Sleep for health : top tips
Humans are designed by nature to sleep for around 8-10 hours each night. Remember... we evolved long before the advent of electricity, and our hormones, neurotransmitters and the photosensitive receptors in the eyes and skin are all designed to allow us to sleep at night in the dark.
How many of us sleep a solid 8-10 hours and wake feeling great?
Sometimes we just need to get out of our own way and access this requirement!
It's not just the quantity, but the quality that is important too. Good quality sleep means that you will have better energy, vitality, avoid disease processes, achieve more calm and improve cognitive function. Yet, in the modern age, we tend to sacrifice sleep for everything else!
Do you want to try out sleep for well being? Try this for 21 days and notice the difference in every area of your life!
Here are my top dozen tips for better sleep.
Are you ready to prioritise your sleep? Read on..
1. Epsom salt bath. Magnesium can be a great relaxer for our tired bodies, and help induce the relaxed state we need for sleep.
2. Make sure your sleep area is cool and dark. By dark, I mean really really really really dark so that you cannot even see your hand infront of your eyes. This will ensure that melatonin stays switched on!
3. Sound proof your sleep area, try using earplugs, the mouldable ones tend to work best for most people. This is especially important if you live in a noisy area or tend to be disturbed by sudden noises at night such as a neighbours barking dog.
4. Time to go to bed? As a general rule, aim for 10pm at the latest, as the hours before midnight allow certain metabolic functions to occur at the correct time, and for melatonin to hit it’s peak at midnight and for cortisol levels to drop. This will help you stay asleep. Be mindful to go to sleep when you are sleepy, and avoid that ‘second wind’ to do all those jobs you didn't finish in the day.
5. Put all screens aside a couple of hours before bed. At least 2 hours, the blue light will suppress melatonin production and affect sleep quality. You can purchase blue light filter glasses for around $20, I've seen them at Typo!
6. For similar reasons, avoid TV and and also unpredictable stress producing email, phone or facebook messages which will increase stress hormone production and interfere with quality of sleep.
7. Activate your parasympathetic nervous system. Mediation, yoga. Relaxing nature CD sounds. Listen to the rain. Listen to the sound of your deep breathing.
8. Long slow box breaths, or belly breathing. Count inhale to 5 seconds, hold for 5 seconds and exhale for 5 seconds and hold again for 5 seconds. Do this once or twice. Feel your belly expand on the inhale and recede on the exhale.
9. Be aware that the moon cycle may affect your sleep. The increased light exposure and brightness at full moon have been known throughout history to affect sleep quality and quantity. Ensure your room is extra dark at this time, use blackout curtains. We also have light receptors in our skin, so use a light blanket to cover your arms and legs.
10. There are some nutrients that will help, and this can vary person to person. Nutrients such as short term supplementation of certain specific B vitamins in the mornings, with vitamin D, or even GABA, 5HTP, or melatonin in some situations, and herbs such as cammomile, passionflower, hops or valerian, can help prepare us for sleep ***Always seek professional advice about these supplements or herbs as requirements vary from person to person and they are contraindicated in some people*** Not a one size fits all!
11. Some foods are best avoided before bed (such as high carbohydrate foods such as sugars or potatoes). Avoid stimulants such as alcohol and coffee. Avoid these stimulants altogether if you have trouble sleeping as the half life can be longer than 12 hours.
12. There may be some lifestyle adjustments that will help such as getting sunlight in the mornings, appropriate exercise and adequate hydration. And in the evenings, stretching, grounding or relaxing walks. These activities help us get us out of our heads, and back into our body.
The pace of life is getting faster and faster, and this is more apparent as we get older, which further activates our sympathetic nervous system beyond a healthy level. So, by focusing on our parasympathetic nervous system, we are restoring and returning to natural rhythms and this can be a great long term solution.
Sometimes there are deeper issues, such as inflammation, pain, chronic disease states, autoimmune disease, and certain medications. Sometimes past trauma as a child, or chronic stress will affect sleep. Addressing these in a holistic way with a suitably qualified and experienced naturopathic and mindset coach practitioner, can be the key to unlocking good quality restorative sleep.
