We've all been there, ready for bed and unable to sleep; or fall asleep just fine only to wake up in the middle of the night with no hope of falling back asleep. You start your day exhausted and already thinking about when you can go back to bed, hoping tonight you will get a good night's sleep.
The need for sleep is often underestimated and frequently overlooked by our medical professionals. The solution offered is typically melatonin and if this doesn't work perhaps a prescription medication. Sleep problems are often related to pain and now we see many over the counter medications that include a pain reliever in combination with a sedative. Some feel a glass of wine, or a beer helps them relax and fall asleep easier, only to have the sugar spike from the alcohol wake them a few hours later. Alcohol is detoxified through our liver and if you find yourself waking up between 1am and 3am, this is your liver telling you to wake up, I need help, let's get the blood pumping. These approaches all treat the symptom, but not the root cause.
So how do we get to the root cause? There is no simple answer here, but there is a lot you can do to find the root cause. Let's look at possible causes and do a self-assessment to determine what applies to you; I bet there is more than one reason for your sleepless nights.
Let's start in the bedroom. When you enter your bedroom does your brain associate this room with serenity, peace and quiet, a place you come to rest or to be intimate with you partner? This is not where we have a small home gym in the corner, a home office, computer or even a television. This room is to be strictly for sleep and intimacy.
Our bedrooms need to be dark. Light from electronics, night lights, and lack of black out blinds on our windows affect our sleep. The cells in our skin and our pineal gland, located in our brain, often referred to as the "third eye", absorb light. When our skin or pineal gland are exposed to any kind of light, they associate this with daylight. This disrupts our circadian rhythm. I like this definition of circadian rhythms from the sleep foundation; "circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles that are part of the body's internal clock, running in the background to carry out essential functions and processes. One of the most important and well-known circadian rhythms is the sleep-wake cycle".
There is a lot you can learn about your circadian rhythms but for now I will greatly simplify this. We need to follow the sun and moon cycle meaning it is healthiest for us to get up with the sun and go to bed when the sun goes down. With the introduction of artificial light and now computers and cell phones we expose ourselves to light way beyond the sunset.
Use of blue light blockers and apps on your phone that block blue light are helpful. In addition, prepare your brain for sleep by stopping use of all computers, tv, cell phones, etc. at least 1 hour before bed. Light stimulates cortisol (keeps us awake) and dark stimulates melatonin (helps us sleep).
Consider stimulants you have taken in during the day. Caffeine has about a seven-hour half-life. Do the math, when was your last cup of coffee?
Digestion is the hardest function your body performs. When did you eat last? Your "gut" needs blood to digest food, this will cause you to not sleep well. Plan to have your last meal/snack at least three hours before you plan to go to bed. There is so much you can do to assist your body in digestion, but again that is an article of its own.
Too hot! Our bodies need to be cooler to get good sleep. Set your bedroom temperature to between 65 and 70, cooler if you like it. Here is where us ladies can really have a hard time. If we are experiencing "hot flashes" we already know that being too hot wakes us up and makes it difficult to sleep. It is really important to know it may be common to feel hormonal changes, but it is not "normal" and there is a lot we can do to balance our hormones through any phase of our life to feel good.
Pain is a big culprit in robbing us of our sleep. Again, we can look at many ways to address our pain including alternatives to medications that harm our livers and have ill side effects. How old is your mattress? Only ever buy organic by the way, as conventional mattresses are said to off gas toxins for up to 7 years. Use supportive pillows. Try grounding it is amazing for inflammation and pain. I encourage you to watch The Earthing Movie: The Remarkable Science of Grounding (full documentary_ on You tube.
I mentioned toxins and they can have a big impact on our sleep. Consider plants in your bedroom that naturally detoxify the air such as snake plants and there are many others. Consider an air purifier. Have your home tested for Mold.
So yes, there are many, many reasons for disrupted sleep, but there is also so much we can do to get it back.
Wishing you a good night's sleep!
Jocelyn Moglia, CFNC
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