Vol. 22, Issue 2,  February 27, 2024

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, sleep often takes a backseat to the demands of work, family commitments, and endless screen time. Yet, the significance of a good night’s sleep extends far beyond mere rest. Sleep has a profound impact on physical health, mental well-being, and overall quality of life.

Our sleep and wellness expert, Barbara Badolati, has been a pioneer in the evolution of wellness since 1984. Barbara takes a holistic approach to sleep, rest and rejuvenation, sharing with her audiences that prioritizing sleep isn’t just a luxury; it’s a fundamental necessity for a vibrant and thriving existence.

Barbara Badolati

Sleep, Blissful Sleep

While the importance of sleep to well-being has recently been rising to prominence, it’s not new to our featured speaker this month, Barbara Badolati. She created her first sleep CD in 2003. Even before that she was doing sleep meditations and talking about sleep in her corporate stress management programs.

Sleep is not the issue, Barbara said when I interviewed her recently.

“I tell people that it isn’t their sleep that’s broken.”

“A human adult can go about a month without food, and we can survive maybe a week without water,” she said. “But human beings cannot survive more than maybe five days without sleep. If they go that long without sleep, even at three to four days, an individual will start to feel psychotic; they’ll lose touch with reality. They won’t be able to process thoughts, logic, or memory.

“Sleep is essential,” she continued, “but it’s not the sleep that’s broken. You were born with an innate ability to sleep well. You intuitively know the connection between quality sleep and good health, mental wellness, and emotional functioning.

“It’s everything else around it that needs adjusting,” she continued.

She said that when people understand that sleep itself is not the issue, they are freed up from thinking that there’s something wrong with them. The culprit could be a side effect from a medication, a pet waking you up, your partner’s snoring, circadian rhythms disrupted due to travel, your bladder calling you — it could be hundreds of different variables that are affecting healthy, consistent sleep. But, Barbara repeated, it’s not sleep that’s the issue.

“When people learn that, then they they’re empowered to do something about the disruptive problem.”

“Sleep is a natural and an involuntary activity,” Barbara said. “And the more we try to force it, the harder it becomes.

“Forcing it creates a hyper arousal in the brain because the brain is perceiving a threat, a stress. When it perceives a threat, all those hormones and chemistry get shifted in the direction that you don’t want to go. It’s just your biology trying to make sure that you’re safe. And so the more you try, the more it causes that hyper arousal and does the opposite, which is why people get more frustrated.

“You’re thinking there’s something wrong with you. And then that causes more hyper arousal, more stress, more thoughts about losing sleep and worrying about how you’re going to function tomorrow.

“So we want to move people into relaxation throughout their day as well as the hour before they go to sleep. The 10-3-2-1 sleep rule can be a helpful formula to follow.

•  10 hours before bed, no caffeine.
•  3 hours before bed, no heavy meals or alcohol.
•  2 hours before bed, stop working.
•  1 hour before bed, turn off all screens.

“It’s not necessary to follow this formula 100% of the time — a realistic ratio might be to apply it 70-80% of the time. Small changes made consistently over time eventually become new habits and eventually can become your improved reality.

“The most important thing is to know yourself,” Barbara said.

“The most powerful solution is the one that would serve you best within your particular circumstances. Uncovering the issue and discovering the solution is where sleep coaching comes in, as well as my book and my talks that educate and guide people to better sleep.

“I want you to become your own sleep expert,” Barbara says. “You, and only you, are the master of your body, your thoughts, your emotions, your livelihood, your finances, your joy, your life. You decide. Make one small lifestyle change and see if it makes a difference.”

Barbara’s audiences always come away inspired by a new understanding that for many brings new life. She has consulted with organizations in the private and public sectors, and she is a TEDx and international speaker, author, and retreat leader.

As you’ll see if you watch her video, Barbara’s educational background is rooted in positive psychology, neuroscience, exercise physiology, health and life coaching, yoga, breathwork and somatic therapies, into which she weaves her heart-felt intention and intuitive gifts. Recognizing the challenges of being human, Barbara finds plenty of moments of humor in this topic as well.

In her #1 Amazon best-selling book, Your Sleep Blissful Guidebook, she offers 100 natural ways to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake refreshed. You can purchase it here.

To learn more about Barbara’s topics, and to get a sense of how engaging her presentations are, go to her preview videos at our website.

Your audience will thank you for bringing Barbara’s expertise and bright spirit to your community. To check on her availability just give me a call at 503-699-5031 or email me at barbara@speakwellbeing.com .

Until next time, for your well being make your sleep a priority for yourself and those you love.

Yours truly,

Barbara

The Speak Well Being Group is a specialized speakers bureau, focusing on health and wellness for all types of organizations that want to foster health and well being for their employees, members, clients, and in their communities.

Our speakers are hand-selected. They are not only experts in their fields; they connect with their audiences while bringing them life-changing information, smiles of recognition, and ultimately a sense of well being and hope.

Finding the perfect keynote speaker for your special event or conference is my personal passion, not just once, but year after year. It brings me great joy to know that your audience was delighted and moved by the speaker we selected together. I’m committed to making the process easy, pleasant and fun.