemon characters, that one works for her. So um it is fun that that I've tried to get an arranged array of topics and I continue to do different topics. Um, because I think different lists will resonate with people and they're very reusable. Um, lots of people reuse them from start to finish all the way through. And then other people, um, if it's a longer episode and they only need about 10, 20 minutes to help them get to sleep, they'll start a little bit further on in the episode different times so that they pick up and start falling asleep to different aspects of the list. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

I'm just I'm just sitting here thinking, would you be doing one for Christmas? Or is it two where you talk about Christmas?

SPEAKER_02 19:10

Oh, I've been thinking about my holiday ones. Yes, I need to put one out. I'd like to put one out for both um Christmas and Thanksgiving, US Thanksgiving um is a big holiday. And both of them have a lot of um travel associated with them, which can be so disruptive to sleep. So I'd like to put something extra special out for my listeners, um, related to that idea of being kind of displaced from maybe the bed that you're normally in and you don't have your normal pillow, and maybe you're stuck sleeping on somebody's very not so good spare mattress.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

It's true. It's true because like even if you travel and you're, you know, you're going on your holidays and it is true that because you're not in your original environment, that your body doesn't feel safe. Now you might think you might say, Of course I'm safe. I'm in a hotel in a the room is secure or whatever, but your body doesn't feel safe because it's not a familiar environment. So there is an element of that that may interrupt your sleep. Um, and for me now, when I go to hotel room, what bugs me is all the little red lights, you know. Uh I always bring a black tape and I put it over, you know, like the TV would be on standby. If I can't find the plug or whatever, because normally I'll unplug it from the wall, I'll put the black tape over it. Those little things like that now, you know, can drive you nuts in the middle of the night or whatever. But yeah, it's so brilliant. Yeah, yeah, it's a good, it's a it's a tip that I that I give. Yeah, it's it's it's so true. Like, but tell tell us as well now, um, Helen. So you got your sleepless and what you said about um I'm about to lose my train of thought now, but what you said about yeah, the traveling and all of that, um, oh yeah, the the the bedroom, but unfamiliar with the bedroom to save, yeah, so I said that. So Helen, your your lists vary in length. So they I'm sure that they're like very short ones, very long ones, so depending. And uh and as you say, people can listen to them during the the uh when they wake up during the night. And also, if they're tired and they need to have a nap or something like that, it'd be a good one to listen to during the daytime. Yeah, just the slump in the afternoon.

SPEAKER_02 21:11

Yeah, that 20 minute. If you just want a 20-minute nap, there's a really nice one. Um, there's a couple that are a little bit shorter that are like 20 minutes. I tend they tend to go between 20 and 50 minutes. Um uh an hour seems excessive. I really hope that my voice can get people to sleep by by an hour. But um, or maybe they just need to do something else. Because there is that moment, like that's the other thing that I sometimes do um is breath work. If I really if I can't quiet my body, it's one thing to be able to quiet your mind, and the lists really help with quieting your mind. But if I can't quiet my body, there's a lot of like I'll do some stretching and breath work out of bed and then get back into bed and uh and try and um and try again with my my brain a little bit more settled.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's true. Why do you Find or have you found that listening to your own podcast and what have you, obviously your sleep has improved, right? So, what has that given you? What would you like to say to people? You know, like because there are some people out there, Helen, who are just resigned and they say things like, I just don't sleep well, or I wake up at whatever three o'clock in the morning. I always say to people, be careful what you tell yourself because your brain believes you. So the mindset and our beliefs is very, very big, but you've obviously improved your sleep and you you really believe because it because you're you're producing this podcast off your own bat, like you know, and it's taking a lot of time and what have you, and you really want to help people because you obviously understand the value of sleep. So can you tell us a little bit about what it's provided for you?

SPEAKER_02 22:44

Oh my goodness. Um sleep is medicine. Uh and like I I say that a little bit as a joke, but also like there's plenty of research, and I've now listened to enough um healthcare experts talk about the value of sleep um and how it can support lowering high blood pressure, it can support your um, it can support your your type two diabetes uh recovery, it can support um your for me, it absolutely helps with depression and anxiety. I'm a lot less anxious when I have enough sleep. Um a lot less anxious when I have enough enough sleep. Um, it can help with seizure disorders, it can help you lose weight, it can help you have more energy, it can help you gain your memory back, um, it can help you with hormonal adjustments, um, you know, perimenopause and menopause. It can help um, and so for me personally, the value of sleep has been really, really getting pieces of my life back that I was really afraid were gone. Um like I was really afraid that like being able to think clearly and manage my executive functioning was gone. And I was like, I need that. I really do need my executive functioning, I'd like it back. Um, and sleep has helped me get it back. Uh I'm I'm much more protective of my sleep time. And I um I think I grew up in a culture where it was um work hard, play hard, sleep when you die. Um, and that's a terrible mantra. Like, like I, but I had I had bought into it. Um, and so I'd trying to, you know, raise my daughter in a world where we talk about the value of sleep. So um she is at an age where she's advocating a lot for a later bedtime. And my answer isn't, oh, when you get to be a certain age, you can stay up later, which is a common parenting practice. My answer is your bedtime is based on when you need to wake up because I can't change how early your school starts. Like I don't have control over that. So, um, how long it takes us to get ready and get you out the door and make sure that you're well fed and have all of your materials and art in a panic. Like you had that's the amount of time that that that's that that's when you can wait, that's when you have to wake up. And so when you go to bed is based on nine and a half hours prior to that.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. That's brilliant. And yeah, because it's you know, some people's wake up time is socially dependent. And with children, like, you know, and uh especially in America, I mean, I've read all sorts of reports about school time starting so early in America, and like here in Ireland, it's half eight, nine o'clock, you know, typically when when school starts here, but you guys are doing the bus thing and they could be up anywhere from half five, six o'clock in the morning, you know, and the bus picking them up. And oh my god, and um I was horrified when I was younger because my auntie used to live in America, and you know, my cousins would be starting school at whatever time, like half seven, eight o'clock or so, and I'd be what? Oh, easily, yes. Yeah, often holy moses, it's that's that's crazy, and it's it's outside of the natural rhythms of teenagers, so it doesn't work. And I know that the times have been adjusted in the last number of years, and there's more work been done to try and have other schools follow suit. Is that true?

SPEAKER_02 26:06

It is and it isn't. Um, I think that uh the best I can say is that a lot of larger school districts in the United States have um come to understand that not all teenagers are capable of forcing themselves to be awake in the morning. Um, we know that none of them want to be, but but yeah, a small number of them really super cannot force themselves to be. And so there are alternative, um, most large school districts have alternative education programs with um staggered or alternative start times. Um, but they're not the mainstream education. And unfortunately, uh we end up in a weird situation where the the after-school activities, you know, there's a lot of um advocacy for so much extracurricular activity outside of school. So in sports and drama and clubs and activities, music, whatever, that um that those programs are saying, oh, well, there's not enough time for us because we're an after school thing. So so then so then you get anyway, so it's it is a bit of a mess. Um, and that is why I talked to my daughter about the fact that she needs, you know, to leave a window of nine and a half hours of sleep, which sounds like a lot when um most Americans anyway are getting less than six hours of sleep at night, um, which is not suitable to human existence. But um they it sounds like a lot, but it's like if you leave that window open and then like if you do wake up early, you have a little bit more time to like do your own thing in the morning. And she has you know autonomy to read her books or play her games, you know, when she's I got breakfast and everything, she can do that. Um and the other thing that we talk a lot about is that robbing yourself of sleep is robbing yourself of life, like your longevity is dependent on the ability that you have to rest and recharge and rebuild your body. Absolutely. Um, and for uh for all kinds of things. I didn't mention earlier, but autoimmune disorders rely like most auto people suffering from autoimmune disorders need 10 hours of sleep um to stay healthy.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

So uh it's really valuable. Um they're continuously healing, you know, and healing is a big part of our sleep. It's it's it's that's the only time when we're in that deep phase of sleep. It's the only time. And there's studies out there to show the white, the white blood cells, the T cells or killer cells are actually produced um while we're sleeping at night time to have that reserve, you know. And uh it's it's huge. And you mentioned, you know, weight, weight gain and weight loss and all this, and type 2 diabetes and overweight and obesity are very big at the moment, a very, very big dangerous figures, you know, and the type 2 diabetes, and so that's a the whole host of other problems with that. But it has been shown. I actually have a program called How to Lose uh How to Lose Weight While You Sleep, because it's all based on the hormones, you know, and when we sleep well, you know, it's it's it's rhythms. Every single cell in our body, every process has a rhythm and um you know, our metabolism and you know, we we can best absorb and digest our food in the earlier part of the day, whereas most of us eat our biggest meal late in the evening time, you know, way too close to bed as well, on top of that, you know. So when we can adapt these, like I always say, you know, go back to how it was when we were in the cave, you know, when we were living in the cave. No, not literally, but like if you just go and have a look at how we used to live, and it was perfect. We we rose when the the sun came up, we went to bed when the when the sun went down. We didn't have lights that we weren't on 20, 24-7, we weren't on mobile phones in the middle of the night, our brains weren't stimulated, we were in nature, we were grounded. And this really, really helps. And I think many of us are indoors far too much as well. We need to be outdoors more and get that daylight, get the fresh air, you know, the simple things, the air food and water, hydration. So there's a lot that we can do to help us stay in rhythm and for our children as well, you know. And I think as parents, we really are the role models for our children. And I really put my hat off to you, Helen, you know, with your daughter, really guiding her in the right way and educating her and letting her have her own autonomy as well, which is really, really important to help her be responsible, you know. So it's it's great. But I I love I love how you view sleep, how you value sleep, and how you overcome your struggles. Where can people find you? Where can they find your podcast talent?

SPEAKER_02 30:47

Yeah, the the best place to find me is at sleeplists.com um for the podcast, especially, uh, that has all of the episodes and the blog posts that go with them, um, as much as I can put them out there, and also links to all the players that um my podcast can be found on in case if you really want to watch it or listen to it on your own on other players. Um and then uh for me personally, if you want to get in touch with me um for whatever reason, uh I am easy to find at um on LinkedIn uh with the backslash Helen Sernette. So uh my full name. And uh it's really um, yeah, and those it's it's really I like I do a lot of my like networking there, and um, that is the platform from which I find most of my like uh speaking opportunities. Um whereas sleepless.com is really dedicated exclusively to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

Do you do speaking opportunities as well? What kinds what kind of speaking do you do, Helen?

SPEAKER_02 31:50

Yeah, um, I talk to people um about embracing change and the value of um the way our brains are structured uh and have neuro plasticity. So um I talk a lot about the fact that um you can teach anyone of any age to do new things and that our brains actually need those channels to um grow and feel stimulated uh and to counteract uh burnout.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

Yeah, I love that you mentioned that now. Absolutely, because you know, as we age, we have many people have this attitude, oh, I'm just getting old, that's just the way it is, you know. And many people think when your brain cells die, that's this, and you and you're going to start losing your memory and your faculties and all of this, but nothing can be further from the truth. There's so much we can do to keep our brains active. And it's like if you don't use it, you lose it. Like, and that's that's true, you know, because the brain or your body thinks, oh, well, she's not used now, we we don't need that anymore. The brain, the body is so, so intelligent. Yeah, it really is. It's it's super intelligent.

SPEAKER_02 32:55

I looked dementia, right? Which are like diagnosed uh ailments of the brain, but there's so much that we can do prior to that to help um to help ourselves be resilient and um in the face of change. And uh I had really stopped practicing a lot of um self-care around engaging in new things, and so like new things became more and more challenging. And so um the entire journey of learning how to do a podcast and uh make it work and learn all the software uh has been such a revitalization for me and um how I think and how I can do more executive functioning, where my myeliated synapses are. Um so yeah, I speak about the idea that um we can all embrace change and that we need to embrace change uh in order to function in modern society.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Really important because you know, if you keep living your life the same way and expecting different results, that's madness, isn't it? There's a quote about that. And it's true because if you want your life to change, if you want your life to transform, you do have the power to do it. You you absolutely and you know what you like best. You know, you got just got to discover that what it is that you enjoy doing, because it has to be a bit of fun in that, because when it when it comes to change, you gotta do something fun because then you'll stick to it. And it's really all about changing your habits and keeping at it, be and it's repetition, repetition, and then eventually it'll be hard word into the brain. So great topic, great, great topic that you that you know you're speaking to people about because that's it, you know, like we're changing all the time when we're adapting all the time to what it is that we want and to be healthy and to thrive in life and and sleep ultimately is a big, huge part of that. So I'm we're coming to the end, Alan, and I'm I'm just so delighted that you know we got a chance to talk, and I'm I'm so delighted that uh it was Scott Scott Smith who introduced us um from the Global Tea Break. Yeah, that's who he introduced us a good while ago. And uh my friend Alan Hennessy is part of that as well. I think he's a co-founder in that as well, and then he's here in Ireland. Um, and I must get back on to another one of them. I haven't been on one in a while. Actually, it was on the last one, but um my battery died in my laptop, and I yeah, I got booted out because my battery died. Yeah, so I must go on another one. But uh, but yeah, no, this has been a great conversation, Helen. So I do encourage people to listen to Helen's uh sleepless, and honest to God, that your voice is beautiful. It was like an angelic, and I think it's great for children as well, like any age can listen to your podcast, children, um, adults, and uh see anybody, anybody can can listen to your podcast those really suit. And there's one for everyone as well that was suited. And I I certainly felt I like the grass one, believe it or not. I was listening to all the different types of grass, and it was one or two grasses that I did recognize and I was like, oh yeah, I never thought of that. And then I was curious, so um, but then my brain did switch off and I fell asleep. But yeah, it's really it's great, like you know. So I I do encourage people to listen to that. Use that as a tool. It may be the one that you've been looking for, like Helen, when she just created her own uh for herself because there was none out there. So I am so delighted. Thank you for being here. Thank you for the work that you're doing in the world because you are helping people to sleep better and you are giving them a new leaf of life.

SPEAKER_02 36:19

It has been my absolute pleasure and honor to join you in this conversation. Thank you so much for having me on. And uh, if I can help one person get sleep consistently and regularly, I would be thrilled. So um, hopefully, folks can check out the podcast and uh learn more about that.

SPEAKER_01 36:37

Yeah, bro, and grace. Okay, Helen, listen, have a wonderful day, and we will chat to you soon. Thank you so much. Take care and be well. I do need support to help me to keep bringing you knowledge and insights. There is a Patreon link, patreon.com forward slash empoweringfamily health, or you can make a donation via PayPal. All the links are in the description and the pinned comment. You can do a one-off or you can do a monthly support. So I'd really appreciate that. Thank you and have a wonderful day. Take care.