High quality sleep is important for healing and overall wellness. While the body appears still and inactive, this is actually the time when the body is quite busy. During sleep, we restock our supply of hormones, process toxins, repair damaged tissue, create white blood cells which support immunity, eliminate the effects of stress, and process heavy emotions. Sleep is NOT something to skimp on.
Unfortunately, there is an epidemic of sleep disorders from falling asleep, to interrupted sleep, to actual insomnia. There are several simple things that can be done to improve sleep and, when sleep is under control, it is easier to make other healthy lifestyle changes.
The pineal gland, a small ant-sized lobe near the middle of our skull, is ultimately responsible for our sleep. Following our circadian rhythm, the pineal gland secretes a neurotransmitter and hormone that many of us are familiar with called melatonin. Melatonin suppresses the activity of the other neurotransmitters and helps to calm the brain.
For ideal sleep, melatonin should be rising steadily and one of our main stress hormones, cortisol, should be rock bottom by bedtime. The catch is, the pineal gland secretes melatonin in response to darkness. Also, our evening cortisol levels are lowest in environments of low noise. Since many of choose to watch TV, play video games, read ebooks, or answer emails in the evening, our activities often get in the way of these natural pro-sleep chemical shifts. The devices we use display mostly a full-spectrum light which can confuse the brain about whether it is night-time or not. We also tend to watch shows or answer emails that can be loud or stressful such as the evening news, a crime show, work email, or working on our never-ending to-do lists.
Simple changes can be quite powerful and provide us with the much-needed rest:
- Choose calming, quieter evening activities that resonate with you and help you to relax, both mentally and physically such as reading a book, taking a bath, playing with a pet, doing meditation, or going for a walk.
- Turn off all full-spectrum light for a full 1 to 2 hours before bedtime. This means no email, tv, smartphones, or ebooks.
- Avoid amping up your brain. This is not the time for budgeting, balancing your checkbook, next day planning, or stressful conversations.
- Do not consume any caffeinated foods or drink after 2 pm; this includes tea (even green), coffee, soda, or chocolate. Caffeinated foods and drinks may effect you several hours later.
- Make it quiet. If noise is a problem in your bedroom, use ear plugs or a fan for white noise.
- Be aware of the temperature. Rooms which are too hot or too cold tend to wake us up. Also, temperature extremes naturally mess with our stress hormones which promotes wakefulness.
- Enjoy a relaxing ritual at night. Herbal teas can help us to relax and set the tone for sleep. A hot bath with Epsom salts also works really well. Also, 10 minutes of gratitude journaling or reading an inspirational or spiritual book.
- Finally, quiet the digestion by not consuming any food for a full 3 hours before bed.
These suggestions can make the difference between a good night’s sleep or struggling to stay awake during your day.
For more suggestions on a healthy lifestyle, contact Missy Cohen, MPH, Functional Medicine Health Coach at Just Breathe.