Talia Shapero Adult Sleep Coaching Services, 822 Richmond Street West suite 102, Toronto, ON (2026)

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822 Richmond Street West Suite 102

05/27/2026

Today is my anniversary and it marks 13 years of being married and 20 years since we met (!)

I love my husband dearly but it hasn’t always been easy. We’ve been on a journey dealing with long distance, a break up, moving to other countries together and setting up a new life, navigating parenthood and everything in between.

What we have learned over the years is that fighting before bed or when one of us is tired is a no go zone. Obviously there are times when we can’t control this but that is a general rule of thumb for us.

Why do we follow this rule?

Well, sleep plays an important role in regulating hormones, including your stress hormones. Sleep balances mood and your capacity to handle big emotions. When you don’t sleep well, you can become less empathetic so you may not be as sensitive and understand the needs, emotions and intentions of your partner. You generally have a more negative outlook and perception of the world. The amygdala, which is the part of your brain that detects threats (whether real or perceived), becomes overactive when you are under slept, so you’re more likely to be up for a fight and less likely to tolerate frustration. My baseline is already a bit feisty and I know when I’ve had a poor night of sleep, I am WAY less patient and understanding and far more argumentative with my husband and I’m also less resilient to any criticism. Things that might usually be a small disagreement can end up becoming a larger fight. But…I. JUST. CAN’T. HELP. IT!

So the next time you’re sleep deprived and your loved one is coming at you for something small that you’re ready to go to war for, try and stop for a minute. Take a breath. And say “listen - I hear what you’re saying but I can’t receive it right now because I’m exhausted and don’t want to turn this into something bigger than it is. Can we take a rain check and talk about it tomorrow?” If you can both agree to park it for the night, chances are good that it will be resolved in a more constructive manner tomorrow.

05/19/2026

I’ve already headed out of town but some of you may be starting your spring holidays or planning summer trips and travelling abroad. Whenever we travel across multiple time zones, we run the risk of getting jet-lagged.

Jet lag is a temporary sleep problem that is caused by a disconnect between the time of day at your travel destination and your body’s internal clock ie circadian rhythm. This mismatch occurs when quickly traveling across multiple time zones, especially with long-distance flights. Your circadian rhythm signals to your body when to stay awake and when to sleep and it is influenced by cues like light and dark, eating and sleeping schedules.

Rapidly travelling to a new time zone can throw off your circadian rhythm, which includes the timing of sleep and jet lag can cause daytime fatigue, an unwell feeling, trouble staying alert and stomach problems. Although symptoms are temporary, you can take steps to help prevent or lessen the effects of jet lag.

Top tips for beating jet lag:
✈Get bright light in the AM
✈Get on a regular eating and sleeping schedule in your new locale
✈Keep hydrated
✈Take a 10-30 min nap if you need to
✈Consider taking melatonin supplements

05/16/2026

I’m about to embark on a European vacation with my husband and son to visit some family and friends.

We do this every couple of years to catch up with family and friends. This journey will be long and we’re crossing multiple time zones in a short period of time, resulting in some inevitable jet lag.

So what am I doing to help minimize the effects of circadian disruption?

First thing - I downloaded the Timeshifter App, where I input my flight details and regular sleep patterns and then it generated a pre-departure plan for me. A couple of days before I fly, I’m going to start going to bed earlier and wake up earlier because I'm flying west to east and I'll continue this pattern when I’m on the plane so it helps me slowly adjust to the new time zone that I’m in.

I will make sure to keep hydrated on the plane and eat lighter meals. Eating heavy meals at the wrong time for your body can cause indigestion and alertness at the wrong times.

As soon as I get to Portugal (our first stop!), I’m going to shift to the local time zone - so that means getting bright light first thing in the AM and throughout the day, eating meals at regular times and going to bed and waking at the same time as I would at home.

Yes, this is a commitment and ideally I can get my family on board so we’re following the same schedule (unlikely from previous experiences!) BUT - I know that following a plan in advance will help me hit the ground running and maximize my time when I’m there.

If you’re off somewhere distant or if you’re someone who travels for work frequently and you sleep decently to begin with, there are things you can do to maximize alertness and a regulated sleep schedule and minimize the detrimental effects of jet lag.

05/10/2026

While there are many approaches to deal with a monkey mind, the overarching theme is that you’ve got to carve out some time during the day or in the evening to address them.

A simple brain dump before bed may be effective for you.

Maybe it’s a simple to-do list, maybe it’s a list of questions you want to come back to tomorrow, maybe it’s a free flow journal activity where you’re jotting down whatever comes to mind.

Or chatting to a friend can be a great way to park some of those thoughts.

Everyone is going to be drawn to a different approach. For some a simple act of distraction can push those thoughts away - play geography in your head, count backwards from 1000 in 7s, listen to some guided imagery so that your brain is focused on something positive before bed.

To learn more about why your mind races at night and what you can do about it, Check out my latest blog post titled “How to Deal with Racing Thoughts at Night”
*link in bio

05/06/2026

Do you find at the end of your evening, you’re physically exhausted, maybe mentally worn out but as soon as your head hits the pillow and you turn off the lights, there’s this backlash of thinking, ruminating, planning and/or worrying?

One of the theories as to why we tend to think or worry at night time is that we haven’t taken time to process our thoughts or worries from the day and then they appear at night. So many of us tend to race through our days, ticking off the boxes of responsibility and life - wake up, eat, get kids ready (if you have them), work, maybe gym, dinner, maybe socialize, do chores, zone out on something and then get into bed. And then you turn off the lights. And it’s truly the only time from the moment you woke up where it’s quiet, it’s dark, free of distractions and THIS is the time where the busy brain floodgates open. Your brain has finally been given time and space to roam free and over time, your brain has also been conditioned to think about these things during the night. Brains are very clever and pick up on patterns fairly quickly. If you’re overthinking things before bed or during the night and this has happened on a few occasions, your brain learns - Hey! My bed is a place for sleep, but my bed in the night time is also the place where I can fret and problem-solve. And your brain will be looking to repeat that pattern.

So what can you do about it? Check out my latest blog post titled “How to Deal with Racing Thoughts at Night”
*link in bio

05/02/2026

Are you someone who crashes out quickly at the beginning of the night but in the middle of the night you wake (and it’s at exactly the same time!) and your brain goes from 0 to 100 in about 3.7 seconds and wants you to solve all the world’s problems at this ungodly hour?

You’re not alone. About 90% of people I work with all have these racing thoughts that either prevent them from initially falling asleep or prevent them from going back to sleep. Or both. When I was deep in my insomnia, at exactly 3:13am every night, I would wake and be jolted into ruminating over family arguments, planning my lessons (I used to be a teacher), researching/fantasizing about future holidays, worrying about my health, and getting frustrated with all the earworms that were popping into my head.

Why does this happen?

I always explain to my clients sleep issues need to be viewed as a 24 hour problem. So much of what you do or don’t do during the night can impact your daytime energy levels and night time sleep. And if you’re not taking time to process your thoughts or feelings and wind down before sleep, they can absolutely creep up in the night when you really just want to be sleeping. And sleep and stress have this incredibly important bi-direction relationship. Sleep can help balance stress hormones and help you become more resilient in the face of stressors but stress and anxiety can make it hard to sleep.

That’s why it’s super important to try and manage stress levels on a day-to-day basis and in those minutes and hour before bed. Whether it’s talking to a friend, journaling, doing some deep breathing, a mindfulness activity, walking outside, engaging in exercise, designing a purposeful wind down activity or seeking professional help, there are ways to deal with worry during the day so they don’t intrude on your nights.

To learn more about what to do about racing thoughts, Check out my latest blog post titled “How to Deal with Racing Thoughts at Night”
*link in bio

04/30/2026

Hormones can impact sleep but did you know that sleep affects hormone production?

In lieu of National Fertility Awareness Month, I thought I would highlight testosterone. Reproductive hormones such as estrogen and progesterone get talked about a lot when it comes to women's fertility and sleep challenges but fewer know about the role of testosterone and how its levels are impacted as a result of sleep deprivation.

A study was done several years back that took healthy young men, deprived them of sleep for a week, and then measured their testosterone levels.

What did they find?

Researchers discovered that sleeping about 5 hours a night for one week temporarily lowered testosterone levels in men by an equivalent of 11 years of aging. 11 years!!

Apart from its reproductive function, testosterone is a foundational hormone that impacts:
◾Speed
◾Strength
◾Muscle mass
◾Mood

So if you’re a man on your fertility journey and getting chronic insufficient sleep and feel bad about it - you may want to have a chat with your doctor about getting your levels checked out as well as having a talk with a sleep specialist about how to get more sleep so you can optimize your health and potentially your fertility outcomes.

04/26/2026

April is National Fertility Awareness Month.

In general, whenever we chronically disrupt sleep in quantity and quality, we disturb hormonal balance. For women who are trying to conceive, it’s especially important for estrogen and progesterone levels to be balanced. Disrupted estrogen levels, for example, can cause fluctuations in body temperature, melatonin secretions, cortisol release and the quantity of REM sleep, all which can impact sleep. Short sleep duration is associated with irregular menstrual cycles, which may impact ovulation and reproductive health.

Poor sleep can also affect melatonin levels, which may influence reproductive health for both men and women as this hormone helps protect your eggs. Hormonal imbalance can lead to a decrease in libido for both men and women. Over time, this could disrupt your relationship with your partner and lead to fewer opportunities for pregnancy to occur.

But fertility is complex and the human body is complicated so it’s difficult (and irresponsible!) to make any direct correlations between poor sleep and infertility. That said, it’s an understudied and undervalued part of the fertility process and my goal is to make those going through the process more aware (but not more stressed!) about getting better sleep.

Improving your sleep habits and behaviours is truly a low cost, low time intervention that has the ability to make a huge difference to all areas of your wellness.

For more info on the connection between sleep and fertility, read my blog: https://www.taliashapero.com/blog/sleep-and-fertility.
*link in bio

04/24/2026

April is Fertility Awareness Month and next week is Canadian Fertility Awareness Week.

Sleep impacts every aspect of our health and well-being including our cognitive, mental health and physical health. It bolsters our immunity, affects heart function, metabolism, weight, appetite, blood sugar levels and importantly, regulates all the different hormones and hormonal functions (including the reproductive) in our body.

When people are trying to conceive, there is a focus on getting bodies and minds into an optimal state of health.

As there isn’t one area of our health that isn’t compromised when we don’t get the sleep we need, it’s a piece of the fertility puzzle that shouldn’t be overlooked.

While there is a significant lack of research on the impact of specific sleep disorders on reproduction, there is growing evidence that indicates sleep may be essential to reproductive function in a number of direct and indirect ways.

When I work with clients who are trying to conceive and/or going through alternative fertility routes, I’m always surprised at the small role that sleep screening plays amongst the specialists these individuals work with. My clients will get a blanket response of “try to sleep better, less screen time” but addressing sleep issues is so much more than that. If you are on or beginning your fertility journey, I encourage you to give as much focus to your sleep as you would these other areas of wellness (nutrition, physical activity, mental health etc) - these things are all connected and affect each other!

If you’re wondering how to optimize sleep at this time in your life, come and book a discovery call with me and we can chat more about it.

For more info, check out my blog this month on sleep and fertility: https://www.taliashapero.com/blog/sleep-and-fertility
*link in bio

04/20/2026

Every year on April 20th, people around the world celebrate 420 Day and get together at 4:20 in the afternoon to get high on ma*****na. If you know, you know.

The origins of 420 Day are unknown, with lots of different theories but most believed tale tracks back to a group of high school friends from California, known as “the Waldos.” In 1971, they’d meet at 4:20 PM to search for an abandoned cannabis crop. While they never found the plants, their meetups became associated with cannabis use.

As w**d has become legal in an increasing number of countries, it’s not surprising that people are more drawn to it to help fix their sleep. The thing is, we don’t have enough research to support whether it’s the magic bullet people are purporting to be.

The budding research (pun intended!) shows that while cannabis use may increase deep sleep in the short term, it also suppresses REM sleep and over time, it may mess up sleep architecture. To achieve healthy sleep, we need to cycle through all stages on a consistent basis. That said, there is also preliminary research that supports cannabis use as a sleep aid for certain conditions and population.

I love ma*****na. I have always loved w**d. For a variety of reasons: Fun. Therapy. Relaxation. However - in the depths of my insomnia, I became heavily reliant on it and the thing is, over time, my sleep was garbage regardless of what crutches I used. Part of my treatment was to wean off cannabis as a sleep aid as I had an unhealthy dependance on it. This is one of my greatest feats. Over time, I gained confidence in my body’s natural ability to sleep and sleep without it.

So many people believe that they need to use various crutches and hacks to get to sleep, whether it’s alcohol, w**d, sleeping pills, melatonin, sleepy time tea, etc…The thing is, these crutches are often masking the underlying causes of their sleep issues.

I’m not anti cannabis (I still love it!) but now I’m wary of using it as a sleep aid. But I’m also excited to see more studies completed on larger population samples in order to accurately judge its effectiveness. For now, the jury is still out…but Happy 420 to all that celebrate!

04/01/2026

April Fools!

This is one of the bigger misconceptions I see out there amongst the public. But I get it. Sleep happens at night and therefore = night time problem.

Whenever I work with a client, I always start by adjusting their mindset and telling them that sleep issues are a 24 hour problem. So much of what you do or don’t do during the day can impact your nights. Whether it’s your wake up time, caffeine or alcohol intake, light exposure, how you manage stress during the day, whether you get exercise, all these daytime things can impact your nights. So it’s not just about what’s going on in that 7,8,9 hour vacuum at night.

Some daytime tips to help your night:
◾Wake up at the same time every day
◾Get outside for 15-30 min as soon as you can after waking
◾Move your body - whether it’s a walk, a bike ride, a cardio class
◾Cut caffeine out 8 hours before bed
◾Utilize stress management techniques during the day

Talia Shapero Adult Sleep Coaching Services

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