Welcome folks to another spotlight episode! Today we give you Courtney Landin, Family Health Coach and owner of Living Healthy Happy.
Courtney's interest in health started when she was training for the Olympics! Impressive right?! She competed in Luge for the USA team in the 2002 & 2006 Olympics (Then she was Courtney Zablocki - look her up in Wikipedia). She learned so much about the body, how what we eat affects our functioning, and how sleep can impact our quality of life. She always knew she wanted to work with health care from an early age but the combination of exercise, nutrition, and sleep actually came together after she had her daughter. She and her husband had a rough time with her sleep and it made Courtney aware of how many people struggle with their children’s sleep. From that point on she knew she want to help other parents with their struggle, and that is how 'Living Healthy Happy' was born. As Courney put it: "parenting is a constant balance of "something" and often that is their child's sleep, and their own wellness. I help people find balance in regards to exercise, nutrition, and sleep which can greatly increase their quality of life."
As a sleep consultant, she guides parents to the proper schedules and routines for their child and family so they can all get the sleep they need and deserve.
She's different from other sleep consultants because she combines three elements together - exercise, nutrition, and sleep. These three elements work together to provide people with high quality of life, high energy and overall wellness. Courtney also knows that children and parents have a unique dynamic, therefore what works for one family may not work for another so she does fine tuning to find the balance for each family.
Her greatest achievement is being able to improve so many people’s family situation. When we don’t sleep it leads to other issues in life, such as fighting with a spouse, poor eating habits, lack of energy, skipping self-care, and not exercising. When she works with families she sees the changes that happen within the family along with hearing about the wonderful results and those are her proudest moments.
One of the biggest mistakes parents make is not being consistent. Consistency is a theme with parenting and sleep is not any different. Parents need to have a consistent bedtime routine along with a consistent bed time. Another problem is not knowing how much sleep a child needs. Babies need 12 hours of sleep at night. Up until at least age 12, a child still needs 10 to 11 hours of sleep at night. And last, Courtney advise that parents watch the amount of screen time their child gets and turn off devices and T.V.’s at least an hour before bedtime. If you are dealing with wild kids at night, think about when you turned off the devices they use and if they have had any time to wind down before bed.
Her goals for this year includes continuing to educate people about the importance of sleep. "Lack of sleep is becoming a health issue as we don’t recharge our bodies enough for the amount of work we do and stress we all have. Not getting proper sleep can lead to other health issues in life such as anxiety, high blood pressure, and excess weight". The importance of getting enough sleep starts when we are babies so, Courtney would like to make parents aware of how important sleep is for them and their child. She'd also like to increase awareness about how exercise, nutrition, and sleep work together to help our body function at it's best level. "Our actions work together and one element effects the other".
We asked Courtney for some tips for dealing with kids' sleeping issues and here's what she has to say:
"The advice I give really depends on the age of the child, but from toddler age, my tip for dealing with sleeping issues is to create a consistent routine for bedtime. Children really work well with consistency and it gives them a sense of calm knowing what to expect next. An example of bedtime would look like:
- Bath time (if having that night)
- PJ’s
- Brush teeth
- Book
The last step of reading a book helps to calm them down but it’s important that you aren’t having them fall asleep with you. If you are dealing with multiple wake-ups at night, try to create the same situation when they fall asleep at bedtime as if they were waking up at night. If you are helping them fall asleep at bedtime, they will need your help in the middle of the night too!"
You can watch a free webinar on Living Healthy Happy website, or review sample routines here.
Courtney works with parents internationally so even if you can’t meet in-person, she can still help your family. She knows how difficult it is to not get enough sleep and what an awful feeling it is. She want parents to know that there is a solution and they don’t have to struggle. It can be really confusing trying to figure out why your child won’t sleep because what you read online can be conflicting. That’s why she works with parents and they don’t have to try to figure it out on their own. She understands child development stages, routines, temperaments, and regressions. What could take a year or more of figuring out your issue on your own, together both of you can figure it out in two weeks.
Courtney also offers a free 15 minute consult to talk about what challenges you are dealing with and what you can do together to solve the issue.
You can check out her site or follow her through social media at:
Schedule Free 15 minute consultation
www.LivingHealthyHappy.com
Facebook: Living Healthy Happy
Instagram: Living.Healthy.Happy
Twitter: @LiveHealthHappy
