The Importance of Sleep

Sleep disorders are at epidemic levels. An estimated 50-70 million Americans are chronically sleep deprived! An adequate amount of quality sleep is vital for our physical and mental health, brain function, ability to deal with stress, and overall quality of life. Lack of proper amounts of sleep may contribute to:

· Mood disorders such as anxiety, depression and irritability

· Fatigue, difficulty with concentration and daily tasks

· Increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and chronic illness

· Adrenal fatigue and hormone imbalances

· Caffeine and sugar addiction

If this sounds like you, it’s important to not let it go unchecked! There are several things that can contribute to sleep problems and there are steps you can take to correct it. Pharmaceutical sleep aids are not the answer. They only mask an underlying problem and can cause more problems. Most are addictive, can have unwanted side effects and put a burden on the liver. In today’s toxic world most of our livers are already overburdened.

1. Set the mood by keeping your bedroom and bedding clean, clutter free, comfortable and inviting. Keep the décor minimal and use soothing colors. Read up on good Feng Shui practices for the bedroom.

2. Air quality is important. Keep dust and pet dander cleaned up and eliminate cigarette smoke and artificial fragrances. There should be good air circulation and cool temperature (65-67 degrees F / 18-20 degrees C). In order to sleep soundly the brain has to cool off sufficiently. If noise or outside temperature isn’t an issue, sleep with a window cracked open to allow fresh air to flow through.

3. Establish a bedtime ritual that you do the same time every night to signal the brain that it’s time to wind down. Give yourself at least 8 hours before you plan to wake up.

4. Establish a regular wake up time and don’t sleep past that time, even on the weekends. This is important in setting your circadian rhythm.

5. Keep it quiet. Are noisy neighbors, your husband’s snoring or barking dogs keeping you awake? Wear earplugs if necessary or use white noise, such as a fan running. There are lots of great apps you can download with soothing nature sounds or relaxing music.

6. Meditation and deep breathing activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest, relax and repair). There are lots of great hypnotherapy and guided meditations available on YouTube to help relax and program your mind for sleep. Try Solfeggio tones or binaural beats.

7. Light stretching or yoga can help relax you. Avoid strenuous exercise before bed (best done in the morning or afternoon).

8. A hot bath with Epsom salts can relax and ease stiff, sore muscles and joints. Listen to soft music, light a non-toxic candle (avoid artificial fragrances and toxic waxes, I prefer beeswax), or add 3-5 drops of relaxing essential oil to the bathwater. Be sure to use a carrier oil of choice or plain liquid castile soap before pouring under running water. This helps to incorporate into the bathwater and avoid irritation. Do further research for safety guidelines and essential oils that best suit your needs.

9. Aromatherapy can support relaxation, as listed above. Make a simple sachet filled with lavender flowers to keep next to your pillow. Or run an essential oil diffuser with a few drops of lavender, jasmine, ylang ylang, neroli, Roman chamomile or EOs of choice. You could also make a sleep spray to lightly mist your pillow, or a roll-on essential oil blend in a carrier oil. With a quick search you can find lots of easy recipes, techniques and applications. Use only 100% pure, organic essential oils. Chemicals fragrance oils are toxic and disrupt hormones!

10. Avoid eating heavy meals at least 3 hours before bed. Our bodies need a break from digesting in order to rest and repair.

11. Decrease caffeine. No caffeine after noon. Even if you don’t think caffeine affects you, you may be surprised that it does more than you think!

12. Decrease or discontinue tobacco and alcohol. Do not drink alcohol before bedtime. It may help you fall asleep initially but it will make it harder to stay asleep.

13. Always sleep in TOTAL darkness. Even a small amount of light can disrupt sleep. Purchase light blocking window blinds if necessary or use an eye mask.

14. Avoid bright lights near bedtime. This includes all electronic devices such as cell phone, tablets, computer and TV (which should not be in the bedroom). Bright light is a signal to the brain to stay awake and will not produce adequate melatonin (an important sleep hormone). Blue light blocker glasses can be purchased inexpensively and will help eliminate the light that keeps you awake. Most cell phones and devices have a nighttime setting that you can adjust the blue light down and dim the light.

15. Eliminate EMF radiation (electromagnetic frequencies). This could be a whole post on its own and I encourage you to do your research. Cell phones and wireless routers are some of the worst offenders of EMFs. They are harmful to DNA and can disrupt sleep. Do not sleep with cell phones near you, or set on ‘airplane mode’ or shut them off. Just shutting off the ringer is not enough. Keep your wireless router in an area of the home away from most frequented areas, especially bedrooms, or shut off at night. Be aware of nearby smart meters and cell phone towers, especially the new 5G that put out exponentially more EMFs, far exceeding the “safe” limit of exposure. Please do your research on the dangers and what you can do to minimize exposure. It may be helpful to buy an EMF meter to determine your exposure. They can be purchased inexpensively and is well worth knowing what the potential risks are.

16. Avoid lengthy daytime naps. Stick to short 10 to 20-minute power naps if needed, or use that time for meditation. Set a timer so you don’t oversleep. You will likely be unable to sleep at night if you nap too late in the day.

17. Try natural supplements and herbs, such as melatonin, valerian, chamomile, lemon balm, passionflower, hops and skullcap. Sleepytime teas contain many of these relaxing nervine herbs, or you can purchase herbal supplements. You may also have some mineral imbalances that can be diagnosed by your health care practitioner. If anxiety and overthinking still keep you awake, reach out to a qualified coach or practitioner that can help.

18. Don’t be a night owl! I know sometimes that can’t be helped with job schedules. Your body does most of its repair work between 10 PM and 3 AM so try and make that a priority. Even if you can’t sleep soundly during that time, just lying still and relaxing helps, as repair work is still happening. Studies have also shown that people that stay up late, even if they get enough sleep, are more prone to depression.

19. Star gazing for a few minutes before bed helps rewire your brain to prepare for sleep. It sounds simplistic, but try it consistently for a while and see! If you can’t see the stars, visualize them or look at a picture.

20. Crystals, such as rose quartz, amethyst, lepidolite and selenite have a calming energy that may support sleep. Black tourmaline and shungite are grounding and protective and can help with EMF pollution. Place on the nightstand next to your bed or under your pillow. Use your intuition and experiment to see what feels right for you.

21. Use the bedroom only for sleep and relaxing activities to prepare for sleep (and of course intimate relations). Do not watch TV, use cell phones or computer, or work from bed.

22. Read a good book. Avoid electronic devices that disrupts sleep hormones, as mentioned above. Old fashioned hard copies are the way to go. Use low light and avoid LED lights and lamps to read by. Read books that are uplifting, inspirational or spiritual. It’s important to stay away from things that are dark, scary, heavy, overstimulating or don’t make you feel good. The last things you think about or expose yourself to before bed stick with you into dream stages and are literally programming your subconscious mind.

23. Journaling is a great habit before bed. Our brain moves into lower, slower rhythms at night that allows access to the subconscious mind where our brains are easily programmed. Focus on gratitude and visualize what you want to create in your life.

24. Break the psychological connection between the bedroom and the insomnia. If you can’t sleep after 20 minutes and feel frustrated, do something relaxing in another room until you feel sleepy, then return to bed. This could be some of the things listed above. Do not turn on bright lights, TV or electronic devices, do not do chores, exercise or mental work that can be stimulating.

25. Cortisol and hormone levels may cause abnormal sleep patterns. Many of us have elevated cortisol levels and various stages of adrenal fatigue. Menopause symptoms, hot flashes and night sweats don’t make for a good night’s sleep but there are solutions. See a naturopathic doctor or functional medical practitioner who can test for and treat adrenal and hormonal issues.

26. Think you may have sleep apnea? Not only does it disrupt sleep but can be dangerous. Signs to look for are heavy snoring, abnormal breathing patterns, gasping and delays between breaths. See a sleep specialist if you think this may be a concern. They can do a sleep study and offer solutions such as a CPAP machine. Oftentimes diet, lifestyle changes and losing weight can solve or greatly reduce sleep apnea.

27. Unhealed emotions? In Traditional Chinese Medicine it is believed that the flow of chi, or life force energy, flows more to specific organs of the body at specific times of day or night. If you’re consistently waking up around the same time every night it may be connected with the organ that correlates to that time. It could be a physical issue or weakness in the organ itself, or often it’s emotions that are connected to that organ. For example, the liver is more active between 1-3 AM. The emotions connected to the liver are anger and resentment. The lungs are doing their repair work between 3-5 AM. Lungs are associated with grief. If you think this may be an issue for you, reach out to a qualified therapist, coach or energy healer that works with emotional trauma.

28. Consistency counts! It’s important to stick with this every night. It takes time to develop chronic insomnia and it will take some time to reverse it. Don’t get discouraged from occasional bad nights.

The above is intended for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. It’s important that you do your own research and consult your doctor or qualified specialists as needed. If you need help navigating through anxiety, overthinking and emotional trauma, changes in diet and lifestyle, using supportive herbs, or want more information, resources or referrals, please reach out and schedule a free consultation.