Café “Mademoiselle”. Facts about sleep. Eating fried vegetables by hand. Spirulina or chlorella?

September 26, 2024.

Good morning! ☁️ I woke up around 8:00 AM. I still feel a bit tired, so I'm lying in bed for a little while longer and listening to a podcast about Paleo nutrition. Compared to the last few nights, I didn't dream at all last night.

At 10:30 AM, I went to the city. It’s very gray and it has been raining. The good thing about the rain and the wet ground is that my soles don't get as dirty as they do in dry weather.

I went to Espresso House to realize a little idea in my journal: to mark important events that have influenced my future life in red in the journal entry titles. I ordered a matcha latte and I'm trying it this time with coconut milk.

As I skimmed through the sections marked in red in the titles, I noticed that I have changed quite a bit. It was those red markings that made me aware of it. Before, I thought I hadn't changed much since incorporating minimalism into my life. 🤔

It started raining again as I left Espresso House. Not far away, I checked out the café "Mademoiselle," directly across from the zero-waste store. Here you can have a vegan breakfast. They have homemade organic bagels for only 2 euros, several varieties of vegan cakes (hazelnut, banana bread, and even gluten-free bounty cake), and various milk alternatives. Additionally, card payments are accepted. Very nice!

I ordered a homemade vegan hazelnut cake and a cappuccino with soy milk and immediately sat by the window. The cappuccino and the cake taste very good. It all cost me €7.90. Unfortunately, I didn't have the courage to eat the cake with my hands. I probably need a bit more bravery to eat with my hands in public. 😄

I asked the staff if the breakfast plate that the woman next to me didn't finish was going to be thrown away and if I could eat it. It had orange slices, watermelon slices, some spread, and bread on it.

“Yes, that will be thrown away. Unfortunately, we can't give it away. If something happens, we can't take responsibility,” the man replied as he cleared her table.

“That's a shame, such good food is just thrown away,” I reacted, shocked. He probably only said that because I should buy the breakfast plate myself. Well, that's too bad.

After the cake, I was so full and tired that I sluggishly strolled to the library to finish reading the sleep book.

On the way there, as often happens, I received a comment about going barefoot.

“Nice shoes!” one of the two young men who walked past me said.

“Thanks,” I replied just in time, and a wide grin spread across my face. I had to chuckle a little at this witty comment.

My protein powder is almost used up, and I've been considering buying spirulina or chlorella instead, as both algae contain a lot of protein and a complete amino acid profile. I've also heard that both have a strong detoxifying effect. So, I'm curious to try one or both of the algae. I saw that Betterlife market offers both types.

However, I will first do some more research at home to see whether I should try spirulina or chlorella first, as they are quite expensive. I definitely won't buy the same protein powder that I have now again, as it contains sweeteners and colorings that I want to avoid if I'm already supplementing protein.

At home, I lightly sautéed half a pumpkin with the two remaining parsnips, garlic cloves, and a handful of nuts, and of course, I ate it with my hands.

And again, I notice that eating with my hands is somehow tastier. Maybe it's because, when licking the utensils, which you do immediately when bringing food to your mouth, individual molecules from the utensils come off and thus affect the taste. That would be my spontaneous explanation for why eating with my hands tastes better to me than with utensils.

After talking on the phone with Julia, I listened to some podcasts about spirulina and chlorella. Both are not so bad, but I'm leaning more towards chlorella because it fascinates me as a freshwater algae more than spirulina, which is basically a bunch of cyanobacteria.

Chlorella has existed on Earth for about 2 billion years. It owes its name to its high chlorophyll content, the highest ever measured in a plant. In addition to chlorophyll, it contains many vitamins (B vitamins, A, C, D, E, K), minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, iron, zinc, copper, selenium), and a lot of antioxidants. The microalgae is also used to detoxify the body from heavy metals, especially lead and mercury.

Chlorella comes in the form of tablets, capsules, and powder. I saw tablets and powder at Betterlife Market. I would tend towards the powder so that I can mix chlorella into the water I drink daily

Unfortunately, the protein content in Chlorella as a supplement is not sufficient since I only take a small amount of it. Mmm. Nevertheless, I will give Chlorella a try – especially for detoxification purposes. 🧐

By the way, here are the insights I learned from the last pages of the book about sleep today:

• The brain switches between four different brainwaves. Beta waves: In this state, I am awake, alert, and consciously thinking about something. Alpha waves: In this state, I am conscious but physically and mentally very relaxed. This state occurs, for example, during meditation. Theta waves: In this state, my consciousness is diminished. I am very creative and can even dream. This is the state I am in just before falling asleep or when I am under hypnosis. Delta waves: In this state, I am unconscious and in deep sleep.
• With guided visualization, I can reduce anxiety and sleep better. It works as follows: First, I focus my attention on my breath. I count to five while inhaling. Then I exhale and count to seven. I do this about five times. Then I picture a beautiful place where I would like to be right now. Finally, I use my sensory perceptions to hear, feel, and taste the wonderful things in that place.
• If someone frequently wakes up at three in the morning, it could be a sign of nighttime hypoglycemia, meaning low blood sugar.
• A sleepless night increases the sense of anxiety by up to 30%. Deep sleep, on the other hand, reduces anxiety.
• The stronger I believe that I can't fall asleep, the greater my worry becomes, and thus the likelihood of insomnia increases.
• If one takes a nap, it should last no longer than 30 minutes. During this time, one does not enter deep sleep. This reduces the likelihood of being jolted from deep sleep and feeling more tired after the nap than before.
• In addition to monophasic sleep, there is also biphasic and polyphasic sleep. Polyphasic sleep is not healthy in the long run.
• The difference between the amount of sleep we need and the amount of sleep we actually get accumulates over time, leading to chronic sleep deprivation. So if I sleep two hours less each day than I need, after five days, there is a sleep deficit of ten hours that needs to be made up (but not necessarily all at once).
• A sleepless night increases the sense of anxiety by up to 30%. Deep sleep, on the other hand, reduces anxiety.
• The stronger I believe that I can't fall asleep, the greater my worry becomes, and thus the likelihood of insomnia increases.
• If one takes a nap, it should last no longer than 30 minutes. During this time, one does not enter deep sleep. This reduces the likelihood of being jolted from deep sleep and feeling more tired after the nap than before.
• In addition to monophasic sleep, there is also biphasic and polyphasic sleep. Polyphasic sleep is not healthy in the long run.
• The difference between the amount of sleep we need and the amount of sleep we actually get accumulates over time, leading to chronic sleep deprivation. So if I sleep two hours less each day than I need, after five days, there is a sleep deficit of ten hours that needs to be made up (but not necessarily all at once).
• Chronic sleep deprivation leads to issues such as increased aggressiveness, a higher risk of accidents or injuries at work, a 30% increased risk of coronary heart disease, four times the likelihood of catching a cold, more than 50% increased risk of type 2 diabetes, a 30% increased risk of overweight, an increase in chronic pain, and an increased risk of cancer.
• People with sleep deprivation perceive the world more negatively, for example, interpreting the faces of people more negatively than they actually are.
• 25% of traffic accidents on German roads occur due to microsleeps.
• The most commonly spoken word in sleep is “no,” and the number of curse words spoken during sleep occurs 800 times more frequently than in a waking state. 😄

In this sense, let's keep our mouths shut at night and go to sleep instead. Good night! 😘

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