Nobody’s Sleeping – Dr. Bijoy John

Sleep is essential for our overall health and well-being, yet many people struggle to achieve the restorative rest they need. Dr. Bejoy John, a board-certified physician and sleep specialist, joins Pastor Bob Thibodeau to share his insights on effective sleep strategies that can dramatically improve our quality of life.

He introduces the "SLEEP NOW" acronym, which emphasizes the importance of establishing a consistent sleep schedule, creating a conducive sleep environment, and the significance of disconnecting from electronics and worries before bedtime.

Dr. John also discusses common sleep disorders and how poor sleep can lead to various health issues, including anxiety and decreased libido. With practical tips and a deep understanding of sleep's impact, this conversation offers valuable guidance for anyone looking to enhance their sleep and overall health.

Takeaways:

• A consistent sleep schedule is crucial; aim for 10 PM to 6 AM for optimal rest.
• Creating a low-light, low-noise, and cool environment greatly enhances sleep quality.
• Avoid electronic devices for at least 30 minutes before bedtime to improve sleep onset.
• Exercise should be completed at least four hours before sleep to ensure restful nights.
• Implement techniques like vivid imagination and Yoga Nidra to calm your mind before bed.
• Schedule a specific worry time in the evening to prevent anxiety from disrupting sleep.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

 EMAIL:  bjohn@sleepwellnessinfo.com

Website:  https://www.sleepfixacademy.com/

Website:  https://www.sleepwellnessinfo.com/

Book:  “Nobody’s Sleeping” on Amazon

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Welcome to the Kingdom Crossroads podcast with Pastor Bob Thibodeau.

Pastor Bob conducts personal interviews with Christian influencers from around the globe, helping Christian authors, recording artists, CEOs, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and yes, pastors and ministry leaders to get the word out about what they are doing to impact the world with the gospel.

Our podcast has been rated in the top 12% of all podcasts in the world by listennotes.com so you know your message will be heard.

Now here is your host with today's interview, Pastor Bob Thibodeau.

Hello everyone everywhere.

Pastor Bob Thibodeau here.

Welcome to the Kingdom Crossroads podcast Today.

We're so blessed you're joining us.

Dr.

Bjoy John is a board certified physician and a sleep specialist in Nashville, Tennessee.

He's received the top sleep special awards several years in a row as well.

He's the founder and medical director of the Sleep Wellness Clinics of America and the Sleep Fix Academy.

He's also the author of Nobody's Sleeping 7 Proven Sleep Strategies for Better Health and Happiness.

Great.

Amen.

But I want to help you help me.

Welcome to the program, Dr.

Bejoy John.

Dr.

John, I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to help us the schedule the time and talk to us today.

Thank you for having me on the show, Bob.

I mean I'm so looking forward for this.

You know, the message of good sleep for everyone.

You know, we heal in our sleep, right?

So it is a superpower.

I want everyone and your viewers and everyone to first understand it and then unleash it.

You know, it's a power within us.

It's free.

So that's why it's life and I want to help as much people as I can.

Amen.

Amen.

We were talking before the recording about how I'd have this, the Great big, long 25 letter word to hollow out my throat area because I had sleep apnea really bad.

Something like 40 episodes an hour or something.

I can't remember what it was, but they, they said, oh yeah, you're, you're, you're, you definitely need something.

So, and that, that helped tremendously.

You know, my wife has stopped complaining about me snoring.

You know, not all that.

So that's, that's good.

That was way back 20 some years ago.

But anyway, what is the average amount of sleep that a person should try and get each night.

Does it vary by age and sex and all that, or is it just like, you know, you hear six to eight hours or something like that?

Great question.

It really is with age.

The younger you are, the more time you sleep.

Like babies sleep all the time.

Right.

So when you sleep, we secrete growth hormone.

Literally, we are longer after we wake up for children, not adults.

We don't grow much.

So.

And also it varies a little bit with sex.

So.

So women need a little bit, 30 minutes extra to sleep.

So in general, you're right.

Most of the, most of the adults need about seven to eight hours of sleep.

So the important question I asked is not the know the quantity, it's the quality.

So in the morning, you wake up after eight hours of sleep and you're still tired.

You might have a sleep problem.

Right?

So that's the big question asked.

But within us, there are some people who only need small amount of sleep.

You know, if you look at Elon Musk, he's called a short sleeper, but that's a very few, you know, percentage of us, you know, he won the genetic lottery.

So there's a lot of misinformation.

But people, you know, say, hey, you don't need much sleep.

You know, look at these people.

You are sleeping too much.

You need to work.

But actually that's not so, you know, you need, all of us needs about seven, eight hours of sleep.

Because when you're well rested, it's like a super computer, charged, ready to go.

So that's the question.

The most important question I ask people is how you feel in the morning when you wake up after seven or eight hours of sleep.

If you're still tired, then you might have a sleep debt.

We not, you know, not slept for many days or you have a sleep problem.

Yeah.

Amen.

You know, back when I was in the military, in my younger days, I averaged probably about five, maybe, maybe six hours on a Saturday type of thing, you know, and that seemed to do well for me.

You know, today, 44 years later, I need about seven hours of sleep, you know, so it stretches out and even then, sometimes I'll take a nap about 20, 30 minutes during the middle of the day and nothing's going on.

Is that normal for someone who used to go without?

You know, I mean, I, I went on one deployment, on one exercise, I actually went 74 hours with no sleep because of everything that was happening and going on.

But boy, when I laid down, they said, no, you, you need to go crash.

And crash was a good word for it because I remember just laying back on the ground.

It's like people are just hitting switches on the, you know, and I was just shutting down by the time I had hit the ground.

Eyes out.

Yeah, that's called, you know, you were having a sleep debt for many, many years.

You know, a lot of people who work these kind of job, including physicians who do a lot of night call, you know, we are carrying a sleep debt and eventually it will take about six months to relieve that debt.

And especially in today's world, a lot of young youngsters are carrying a sleep debt because they are spending the extra 2, 3 hours compromising on their sleep by being on their cell phones and doing other things.

So the society in general is going on a sleep debt, you know, but eventually erode you slowly.

You know, it'll, it will affect your heart, it'll affect your memory, you know, it'll affect your cognition.

It'll, you know, have on people have uncontrolled blood pressure.

So we, we in general are, are asleep deprived society.

Yeah.

Amen.

You know, I remember back when I was growing up, the television and go off the air at midnight, you know, I mean, we only had three channels anyway, but, you know, and then they'd play, you know, at midnight they play the national anthem for about five seconds.

After that, a screen would come up and say something like, you know, we'll be off the air till 5am and then static, and it was nothing until 5am and they come back on with the test pattern and then the national anthem and all that again.

In this world of 247 television, is it harder for us to shut down and just actually go to bed?

So we are all creatures of wanting the information.

You know, we want to know, we want our opinion heard.

And so the social media is a perfect, you know, example where we want to be connected with everyone.

So it is actually hindering, you know, the 247 is a major problem.

We don't know when to shut it because it's so intoxicating, it's so addicting to get that information.

You know, I want to know and you know, I catch myself.

What did I.

I learned from that?

You know, watching that.

Exactly.

That video, it didn't change my life.

But, you know, I'm so inquisitive, it feels so good.

And then once the algorithm picks up what you know, that's all they feed and that's all we want to know.

Yeah.

Amen.

Amen.

And you mentioned cell phone use.

You know, I know some people that take their Phones to bed with them.

Yeah, I mean that, that's the most.

Most dangerous thing we can do because for many reasons, you know, in my, one of my strategies I tell people in, you know, the, you know, my subtitle of the book is the seven Proven Strategies is to see what happens.

Cell phone is two pronged damage.

One is the light from the phone is telling us, hey, it's still, you know, daytime, no need to sleep.

Plus when you keep it next to you, you know, you maybe have a notification or even in the middle of the night when you wake up, you're tempted to look at it and then of course you're going to look at the time.

It's 3:00.

Oh, it' only 3:00, you know, and then you have a text message or you want to scroll, you know, all that stuff and your mind starts, you know, racing and then the light still goes into the brain.

So I keep my phone away from me in my bathroom.

It's a way I set an alarm for whatever time.

You know, I had this interview this morning.

I, you know, set a time and then so literally I have to walk and turn off the alarm and I'm done for the day.

I don't snooze, you know, I don't have the, you know, I call it the necessary evil.

Yeah, Amen.

Yeah, I, we talked about when I was in the military, you know, because I had undiagnosed sleep apnea back then.

Sometimes I'd sleep through the alarm.

You.

I didn't want to wake everybody in the house up when I got up at 4:30 in the morning.

So I had a w.

An alarm set on my watch.

Right.

And sometimes I'd be sleeping in my.

It'd be underneath the pillow or something and I'd miss it.

Well, I had a second beep, beep, beep type of alarm that set on the dresser for five minutes later.

And then sometimes I'd even sleep through that one.

Then I had the Big Ben, the loud clanging bells and stuff that was set for five minutes after that.

Sometimes that's what would wake me up.

But normally I would get up, turn my watch off, turn off the other two alarms and wake everybody up and all that.

But yeah, I had those backups in place because of the, I didn't know it at the time, but that sleep deprivation and you know, with now with the cell phone, I'm like you, I put it in the other room.

It's on that, the thing where it doesn't allow any ringing of the phone or anything except for certain numbers that you've authorized to cut through the.

The blockage.

And, you know, that way I don't get the notifications or anything.

It goes off, I have to get up, go in, turn it off.

And like I said, once my feet.

Because that's the whole thing.

Once my feet hit the floor, I'm up.

Yeah.

So I tell people, if you.

If you need multiple alarms and you're snoozing multiple times, you clearly have a sleep debt or a sleep disorder.

That's it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like I said, it was undiagnosed back then.

It was 20 years before I got diagnosed.

Most people, it takes about at least 10 years before they're diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Really?

Wow.

Okay.

What motivated you to write your book?

Nobody's sleeping.

So from a young age, you know, I knew the power of sleep.

You know, as in med school.

I went to med school when I was 17, and then if I slept the night, you know, before the exam, I actually performed better.

So, you know, the information was not much there, but I knew deep inside, hey, this is, you know, something very unique about sleep.

And, you know, life went, you know, I lost my mom.

I couldn't sleep.

So.

And then I started this business and residency fellowship.

All that affected my sleep, but I was able to find a way to sleep better.

So then I said, man, if I can do this, I.

You know, I do this in a daily basis, and I help a lot of patients here in my practice.

I give the same strategies, and it works.

So.

And then I said, let me just give it to many, many people.

So then I said, the only way to reach many people is to write a book.

And then I, you know a lot on tv, radio, and then get on shows like yours to spread the good news of, you know, good sleep.

Amen.

Amen.

And you also created a Sleep now course that you make available on your website@sleepfixacademy.com and the acronym Sleep Now.

Can you share and explain that for us, please?

Great.

So the seven strategies, I said, hey, you know, we need to have an acronym so people can remember easily.

So it's called Sleep Now.

S, L, E, E, P.

I can go over it if you're ready?

Sure.

Yeah, sure.

So the S is the schedule.

So we have to have a schedule.

I tell people to sleep between 10pm and 6am that's the.

That's the routine for everyone.

So, hey, this is the time to rest.

You know, eight hours.

You have to rest.

So the schedule is Very, very important.

Like any plan to succeed, you have to have.

And also there's a reason to go at 10pm because the sweet sleep happens earlier in the night.

The later the night goes, we go into the REM sleep, which is needed, but it's not very restorative.

So that's why it's, you know the acronym or not the acronym, the saying early to bed and early from bed.

It's valid.

So 10 to 6 is a great time to focus on the most important function of your life is sleeping, right?

Next in the acronym is the L is the low light, low noise and low temperature.

The melatonin, the hormone, we have plenty of it within our cells, is only secreted in low light and low temperature, right?

Because the word mela means darkness.

So melatonin is only secreted in darkness.

So make sure your bedroom is dark and cold.

And also our body's melatonin gets secreted just before our temperature, body temperature drops.

So that's why you want your bedroom to be very cold.

65 to 70.

And that's why even when we, when we go on big vacations, tropical vacations where it's hot, we don't sleep well because it's too hot.

You know, we don't secrete much melatonin.

Of course noise is a hindrance.

So that's the L.

Low light, low noise, low temperature.

Then the next in the acronym is the big one, Electronics.

We talked about it.

So electronics creates a lot of information to us.

Our mind is provoking.

So I tell people to get off electronics at least 30 minutes prior to going to sleep and also keep it away.

And also a big fan of no timepieces in your bedroom because we all wake up, you know, sleep, we think it's like on, off.

It's a complicated process.

It has multiple stages.

We all wake up.

I woke up last night, I went to the restroom.

Then I didn't look at the clock anywhere.

I just went back to sleep.

You know, I keep my sleep shape.

So not have your phone.

No.

I say no to electronics.

30 minutes prior to going to sleep.

So that's the E.

The next E is exercise.

Anytime you exercise, you creating heat and also you're creating endorphins.

Remember, the body core body temperature has to drop before our sleep hormones are turned on.

So if you have to exercise, the best time to exercise is in the morning.

But if you have a chance to exercise only in the evening, I tell people to exercise at least two or three hours prior to going to sleep.

So your body's not wrapped up.

So going on with the acronym, the P is powering off your mind.

So that's the acronym in the P.

I teach two techniques, you know, one is called vivid imagination.

So that's how you turn off your mind from reality.

So the vivid imagination, you start thinking about, you know, the abstract, you know, you use your imagination and not on your bills or the problems of your life.

Here I tell people to watch, you know, the last show you watch.

I want to be the creator, the director of that show.

You're going into a totally different space.

I have been using this technique myself for more than 30 years with great success.

I started I don't think about reality in my bed and said the next technique is called the yoga nidra or the corpse pose.

You know, you lay down with your palms up and start, you know, focusing from your scalp all the way down.

It's like a body scan.

So these are the two techniques I tell people to shut off your mind.

But remember, you can only shut off your mind if you give it a chance.

You're already prepared.

You're not, you know, having your phone next to you.

So that's the only way you can turn off, you're giving your body.

You can't just, you know, like on, off, switch, turn it on and turn it out, right?

It's an art to it.

It's a gradual.

It's like making a complicated, sophisticated meal.

You have to have the right ingredients, you know, you have to give it a chance.

And so, so the next is the acronym is no.

No to worries.

You know, I tell people to take a worrying time outside the bedroom.

So I tell people to wor 6pm and 8pm From 8pm you're just thinking about winding down, right?

So, and if you can't, you know, finish off your worries, write it down, you can solve it the next day.

So this is another way of not bringing the, you know, problems to the bed.

You know, you, you can't just do it, you know, you have to slowly work your way.

And of all the strategies I tell people, these are the, you know, the powering of your mind.

And the not worries are the one.

People are like, wow, I've not heard that before.

So.

And I do this in my own life, you know, yesterday, hey, what's my day tomorrow?

I have this, you know, meeting, this meeting, I'm done.

You know, I don't, you know, lay in bed and say, oh, no, you know, I got no.

So bed is something, you know, it's a beautiful, magical place you know, it should not be a toilet paper.

And the last is W.

You win in life, you win by hustling.

But again in sleep, you win by losing.

You know, you take it easy, keep it simple and keep everything simple.

So that's how you really win in.

In sleep you have to lose yourself.

Right.

So that's the Sleep now acronym.

It's taken off.

And that course is a self help.

You know, I give all the tools, you know, it's interactive, you can fill forms, you can know what sleep problems you have.

I go into depths of all that.

It's a six weeks program.

You know, you can do it faster.

But you know, I've got like several videos explaining these techniques and you know, people can find out all the problem problems and I've had great success with it.

Amen.

Amen.

That's good.

Sleep now.

Sleep now.

I'll put that in the show notes.

Amen.

You've also broken down for your readers of the book five things that we should know in order for us to get the sleep that we truly need.

Could you share that with us as well?

Yeah.

So you the.

The sleep, you know, as you grow, you know, there are different stages of sleep.

The sweetest stages is that's called the stage three non REM sleep.

That actually happens earlier in the children have a lot of it.

That's why they're sound sleepy.

You can't even wake them up.

As we grow later we lose that.

So how do you get that is a question that I get asked.

There is no easy answer to that, you know.

You know, doing all the other things right.

And then you give your body a chance.

Or the easy way is I tell people hey, I didn't sleep well.

Hey, don't worry.

If you don't sleep well tonight, the next day you'll have more of sweet sleep.

Right.

So when you have sleep deprived the next night you sleep so soundly.

Right.

So.

So that's make up sleep.

So the five things I will tell people to watch out.

Snoring is your major enemy to sleep.

So because snoring means air is not flowing well.

So there's an obstruction.

So we talk about sleep apnea.

There's what called obstructive sleep apnea.

So anybody who's snoring, it's an obstruction.

Whether it's a child, an adult, make sure you seek help.

You know, children, it's very easy.

It's the tonsils that's causing them to be block.

So you can remove that adults is complicated.

It's you Know, your back of your, you know, throat is, you know, closing and you got to stretch it or, you know, get the tongue out of the way by using cpap.

So that's one in adults.

Now, number two will be if you have blood pressure problems or if you have diabetes problems, make sure you rule out sleep apnea.

Because every time you have an apnea, the body is revved up, you know, it jacks up, you know, chemicals to keep you awake.

So when your breath is stopped, when you have an apnea, the body's compensating mechanism is releasing stress hormones like norepinephrine, and these increase the blood pressure.

So if you have blood pressure problem or if you have diabetes problem, make sure you have.

You rule out sleep apnea.

Number three, if you are tired and in a mental fog like you're not, you might, you know, you, you are sleep deprived.

Also if you have, like, depression or anxiety, you know, I have a picture in my book where it's a vicious cycle.

You know, poor sleep causes, you know, worsens anxiety and anxiety causes poor sleep.

So it's a vicious cycle.

So if you are tired, groggy, you're unhappy, if you're anxious, if you're depressed, then you might want to think about whether you have a sleep disorder.

You know, of all the things, the easy one is, you know, obstructive sleep apnea or insomnia where you're not sleeping too much.

So the next one, if you are, if your sexual function or if your libido is low, good sleep and treatment of sleep disorders like sleep apnea improves your sexual function.

Because when you have an apnea, there's not much oxygen for flowing to the sex organs and you're not making enough testosterone.

So if you have low libido, one of the things that you can check is if you have a sleep disorder.

So when you're tired, you're not in a mood to have sex.

So if your sex life is low, you might have a sleep disorder.

So that's another one.

So the fifth one is before you go to sleep, if you're very restless and if you're moving your legs and then you can't sleep, you might have a very easily treatable condition called restless legs syndrome.

You know, it's caused by iron deficiency and it can be easily treated.

So if you have all these symptoms which is affecting your body without your knowledge, if you're tired, if you're a mental fog, if you're anxious, if you're depressed, you have high blood pressure, if you have diabetes, if you have low sexual function and if you're restless in the evenings.

These are all sleep related problems.

See, the challenge, Bobby, you know, is the sleep problems don't hurt like a toothache.

You know, people ignore it, but it's slowly eroding us from the within.

So these are the, you know, five things I tell people.

If you have these problems and then you might have a sleep problem.

Amen.

Amen.

Dr.

John, this has been so interesting.

How can someone obtain a copy of your book?

No, I've seen it on Amazon.

Is that where they should go to get it?

It's available on all the bookstores.

You know, you can go to Barnes and Noble, Target, you know, any other favorite bookstore you go, you know, and you know, I share a lot of my life and my faith.

You know, I come from India.

I actually grew up in a place where doubting Thomas was persecuted and killed.

I studied this called St.

Thomas Mount, you know, so I come from a very holy place and one of those descendants of the first church.

You know, we have been Christians for many, many centuries.

So I'm a special Christian, you know, Christ after Christ, death, the disciples formed a church.

And I'm a descendant of that, you know, I'm from, I'm called the Syrian Orthodox Church.

Share about my faith and my life and my passion.

So the, you know, in this world today, we are all, you know, not, you know, you know, it's a hyped up world.

You know, people are all polarized.

But I think if you can sleep a half hour every day, we all will be better.

Remember, when you have a problem in our life, what do we tell ourselves, Pastor?

We tell let's sleep on it, right?

Nobody says let's exercise on it, right?

So sleep is healing, you know, it is spiritual, you know, after a great night of sleep.

I came with a title called nobody is sleeping.

You know, that's why I'm able to resonate with everybody.

More than that, you know, I want people to read it and share the world and discover the superpower that that's within ourselves.

It is free and we can be a whole better person.

You know, I found a way and I found the joy about good sleep.

And then I wanted you and everybody else to, you know, find that beautiful power we have within ourselves.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, I know there's some listeners who may have some questions.

If someone has a question or like more information, I'll think, how can they get in touch with you or find more information?

Yeah, there's My Sleep Fix Academy.com website has got my email and my book has my email and you know, I'm, I'm everywhere.

If you just google my name, you know you can find me and I'll be happy to respond to your viewers because you know, I'm on this mission and path.

Amen.

I'll put links all this in the show notes below, folks.

Like I said, I've had sleep apnea.

Yeah, I had to have that big 25 letter name for the surgery and it wasn't fun.

I mean it hurt to swallow spit.

But the good news is 20 plus years later, I don't snore anymore.

Amen.

Sleep is something that every single one of us needs on a daily basis.

Amen.

You know, like I said, I went all a little over three days when I was deployed with a cavalry and it was not pretty.

Okay?

When I crashed, I slept for 22 hours.

Amen.

I've never had to do that again.

Praise God.

Don't want to do it again.

But I just share that because no matter how tough you think you are, there will come a time when your body says enough is enough and it'll shut down on you, period.

When you cannot get enough rest during your sleep, your body is going through the same sort of situation.

It'll make you give it some rest and that could be dangerous.

As a cop, I've worked many an accident scene where the driver fell asleep, sometimes permanently.

I urge you folks, drop down the show notes, reach out to Dr.

John, click the links, check out the resources on his website, order his book Nobody's Sleeping seven Proven Sleep Strategies for Better Health and Happiness.

Do it right now while you're thinking about it.

Don't wait.

Because you know as well as I do you're going to forget about.

Click it right now while you're listening to this episode.

Dr.

John, thank you again for taking the time out of your busy schedule just to come on this program and sharing this very important information with us.

I do appreciate it, brother.

Thank you.

It was a pleasure and it was a good time and hope your viewers are empowered and let's sleep well and let's all be well.

Thank you, Pastor.

Amen.

Amen.

Folks, that's all the time we have for today for Dr.

BJ Jah and myself, this pastor by reminding you to be blessed in all that you do.

Thank you for listening to today's episode of the Kingdom Crossroads podcast.

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for more information, until next time, be blessed in all that.