Ep 346: Candy, Cocktails, & Collapsed Airways: Why Holiday Habits Impact Your Sleep and Breathing

You know, we always go, oh, of course they're off the wall. They just ate all this sugar on, like, Halloween night, right? Or we went to a party and they had a ton of sugar and food dies. Okay, well, don't be angry at your kid when they're bouncing off the wall because you basically fed them the fuel that leads to that. Right? Plan the treats earlier in the day, not right before bed. Hydrate, avoid sugar. A couple hours before bed, dim the lights, give them a book, keep them off screens. Like, I know I'm going there. Welcome to the Untethered podcast.

I am host Holly Balkan. I'm a certified myofunctional therapist, feeding specialist, podcaster, business owner, and mentor. This podcast is all about getting your questions answered and collaborating with colleagues to bring you the most up to date information in the orofacial myofunctional therapy, airway tether, dural tissue, and pediatric feeding therapy space. If you're new here, I challenge you to keep an open mind and join my mission to spread this message far and wide. If you've been around since June 2019, thanks for being a loyal listener. As we jump into today's episode, remember to listen with correct points. Oral rest, posture, tongue up, lips closed, teeth apart.

Breathe through your nose.

Let's get started.

Hello, my friends. Okay, so welcome to episode 346 of the Untethered podcast. This is your host, Hallie Wolkin, and we're gonna dive into a fun topic today. Candy, cocktails, and collapsed airways. I wanna dive into how holiday habits impact our sleep and breathing. And while it may not be the most fun thing to hear about, I do think that it's something that we all need to div to. Let's do that. Let's dive in. So we've made it through Halloween. Thanksgiving is around the corner. Holiday treats are just rolling in. And so I want to kind of spend a little time today going over why what we eat and drink this time of year isn't just about, like, our waistline. It directly impacts our airway health, our sleep, our daily function. And so a quick little tease of, like, what's to come in this, this episode, if you will, some of the culprits, if you want to call them that, that have a direct impact on sleep and airway are sugar, alcohol, all the things. And I want to give you some tips. You're going to walk away with tips to thrive through this season, even if you are doing some adulting. I know I am. I'm sure you are too. So let's dive in. So, all right, the first thing I want to talk about now, obviously I am not a nutritionist, but I am a human who is very much so in tune with how my body responds to what I consume, right? Whether that is stuff from the media, physical food I'm putting in my body. And, you know, I look at food as though it is energy, and it's either going to give me a lot of energy or it's going to give me an energy spike and a crash, right? And so when we are focused on things like candy, desserts, holiday sweets, I mean, I admittedly love this stuff. Like, I'm a baker at heart. Like, I am not a cook. I love to bake. I love, give me all the sweets, right? Even if you take the food, dyes out all the bad chemicals and you're homemaking it all, it's still sugar. And so these sweets will spike your blood sugar, right. And cause crashes. And so the thing that I want to highlight here is the impact on the airway, because sugar is going to contribute to inflammation throughout the body, right? Swelling potentially in your airway, if you already have a restricted airway. And this can lead to things like sleep disorder breathing or more sleep disorder breathing, more disruptive breathing, more snoring, possibly. Um, and so what does this look like? Well, in our kids, we may see kids who look super hyper and then they crash hard. Okay? Now, on the flip side of it, when we look at their sleep, their sleep is actually restless. Maybe it's fragmented. And with adults, for us, we may have frequent, frequent nighttime wakings. You know, we may wake up in the morning feeling exhausted, even though we're like, I went to bed and got eight hours or seven hours or whatever it was of sleep, sleep. But I feel exhausted or I feel like I have. I feel hungover even though I didn't have any alcohol last night. Or I have this, like, low level, like, cloud hanging over my head. My head feels heavy today, right? Like, these are the things that, honestly, I feel when I've had too much sugar and I wake up the next morning, I'm like, huh, that's not a fun feeling. So what I want to encourage you to do, okay, whether you're a parent, you're. Maybe you're a therapist, you're listening, you know, to better help your clients is to limit sugar in the evening specifically, and try to balance the sugar with treats that have protein and fiber, like earlier in the day. Now, again, I'm not a nutrition expert. I don't claim to be one, but from following individuals who are one of the things that I've learned, right. Even if you have a piece of bread, like that's a carbohydrate that breaks down into glucose, that is sugar, right? So what we need to do is like, we want to consume these kinds of things, but your body can better process it when we have what I just mentioned, like the protein, the fiber, and the carbohydrate together. And so one of the things I've tried to do with my own children is limit how much sugar they have, like at dinner. And after dinner, they'll have carbohydrates at dinner with like protein and not just fiber, but fat. That's the thing I'm forgetting. So protein, fiber, protein, fat, and carbohydrate those three together, right? Your body is better easily, easy. Your body has a easier time breaking it down when they are consumed together. And so I, you know, I kind of have a rule like, yeah, listen, once in a while on the weekend, my kids are going to have a bowl of ice cream while we watch a movie, and I break my own rules. Like, we're human. I'm not saying let's follow this a hundred percent of the time. That's, that's not real life. Everything in moderation, right? But like on school nights or days when I want them to be able to get up and function at their prime the next day, I'm not giving them sugar on its own after dinner, you know, an hour or two before they head to bed, because I know the impact it has on the body. And so that's what I'm encouraging you to do as well when possible, simply because of the inflammatory impact it does have on the body and how that can actually have a direct impact on our airway. And I don't think this is discussed enough. I know in airway forward arena, we talk a lot about whole foods and chewing whole foods. And yes, there's a time and a place for purees and all the things. But how, you know, a lot of our kids who struggle to chew, form a proper bolus and swallow or initially shape that swallow process, who might be in myofunctional therapy or the kids in feeding therapy, you know, we talk a lot about, like, whole foods and how we have a soft, you know, preference for soft foods in America and all that fun stuff, but I don't see enough people really focusing on the type of energy we're feeding our body. And that's where this whole conversation between, like, the carbohydrate the fat and the protein come in. Okay, now that's really more the kids side of the conversation. Although arguably this applies to adults too. On the adult side, with like, alcohol and airway. I know know that when we drink sometimes, sometimes we feel more relaxed. Well, when we feel a little bit more relaxed from the alcohol, guess what? It also relaxes our airway muscles. And when our airway muscles are more relaxed, they are more easily collapsible. Okay. Which leads to more snoring and possibly more apneic events if you are someone with sleep apnea. And so when we look at the conversation surrounding that and like fragmented sleep, even small amounts of alcohol interfere with your deep restorative sleep cycles. Okay, so the holiday reality that many of us are living in right now, like with Thanksgiving wine and cocktails at parties and holiday parties and eggnog and all the things, you know, that is a reality we live in. And I think we just have to be aware, obviously as adults, we get to make a choice, right? We made. We choose what we feed our kids, we choose what we put in our own bodies. If I could make a suggestion to you, which I know is not always going to be the case because there's recommendations and then there's reality. But if you are someone who's like, no, I want to be married, focused on airway health this holiday season, then the recommendation generally falls around cutting off alcohol at least three hours before bedtime. Hydrating and avoiding, like, combining your alcohol with like, sugar. Whether that's adding sugar into that alcoholic beverage, whether that's having a lot of desserts with the alcohol. Just consider, like, what it is you're putting in your body and what your goals are. Because I see a lot of people who are like, very airway forward and then you see their actual real life habits, and you're like, well, that's not really an airway centric way of living. And if you're doing it once in a while because it's the holidays and you're out having fun and what, Fine, again, everything in moderation. But if you are doing this on a nightly basis and you're wondering why your airway health is not improving, or you're wondering why you feel a certain way when you wake up in the morning, this is why. This is why. Okay? So I just want to connect the dots for you a little bit here. The big picture and why I'm focused on this is breathing, right? Sleeping, feeding, if you will. Like, they all connect. Okay. And the nutrition, what we put in our body is going to impact how inflamed we are or not. It's going to impact our muscle tone. It's going to impact our airway function. Okay? So, you know, those kids with airway issues may be even more sensitive to sugar or alcohol effects. Like alcohol, not for the kids, but for the adults. And so we really just. I just wanted to highlight the importance of, like, good daily habits for your daily routine. Knowing again. And I'm not here to be like the sugar police because believe me, my kids and I eat plenty of sugar. I'm just highlighting what happens and how we want to try and do this in moderation because what ends up happening is right, as I've said, sleep disorder, breathing kicks in. Okay? And so I just want to reinforce that your airway health is directly impacted by your, you know, it directly impacts, I should say, your sleep health and your overall health. And so if you're like, oh, my gosh, my kids are constantly sick, it's cold and flu season. Well, why is it that some kids don't have. They're not impacted at all during cold and flu season, the weather changes, everyone's getting sick, but some kids just aren't. Well, oftentimes when I look at what they're eating and what, like, what their parents are offering to them and what the child is eating, it has a lot to do with the nutrition going into their body airway. You know, what they're doing for their airway. Are they nasal rinsing? Are they avoiding sugar a couple hours before bed? When they eat the sugar, are they trying to mix it with a protein and a fat? You know, how things are broken down in the body matters and impacts the other, you know, what else happens in the body. Okay, so if I can just kind of sum it up right, the holiday tips and strategies, again, when possible, don't, you know, we always go, oh, of course they're off the wall. They just ate all this sugar on, like, Halloween night, Right? Or we went to a party and they had a ton of sugar and food dies. Okay, well, don't be angry at your kid when they're bouncing off the wall because you basically fed them the fuel that leads to that. Right? So if you don't want them bouncing off the wall, plan the treats earlier in the day, not right before bed. Hydrate, okay? Water can dramatically decrease inflammation and it can even help to offset, like, the sugar or as an adult, alcohol effects. So hydration is super important. And this is like hydrating with water, not juices. And Things that have sugar, but hydrating with water specifically. And then maybe you want to create some kind of like a wind down routine that supports sleep, right? So instead of having that sugar or alcohol crash dep on, if we're talking about kids or us as adults, what can we do to kind of like wind them down? Right? Avoid sugar. A couple hours before bed, dim the lights, give them a book, keep them off screens. Like, I know I'm going there. You know, I am not anti screen. We do screens in my house, but we do, we do not do any screens after dinner. Their homework needs to be done before dinner because a lot of their homework is done on a computer. I want them off their screens, off of Netflix, Disney plus, whatever they're watching, I want that done. And we actually have like a little calendar in my where my kids both have their own checklist. And on that checklist it says no iPad after dinner. Like no screens after dinner. They know that and it's a daily reminder to them. They go and they check that off in the afternoon so that they remember, okay, after dinner, I'm not going on the screens. Right? So it's, we're basically creating a wind down routine, as I like to call it, that's going to help support sleep because, listen, my kids might put on some music and dance. They're practicing their dance for their dance class, but it's getting their body moving a little bit without sitting and watching a screen without consuming a lot of sugar, right? So we might do that, which might kind of kick up energy a little bit, but also helps to make the body a little bit more tired, but in a healthier movement kind of way. And that's going to be more supportive for their sleep than consuming electronics and sugar. And listen, I pass no judgment if you're like, halle, I hear you, but nope, I'm not changing anything in my family. This is what we do. Sorry you don't like it. Hey, all the power to you, like that is fine. I pass no judgment. I'm really trying to give these tips for parents who have told me, like, I don't know how to help my kid. They are so wound up before bed, they cannot calm down to go to sleep. Their sleep is not quality. They're exhausted the next morning. Well, these are the things that we need to be doing right. And then, and here's the thing, the hardest part of it all is modeling these good habits yourself. So while I would like open the pantry, walk in and have a cookie after dinner, I don't do that. In front of my kids anymore. Like, listen, I'm not going to say 100% of the time I don't do that, but for the most part, I don't do that because if I don't want them to do it, I'm not going to do it either. And so I do talk to them about balance. I talk to them about how different things we put in our body have a different impact on our energy levels. So I don't like to qualify foods as good or bad. Like, you have not sat. I've not sat here and said to you, like, sugar is bad for you. No, I've talked about how sugar causes a sugar spike and how we get a lot of energy and then we crash. Right? I didn't say it was bad. I'm just talking about the reality. And this is how I have conversations with my kids. I don't like to demonize a certain type of energy or a certain food. Now, they know at home we don't eat food dyes, they eat whatever they want when they go out. But at home, like, we have certain rules. But again, I haven't demonized these things because I want my kids to understand that a healthy system can oftentimes process some of these things with greater ease. And so if they're at home, friend's birthday party, I want them to enjoy it. If they're at a holiday party, if it's Halloween and they have like one or two things, I want them to enjoy it with the understanding that they might have a sugar crash soon. Right? And so it's all about balance. Just like I keep talking about, like, in moderation. In this episode, it's the same thing. We have to discuss the balance with our kids. They are smarter than you think they are. And we have to model the habits that we want our kids to have ourselves, which is probably the hardest part of all of this, to be honest. So that's, you know, kind of is what, like a little nugget to you all. Like, this is how you as a professional can guide families during this season and focus on airway health and maybe make them. Have them. Not make them, but give them the opportunity to think about what they're doing regularly and what their kids have access to regularly, because that's going to have a direct impact on how they sleep, how they breathe, how they function and thrive. And again, it's not to demonize these things because, yes, we've got, we're in full blown holiday season right now. We got. And not everybody celebrates everything right but for those of us who do, we've got, like I said, Halloween just passed, we're headed into Thanksgiving in the U.S. and then we've got all the other holidays that come in December and there's a lot of meals and celebrations and oftentimes sweets that surround that. And so it's just a way to have a plan that helps us focus a little better so that the treats happen earlier in the day when possible. We, we promote hydration with water and we talk about creating a wind down routine that supports sleep, which is a good thing to do always, right? Even outside of holiday times. I mean, these are all good things to do outside of holiday time. But having an approach, a family having an approach where they can talk about this with their children and like, hey, this is going to be our holiday plan. You know, make it fun, make it light, make it airy, and model good habits when you can. But also teach moderation. It's okay to indulge once in a while, but it's also okay to say, you know what, it's seven o'. Clock, I think it would be better if we had this tomorrow after school or we have this after the party tomorrow. It's happening during the day instead of just going, oh yeah, you know what, go eat those five pieces of candy even though it's 9pm and you're about to go upstairs to bed. Right. Do you see what I'm saying here? So, okay, to sum this all up, tie it with a pretty little bow. What we eat and drink impacts how we breathe, how we sleep. And we see a lot more people get sick during the holidays because sugar breeds illness when it impacts our sleep and when it's over, there's over consumption, which is honestly what happens during the holiday season, especially in the US So I want to encourage everybody to like, enjoy yourself life, but be aware and strive for balance. And some of you may be like, you know, I have no interest in that. Like whatever Hallie. And others might be like, oh, wow, I didn't really think it could be that easy. I just have to kind of think about a plan and be more cognizant. Be more aware of how frequently my kids might be loading up on Sugar after 7pm when we're headed upstairs at 8pm yeah, that makes sense. Okay, I can dip that. Like let's have some, let's have a piece of candy after school when you get home and not at 7:00pm Right. So I just want to invite you to think about this, think about how it impacts you, your Family. If you're a therapist, how does it impact the families you work with, the kids that you're treating? And share this, share this episode with others, with parents, with colleagues who might need these reminders or who might just need this awareness brought to their attention, and just invite you to stay the course. Because I don't think these kinds of conversations are happening enough. But what we put in our body impacts us, and it's so critical and so important and just as important as the pediatric feeding therapy intervention, the myofunctional therapy intervention, all these other things that we are learning and implementing. And so this needs to be part of that conversation, because truly it is. We can't make progress, and significant progress at that, with a child or even adult who is so sleep deprived that they are just not functioning well. Right. So how do we help them function better? This is like step one. All right, so I know this is not my usual topic of conversation, but I thought it was really important to share this and kind of share, like, what we're focusing on. How I very simply implement this in my house. You know, my kids will say, well, can I have like a date? You know, it's a date. It's not, you know, sugar. Well, if they're going to do that, I want them to have a protein of fat with that date. And that might be their quote, unquote dessert that they have, like, with dinner. So with dinner, if there's a protein, a fat, a carbohydrate, and they have one date, well, that's now mixed in with that protein, fat, carbohydrate, and they're, you're not going to have this big blood sugar spike before bed because of the other foods they ate it with and because it's a natural food and not something that has all this added processed stuff in it. So there's definitely ways you can work around this and I hope this is helpful. Happy holiday season to everybody. I don't want to be the Debbie Downer here, but I did want to put a little focus on airway health and what we can be doing to support ourselves during the holidays. So that's what I've got for you today. I'll talk to you guys soon. This is Hallie signing off. Quick disclaimer.

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