Sleep is an area that many of us struggle with and it plays a crucial role in optimal health. Ensuring we get the recommended 7-9 hrs of quality sleep every night helps our body fully recover after facing a multitude of stressors throughout the day. Adequate recovery is essential for your overall cellular cells, mental health and longevity. Watch the video below to learn how to improve the quality of your sleep with a few lifestyle changes.
The Science
What Is Your Circadian Rhythm?
Circadian rhythms are biological processes linked to the cycle of the day. Human beings have an internal clock that lasts about 25 hours and rests itself daily when exposed to sunlight. Several bodily functions vary according to these rhythms, including:
Body temperature
Pulse rate and blood pressure
Reaction time and performance
The production of melatonin, serotonin and cortisol
Intestinal activity
Light plays central role in regulating our circadian rhythms as it directly affects the production of melatonin, the so called “hormone of darkness”, which is secreted by the pineal gland during the hours of darkness. Melatonin plays a critical role in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle. Therefore, light exposure is key is optimising sleeping and regulating our biological processes.
Understanding Your Sleep Stages
Sleep alternates between 2 phases: orthodox sleep (deep sleep, quiet sleep and slow wave sleep) and REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep). The majority of the sleep cycle is orthodox sleep and this can be broken down further into 3 stages of non-rapid eye movement sleep. The most restorative stages of sleep are deep sleep (the 3rd stage of non-rapid eye movement) and REM sleep…
Deep Sleep:
During deep sleep breathing is very stable, muscle are completely relaxed, pulse, body temperature and blood pressure have decreased. Production of human growth hormone begins and the regenerative mechanisms of the body are activated. The duration of deep sleep is around 30-40 minutes and this decreases with age.
REM Sleep:
During REM sleep the brain is awake but the rest of the body is asleep. The muscle in the neck and back are paralysed to prevent sleepwalking and the eyes are moving under the eyelids. This is when dreaming is at its peak. The typical adult has an average of 4-5 REM stages every night. It is very important for the regeneration of the brains nerve cells and deprivation can lead to irritability, fatigue, memory loss and reduced capacity for concentration.
If you use a device to track your sleep cycle your REM sleep should represents 20-25% of the time spent asleep whilst deep sleep should represent 10-20% of the time asleep.
The Principles
Practice 1
Go to sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning.
This maintains the timing of the body's internal clock making it easier to wake up and fall asleep. Studies have found we get the best quality of sleep before midnight - keep this in mind when creating your schedule.
Practice 2
Take a warm bath with lavender essential oils 1.5 to 2 hrs before bed.
Lavender has been found to promote relaxation and having the bath at least an hour and a half before bed allows your body the time to cool to the optimum temperature for sleep.
Practice 3
Make sure the room is completely dark and cool in temperature.
Light and temperature can affect your ability to get to sleep and can cause interruptions during the night or prevent deep sleep. The room should be completely dark and the optimal room temperature for sleep is 16 - 18 degrees.
Practice 4
Avoid looking at screens an hour before bed.
The blue light exposure reduces your melatonin production which is essential to get you to sleep and stay asleep. Melatonin is also a potent antioxidant and has a major role in cognitive longevity so it’s important we allow our body’s to produce enough. You can also invest in blue light blocking glasses to wear after sunset.
Practice 5
Move or disable wireless devices which are within 300 feet of the bedroom.
Wireless emits electromagnetic radiation (EMF's) which can stress your adrenal glands, create intermittent awakenings and fluctuate cortisol levels (your stress hormone).
Practice 6
Enable a nightshift mode on your phone to block out the blue light from sunset until sunrise.
This can also be enabled on laptops using the flux download. You can also invest in blue light blocking glasses which can wore in the evenings. Everyone is affected differently by blue light exposure in the evenings and some of us are much more sensitive to it than others.
Practice 7
Avoid alcohol at least an hour before going to bed.
as this majorly affects the quality of your sleep by decreasing your heart rate variability.
Practice 8
Have your evening meal at least 3 hours before your bed-time and avoid snacking late at night.
Eating close to your bedtime decreases your heart rate variability and this has the knock on effect of decreasing the quality of your sleep.
Practice 9
Avoid exercising 2 hours before bedtime
This can too stimulating for some individuals as it increases your cortisol (stress hormone) and insulin levels. However it depends on the type of exercise you do. A slow yoga class would have the opposite effect on the body.
Practice 10
Avoid caffeine after 3pm
It is well known that caffeine effects sleep quality up to 6 hours after consuming it, so if you want to start winding down by 9pm, 3pm would be your cut off.
Practice 11
Expose yourself to blue light first thing in the morning
Blue light is bad in the evenings but great in the morning to wake you up. The best way to do this spending time in sunlight 10-15 mins first thing. This will help with falling asleep the following night as it resets the circadian rhythm which is our sleep-wake cycle.
