How to Sleep Better

Did you know there are over 70 sleep disorders? Deep, restorative sleep is part of your health equation and it shouldn’t be so hard, yet it’s one of the most challenging components of our wellness journey. Chronic stress, poor diet, lack of exercise and fresh air, feelings of depression, anxiety, and loneliness, all play a role in the demise of sound sleep. For midlife women, add on the menopause transition.

The magic happens when we sleep. The brain repairs and grows new cells, tissue, and nerves that reboot and strengthen the hormone and immune system. Restorative sleep helps us optimize physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Why Do We Need Sleep?

There are four stages of sleep, with 2 phases: non-REM and REM… Let’s take a closer look.

Non-REM Sleep: There are three stages here, starting with light sleep, medium sleep, and deep sleep. During non-REM sleep, your body can build bone and muscle, repair and grow new tissues, and strengthen your immune system. As you age, you get less and less of this sleep.

The brain's glymphatic system, which is responsible for clearing waste and toxins from the central nervous system, primarily operates during sleep. This system is especially active during the deep, slow-wave stages of sleep. The glymphatic system is most active during the deep sleep stages, particularly non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. During these stages, the brain's interstitial space expands, allowing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to flow more freely and flush out metabolic waste products, including beta-amyloid and tau proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). This is crucial for women, as there are three times as many AD-reported cases than men.

 REM Sleep: During this stage, your brain starts to show signs of activity so the sleep is not as deep, which is why you have dreams. Typically, this stage occurs about an hour and a half into sleep. As you age, this too becomes shorter. Our body also experiences faster breathing, increased heart rate and blood pressure, rapid eye movement and men have penile erections. 

5 Major Sleep Disruptors:

It’s important to create a bedtime routine – one that you can take on the road with you as well for those times you are travelling for work or pleasure. Your body will come to expect, and depend on, your sleep routine. 

5 Steps to Take to Better Sleep:

1. Pick a bedtime and commit to it. Adults need 7-8 hours of quality sleep per night and it becomes more challenging as we age. Training your body to wind down earlier is key. Pay close attention to your body’s circadian rhythm: waking up and going outdoors to let the sunlight into your eyes is key to getting to bed on time. That early morning sunlight sets your circadian rhythm and lowering indoor lights at sundown will prepare your body to wind down earlier in the evening.

2. Create a peaceful sanctuary in your bedroom. Blackout shades to keep streaks of light out, windows that open for fresh cool air, a sound machine with white noise, and removing the TV from your room are all excellent examples to start with. Move every day. Walks with friends, bike rides, paddleball, golf, swimming, yoga – create a schedule that works and commit to that too.

3. Stop eating at least 3 hours before bedtime. Have a healthy, balanced meal with enough protein and healthy fat to keep you satiated so you can stop eating after dinner and relax. Digestion is important and we don’t want that process going on as we climb into bed. Your body has lots of work to do while you’re asleep and you don’t want to disrupt the flow by putting your body in a position to digest, break down, and absorb your late-night meal.

4. There are times when we need exogenous support to assist and retrain ourselves to sleep. Perhaps your hormones are not balanced, your gut is inflamed and digestion is a daily problem, or you are overwhelmed with chronic stress. Finding a natural aid, such as specific amino acids, magnesium, or herbs, may be useful. Seek help from your provider or a health coach, who can help you learn more about your options, to help you get back on track.

5. Make sure that your room is cool to between 65-69 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature range is the most well-studied for optimal sleep.

3 Natural Sleep Aids

1. L-Theanine is an amazing amino acid found in green tea leaves. This specific amino acid helps with relaxation/restlessness, anxiety, and lack of focus and can cross the blood barrier and directly influence brain neurotransmitters, manifesting in feelings of deep relaxation.

2. Glycine is another amazing amino acid and a neurotransmitter that helps you relax and stay calm. Our body manufactures this tiny amino acid, but we can also get it from our diet in meat, fish, dairy, and legumes. Glycine acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter which means that when it reaches neurons, it calms them so they don’t fire with as much electrical activity. Glycine also may lower core body temperature and relax blood vessels at night, which helps put you to sleep.

3. Magnesium is an essential mineral we need to reach optimal health by way of activating over 300 enzymatic pathways. This mineral comes in many different forms so it’s important to choose one that supports deep sleep. Magnesium glycinate is often used for its calming effects to treat anxiety, depression, and insomnia, while magnesium L-threonate can cross the blood-brain barrier and work on brain health.

Always check with your primary care physician before making any changes to lifestyle, supplements, and medications. This information is here for educational purposes only.

Changing lifestyle habits can be very challenging. This podcast helps you understand how we move through changes.

This blog is not to be used as medical advice or for making any lifestyle changes to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having.