How's your sleep?

Sleep.

If your response to that is an eye-roll and an “I wish” then let’s figure this out.

You know how important it is so when you struggle to fall asleep or you constantly wake up in the middle of the night it's stressful. Not to mention you feel like crap the next day.

So what can you do?

Let’s start with the simple things first.

Here are some habits to start implementing that can make a big difference.

• Wake up at the same time each day and get out in the sunlight before 10 am. This can help reset your circadian rhythm.
  

• Think about caffeine. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon. Are you having too much in general? Try cutting back. Some people have a really hard time processing caffeine and may need to eliminate it to sleep well.

• Avoid snacking after dinner. Studies show that eating within 3 hours of going to sleep negatively impacts sleep duration, how deeply you sleep, and staying asleep. A caveat to this is if you’re working on controlling your blood sugar at first you may need to have something to eat before bed as your body adjusts. It should be something with fat and protein like a serving of nuts.

• Avoid blue light from screens as much as possible before bed. Ideally for two hours before. The blue light tells our brains that it's daytime and that affects our circadian rhythm and impacts melatonin secretion. Try reading for a bit before you try to go to sleep instead of watching TV or scrolling your phone. If you don’t want to change that habit try getting some blue light-blocking glasses for looking at screens before bed. They have to be the ones with orange lenses, not the computer ones meant for eye strain during the day.

• Go to bed early. We should be asleep before 11:00 to optimize the time that our bodies are in healing and repairing mode. This reduces inflammation and cortisol which helps sleep. Between 9 and 11 we produce the most melatonin making it easier to fall asleep.

• Cut out or minimize alcohol. Alcohol affects our ability to get deep sleep and stay asleep. If you want a drink try having it with dinner instead of before bed or see how your sleep improves by avoiding it for a while.

Already doing these things?

There are 3 big factors that play a significant role in our sleep: blood sugar, inflammation, and nutrients.

1. Blood sugar- When our blood sugar isn’t stable it’s in a constant state of spiking and dipping that continues into the night. When you dip into low blood sugar, stress hormones are released to raise it back up, and that surge of cortisol will wake you up. Other signs that your blood sugar isn’t stable are cravings for sweets and simple carbohydrates, getting “hangry”, and feeling weak and lightheaded when you haven’t eaten in a while.

2. Inflammation- This is a huge topic but the basics are to eat whole, real foods. Highly processed foods spike pro-inflammatory signaling molecules in the body and those have been linked to sleep disturbances. Already eating well? Inflammation from imbalances in your gut microbiome can also affect sleep.

3. Nutrients- The keys here are protein and micronutrients. The amino acids from protein are needed to make tryptophan, which is needed to produce melatonin. I make sure my clients are getting enough protein, but also that they’re able to digest and absorb it! It’s not enough just to eat it, our bodies need to be able to break it down and use it. The overall nutrient density of your diet is also key because short sleep duration is linked to inadequate levels of multiple micronutrients including calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D.

Sleep is vital to health and not sleeping well is a sign that something is out of balance.

Contact me if you'd like help getting a better night's sleep.