5 easy ways you can improve your sleep
Ideally, we need at least seven to nine hours of sleep each night for our body to function at its optimal performance.
At different times of the day, each organs and body systems go through several cycles (detoxification, regeneration, digestion, assimilation, elimination, etc.), which allows us to carry our normal daily activities (eating, walking, sleeping, etc.)
The Circadian Rhythm (24-hour internal clock)
The circadian rhythm is the internal process that functions to regulate the sleep-wake cycle. It is a natural process that repeats about every 24 hours. Altered or disrupted environmental factors such as high levels of noise, light, and shift work, are the common causes of circadian rhythm disorder. Irregular sleep-wake cycles are often seen among patients with neurological impairment such as dementia.
Signs that you may be sleep deprived
Do you need a coffee to get you started in the morning?
Do you need a sugar fix in the afternoon to keep you going?
When we deprive ourselves of good quality sleep, our body will let us know by sending different signals (tired at wake, frequent yawning, overeating, sleepiness, slow mental reaction, chronic fatigue, etc).
Sleep and Emotional Health
Brain activity fluctuates during sleep, increasing and decreasing during different sleep stages that make up the sleep cycle. Each stage plays a role in brain health, allowing activity in different parts of the brain to ramp up or down and enabling better thinking, learning, and memory. Research has also uncovered that brain activity during sleep has profound effects on emotional and mental health. Sufficient sleep facilitates the brain’s processing of emotional information while poor sleep, including insomnia, can be a contributing factor to the initiation and worsening of mental health problems.
Did you know?
Lack of sleep can lead to adrenal insufficiency. When the adrenals fatigue, adrenal hormone levels may become low, leading to another possible source of nighttime sleep disruption – low blood sugar. Cortisol plays an important role in maintaining blood sugar (glucose) levels around the clock. Although blood glucose is normally low by the early morning hours, during adrenal fatigue cortisol levels may not stay sufficient to adequately sustain blood glucose.
5 ways to improve your sleep:
Avoid drinking caffeinated drinks (or foods) after 11:00 a.m.
Practice a relaxing bedtime routine
Go to bed ideally before 11:00 p.m. to get the full benefits of a restful night sleep. According to the circadian rhythm, the release of sleep inducing hormones occurs around 9:00 p.m. and we would reach our deepest sleep around 2:00 a.m.
Keep away from bright lights before going to bed, even your smartphone! Dim the lights after dinner time, bright lights tend to keep our brain alert and may also interfere with our circadian rhythm, duping our body into thinking it is daytime and may release a lesser amount of sleep inducing hormones (such as melatonin).
Darkness helps our brain produce melatonin, which plays an important role in your sleep-wake cycle. The darker your bedroom while you sleep: the better!
Get the positive health benefits of a good night sleep and feel more zen!
This information is not intended to provide any medical advice.
References:
Jolene. (n.d.). (2020, May 11). What Is the Circadian Rhythm? Circadian Rhythm. https://10faq.com/health/what-is-the-circadian-rhythm/.
Suni, E., & Dimitriu, A. (2020, September 18). Mental Health and Sleep. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/mental-health.
Wilson, J. L. (n.d.). Sleep Disruptions and Adrenal Function: Dr. James L. Wilson's AdrenalFatigue.org. https://adrenalfatigue.org/sleep-disruptions/.
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