Sleep is one of the most important factors for good health (along with nutrition, exercise and stress relief). Our sleep hours are when our body does its rest and repair in both a physical and mental capacity.
When sleep is hard to come by, it can be a real struggle to get through the day. Here are some of the tips that we have learnt that can help you have a full nights rest.
Why do we need sleep?
If we don’t get enough sleep, our bodies will not be able to repair properly. This can lead to issues with:
- Increase insulin resistance (blood sugar balance), cravings, and hunger.
- Increases inflammation.
- Lowers your immune system.
- Reduces your ability to burn fat leading to a larger risk of Obesity,
- Increases cortisol (stress hormone) and makes you less resilient to stress.
This also has a flow on effect to other hormones, including Increases ovulatory irregularity and decreases testosterone levels in men.
- Increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease, and cancer.
- Reduces growth hormone secretion, which is essential for growth, cell repair, and overall health.
PMID: 31613456, 31613456, 25640603, 34801825, 35042515
Sleeping after midnight also carries higher risks of heart attack & stroke as a 9 year study of people in 21 countries found.
How much sleep do I need?
The average amount of sleep needed by an adult is 8 hours. This can also vary person-to-person. Someone with adrenal fatigue may need 10-12 hours per night (at least for a short stretch) and someone else might need less. The minimum amount for most people however seems to be about 7 hours.
Essentials for Good Sleep
- Aim for an early bedtime – 11pm at the latest but preferably 10pm.
- Reduce alcohol and caffeine – make sure to cease caffeine 8 hours before as it takes about that long to leave your system. Even if you can get to sleep easily, both alcohol and caffeine can decrease the quality of sleep.
- Turn down your lights – your body runs on a circadian rhythm that works in conjunction with light. Bright lights – ESPECIALLY the blue light of laptops and phones – disturb this circadian rhythm. After dinner, try turning on lamps instead of overhead lights or invest in dimmable lighting. This means that your body will start to get the message that it is time to wind down and get ready for bed.
Tip: Philips Hue has great app controlled light bulbs you can add anywhere.
- Get up early on a regular basis – it’s easy to want to go to bed late and then have a lie in and rest the next morning. This doesn’t give your body consistent sleep/wake signals (like the circadian rhythm we just talked about). Getting up early at the same time will start to train your body into a specific rhythm which will lead towards a more natural sleep rhythm.. It will also mean that you’re more likely to be tired in the evening when it’s time to go to bed.
- Set a phone alarm for 60 minutes before bedtime – there are always last minute things to do in the evening. This gives you enough time to get everything done and still get to bed on time.
- Exercise, but not late at night – if you normally do intense or active workouts, please do those in the morning or lunchtime. These sort of workouts raise our stress levels and if done at night may amp you up and increase cortisol (our stress levels) so that it’s hard to sleep. If you are going to exercise in the evening then keep it gentle like yoga or a walk.
- Have lots of magnesium – this could be several handfuls of dark leafy greens per day or a good magnesium supplement, i.e. Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate form, 10mg for every kg you weight. (if you weigh 70kgs, that 700mg needed).
Magnesium is a muscle relaxant, helpful for good sleep and depleted during times of high stress!
- Keep your bedroom cool and dark, like a cave – Think of yourself as a hibernating bear. Make sure your sleep space is cosy (but not hot), cool and with no noises, lights or other distractions.
- Bed should only be for sleeping – no watching movies, finishing off emails or otherwise working. If you like to read at night or listen to an audiobook then that is fine in bed, but nothing that is an ‘work’ activity.
For when you struggle to GET to sleep
Start with the above suggestions but also try:
- Avoid screens for 1 hour before bedtime – this stops any blue light that will disrupt our sleep/wake rhythm. Also screens and scrolling tend to be ‘stimulating’ for the mind – definitely not as relaxing as we think they are!
- If this isn’t an option then try blue light blocking glasses but please try to avoid social media or watching a show for the 30-60 minutes just prior to bedtime.
- Set up a sleep hygiene routine – in this 1 hour time please get ready for bed, have some dim ‘mood lighting’. engage in gentle and restful activities i.e. reading, listening to music, stretching, craft etc.
- Writing down any urgent last minute thoughts – so that your subconscious can relax.
- Try camomile tea or lavender essential oil – these are used to calm the nervous system before bed.
- Add in a footpath – fill a bucket with hot (not boiling) water so that it submerges your feet up to just above your ankle bones. Hang out with your feet in this bucket for 10-15 minutes. Feel your stress melt away! You can add in essential oils or Epsom salts (i.e. foot soup) if you like or just stick with plain hot water.
- Acupuncturehas been shown to be effective in helping people sleep.
- Once you are in bed, try to sleep for 5-10 minutes – if this fails you can try the following:
- Breathing – start with lengthened exhale breathing (inhale for 4, exhale through mouth for 6), then square breathing, then lengthened exhale square breathing.
- Meditation – have a sleep meditation already loaded onto your phone with your earphones nearby so you can plug one straight in if breathing doesn’t work after 10-15 minutes.
You can find some more options for relaxation breathing and meditation apps here.
For when you struggle to STAY asleep
In addition to the above sleep essentials please try:
- Avoid alcohol or sleeping tablets – these sedate you instead of allowing for natural sleep progression. You will start to wake up once they have worn off or possible feel groggy and worse the next day.
- Write down any last minute thoughts before bed – maybe keep a pad/pen by your bed so you can jot down any thoughts. This way your subconscious won’t wake you at 3am.
- Set an alarm for at least 20 minutes before you normally wake in the early morning – try this for at least 3-5 days straight. For example, if you normally wake around 3am then try setting your alarm for 2.30am. This should break the habit your body is in by settling into the deepest sleep rhythms at a time when you’re usually awake and busy thinking.
- Note what time you’re waking up – in Chinese Medicine your qi runs through your organs at different times of the day or night. If you’re waking at a specific time this is most likely connected with a specific organ (and it’s connected emotion).
Waking between 1-3am – This is when your qi is strongest in your Liver – this is associated with planning, anger and frustration.
Waking between 3-5am – this is when your qi is strongest in your Lung – this is associated with grief and letting go.
Journalling, counselling or psychology may be helpful if these emotions consistently resonate or are affecting your sleep and health.
- Acupuncture helps to down regulate your nervous system, reduce stress hormones and help with sleep. You can see more research on that here.
Questions? Please reach out – we are happy to help.
