12 WAYS TO BETTER SLEEP
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1. Set a regular sleep/wake cycle that follows the same times every day.
This may change a bit throughout the year as we naturally want to sleep more in the dark hours of the winner and enjoy the long hours of summer. However, try to stay within a tight range.
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2. How bright is your room?
Simply wearing an eye mask or purchase room darkening shades could make a big difference. Both can be had for just a few dollars.
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3. The benefits of white noise.
Try a "white noise" source. White noise machines are available at many stores now, are reasonably priced and typically have multiple sound options. Other white noise options include room air filters and humidifiers (very important in dryer winter months). Or, if you like total quiet, ear plugs may be right for you.
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4. Unplug for bed.
Turn off the screen source at least one hour before bedtime. Computers, TVs, phones etc. All stimulate your sensory system in an excitatory way. You go is to find calming or inhibitory sensory stimulus. Many people find reading, listening to classical our nature-based music, taking a shower or meditating to be just the right for calming their sensory system after being bombarded all day and our busy, digitally wired world. What can you integrate into your pre-bedtime routine that you can both look forward to doing and know that it prepares you for "rest and digest" versus "fight or flight" stress mode?
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5. Exercise.
You don't need to go crazy with this. 30 to 45 minutes, five days per week of light cardiovascular exercise (like brisk walking) is all that's needed for many be sure that you're doing this exercise during the daytime, as exercising three hours before bedtime might elevate excitatory neurotransmitters and hormones that give you energy instead of calming you down.
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6. Invest in good bedding, pillows and a quality mattress.
Find a bed in pillow firmness and feels great to you and cover it in sheets that you love to slip into. The first part of this is tougher than you think. Just because we tend to buy a mattress and stick with it, doesn't mean that it is the best, most comfortable mattress for you. I always pay close attention to mattress in my travel and take note of my favorite. Most stores will let you try a mattress for 30 days or more, so be sure to lay on lots of them before you purchase one and be proactive if it isn't right for you. Also, just because you like a softer mattress doesn't mean you're sleeping partner does, so keep this in mind and consider separate firmness levels on each side or even separate twin mattresses pushed together to make a king size. As for the sheets, give me 300+ thread count cotton in the summer and cotton flannel in the winter and I'm ready for a great night of rest summation point
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7. Consider organic bedding.
This is a new concept for most people, but one that's important but increasing toxic and chemical exposure in our daily lives. Modern foam bedding is often treated with flame retardant sprays. This combination of the foam /synthetic material that is in the bed topping combined with the flame retardants all "offgas" throughout the night while you spend a third of your life right against the material is challenging for many people with chemical sensitivities. If you recently purchased a new mattress and realize that your sleep is of worsening quality, consider both the firmness and what the mattress contains chemically. Lastly, when buying mattresses for children, please invest in organic mattress and mattress cover as their immune systems are immature and are very easily overburdened by toxic load.
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8. Check your diet for gluten and casein sensitivities.
This is a bit of a storyline so follow along. Gluten is a protein is found in grains wheat, rye, barley, spelt and some others. Gluten is also very prevailing in the prepared foods so common in our diet, so you have to read labels. Gluten and water equal craft glue. Gluten can cause a fair amount of challenges for our intestines because of this last fact. The challenged G.I. track equals immune system difficulties because 80% of our immune system begins with our nasal and mouthy mucosal membranes/lymphatic tissue (i.e.: tonsils) and continue down through our entire 30 feet of intestines. Immune challenges are stressor on nervous system. Stress on nervous system contributes to sub optimal sleep. Gluten can also down regulate/inhibit an enzyme called glutamic acid decarboxylase, or GAD. The job of GAD is to convert glutamate (the most powerful and prevailing excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain) into GABA (the most powerful and prevented inhibitory/calming neurotransmitter in the brain). So, if you gluten sensitive "turns off" our down regulates of GAD enzyme and you end up with lots of with glutamate and not as much GABA feel overstimulated. Many people have eliminated gluten from their diets and reported not only improve sleep, but also improved moods and better metabolism and less inflammation and better glutamate to GABA conversion. Is very important for feeling calm during the daytime and initiating sleep at night. Almost all prescription sleep medications work through binding to GABA receptors.
Casein in is a protein that is found in cow, sheep and goat milk, though it is most prevalent in cows. Again, many prepared foods in our daily diet contain casein, cheese and milk powder, etc. Because it makes food creamy and tasty, so to know it is there you have to read labels. Many people have objectives sensitivities to dairy including lactose intolerance (difficult digesting the sugar and milk) an elevated immune response to case and shown on IGE and IgG food testing. As our mucous membranes of our nose, mouth intestines are a first line of defense against inflammatory molecules we eat/drink, if you are intolerance to other portions of animal milk and you eat/drink dairy products, you may notice congestion, sinusitis, Tronic sinus infections, tonsillitis, chronic postnasal drip, post G.I. function scratch that poor G.I. function, gas and bloating, etc. Inflammation of mucous membranes can be protective but isn't healthy long-term. Inflamed nasal and throat passages can contribute to snoring as well as obstructive apnea. This can result in poor sleep patterns and daytime fatigue. In summary: your diet may contain food sensitivities with increased immune response and enzyme dysregulation equal stress to your nervous system and could lead to poor sleep, sub optimal mood, slow metabolism, painful muscles and joints and/or fatigue.
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9. Caffeine and alcohol.
Caffeine, a stimulant, and alcohol, a depression, in and of themselves are not a problem for everyone. However, caffeine should be consumed in moderation, always followed by a tall glass of water (as caffeine is a diuretic that dehydrates us), and not consumed six hours before bedtime. Alcohol should also be consumed in moderation and always followed by a tall glass of water. Although it acts as a depression to the nervous system, it is short-lived. So, will help us fall asleep but then typically makes the second half of the night less restful. It is best to consume alcohol with dinner and not directly for bedtime, this allows time for your liver to process the alcohol and the negative neurologic effects on sleep will be less.
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10. Stay hydrated during the day.
Recognize it is normal and okay to get up and use the restroom 1 to 2 times/night if you are well hydrated. That having been said, don't drink a few glasses of water right before bedtime! You goal for hydration is to drink enough clean, preferably reverse osmosis filtered water, to keep your urine clear to light yellow when you have to urinate. If your urine is dark yellow, you are already dehydrated and need to drink to tall glasses of water immediately. Remember, urinating is one of the three ways that your body removes toxins. The other two ways are sweating and bowel movements. So, please sweat frequently, and have 1or 2, well formed bowel movements daily, and drink enough water to keep your urine clear.
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11. The 90 minute sleep cycle trick.
The human sleep cycles between 90-110 minutes and during that time we should move through the five stages of sleep and return back to the point of consciousness. We don't remember every one of these cycles typically, but if you're a healthy sleeper you are moving through them all. Choose a wake-up time that is approximately based on one of the cycles and set your alarm for the number of hours indicated so that your chances of waking up at the end of one of the sleep cycles is optimized. I.e.: three cycles at 90 minutes each equals four and half hours, four cycles at 90 minutes each equal six hours, five cycles of 90 minutes each equals 7 1/2 hours.
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12. The power of neurotransmitters and hormones.
Have your neurotransmitters, stress hormones, sex hormones checked by a well-trained practitioner who practices a comprehensive and integrated approach to optimal health. These different metabolic chemicals created a symphony of interactions that when optimized help us move through stressful emotions, cognitive and physical situations with relative ease. Neurotransmitters are very involved in the subtle balance between sleep and wake cycle, hormones such as progesterone potentiate GABA receptors and estrogen potentiates serotonin receptors, all of which can have a calming, pro-sleep influence on the brain and nervous system. Have elevated stress hormones cortisol at bedtime can make falling asleep challenging. Depleted sleep hormone melatonin also makes following the sleep difficult. The majority "greater than 90%" of your bodies serotonin is made in the intestines, to take good care of them with your diet, and serotonin is implicated in poor moods and difficulty staying asleep. Research demonstrates that if you're depressed you don't sleep well and conversely, if you don't sleep well you are prone to depression (Franzen, PhD and by the, M.D. "sleep disturbances and depression: risk relationships of subsequent depression and therapeutic implications" so, how is your serotonin level? And more importantly, how are all of your neurotransmitters and stress/sleep/sex hormones looking? Are they all attendees at the same dance and we need all of them to be optimized for a healthy brain.