Sleep. Deep restorative sleep is arguably the foundation of our lives. The amount and quality of our sleep affects everything from our focus and mental processing, learning and memory to our reflexes, reactions and judgement. Sleep affects our metabolism, hormone production, mood, cardiovascular function and immune function. Most importantly, sleep is crucially important to healing and health recovery. And yet, for too many, consistent and restful sleep is baffling.
The quantity of sleep each of us needs is highly individual. What is enough sleep for one person is not nearly enough for another. From an Eastern perspective, just as we eat according to the seasons, we want to sleep in harmony with the seasons too. The vitamin D from summer’s sunshine on our skin and eyes stimulates trillions of chemical reactions that allow us to sleep deeply at night, for naturally less time than in the winter when it is dark earlier and we go to bed earlier. Truly restorative sleep occurs when our energy has circulated through all of the channels until it finally nourishes our kidney energy.
While getting plenty of sunlight, proper nutrition and supplementation where its needed can aid in supporting restful sleep, the most important factor is excellent sleep hygiene.
Promote restful sleep and proper sleep hygiene by:
Daily wellness practices regarding stress relief and relaxation behaviors. For example, did you connect with loved ones today? Did you laugh today? Did your bare feet and/or hands touch the earth today?
Sleeping in harmony with the cycles of nature. Natural restorative sleep cycles in the summer may be shorter than in the winter. Let the summer’s sunsets inspire gratitude for how you were able to express the best of you. Let the shorter days of winter move you to more deeply reflect and nourish yourself.
Sleeping 7-9 hours each night. Find your own personal rhythm by going to sleep no later than 9:30 or 10 pm and waking naturally with the sun.
Eating dinner at least 3 hours before going to sleep so that your sleeping hours are not spent digesting but gently detoxifying thus more easily allow for restorative sleep. My rule of thumb is to eat like a King at breakfast, a Queen at lunch, and a pauper for dinner. This means eating your largest meal in the morning and the smallest in the evening.
Enjoying a bedtime ritual and choose to shine upon rising. Restful sleep is one of life’s gifts. Whether it’s a hot salts bath, meditation, slathering on essential oils with deep breaths, find what works for you to wind down your day and prepare for sleep. SLEEP + DREAM is one such ritual that works wonders. For menopausal symptoms, SLEEP + DREAM COOL NIGHTS is magical. Both are available on my SHOP page!
Reducing your exposure to disturbing news and/or topics of conversation. This is about reducing stimulation in the evening to induce relaxation. Choose a calming book or a gentle yarn over watching or reading the news before going to bed.
Keeping your bed an electronic free zone. Designate your bedroom as a place for sleep and relaxation. Also, avoid eating in bed.
Reducing screen time in the evening. If you must be in front of a screen at night, wear yellow glasses to block the blue light (which is the light of daytime so your brain thinks it’s morning). Make sure your phone has a nighttime filter.
Removing routers and electronics from the bedroom. Turn off Wifi and put cell phones on airplane mode.
Going to bed with joy and gratitude. Going to bed angry or upset just perpetuates stress hormones which will leave you tossing and turning. Communicate gently what you need to or write in a journal if you need to process then, LET IT GO.
Avoid caffeine after 4 pm. If you NEED, like a drug, caffeine in the afternoon to focus and stay awake, this is a sign of exhaustion and stress. If you NEED, like a drug, caffeine in the morning to actually wake up, this is a sign of exhaustion and stress. A re-set is called for. Please get in touch.
In terms of the chemistry of sleep, natural sunlight and our daily nutrition plays a critical role.
Melatonin is one of our natural hormones that signals our brain that it is time for sleep. Melatonin levels naturally rise in the evening to put you in a state of quiet wakefulness. It is the exposure to natural light that stimulates a nerve pathway from the retina in the eye to an area in the brain called the hypothalamus. There, a special center called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) initiates signals to other parts of the brain that control hormones, body temperature and other functions that play a role in making us feel sleepy or wide awake. (As a supplement however, it is very important to realize that melatonin is not like a “sleeping pill” and if it is not used properly when it is needed, it has consequences.)
Serotonin is a chemical precursor to melatonin. It is not just an important mood regulator, it’s also an important sleep regulator. It helps with maintaining the body’s 24-hour rhythms and facilitates sustained, deep sleep. Serotonin is synthesized from tryptophan by tryptophan hydroxylase 2, which is activated by vitamin D.
Food sources of tryptophan include salmon, poultry, nuts and seeds, tofu, soy, milk and cheese.
Alcohol, artificial sweeteners, diet sodas and excess caffeine deplete seratonin levels.
Optimal vitamin D status is necessary for optimal serotonin production. This is why you get more restful sleep after a day in the sunshine. At least 20 to 30 minutes of sunlight on your skin during the day helps increase your body’s natural production of vitamin D3, which promotes the production of serotonin. In the evening, the brain naturally converts serotonin into melatonin, the main sleep hormone. Getting sufficient levels of serotonin during the day improves your chances of getting a good night’s sleep, and vitamin D plays an important role in that process. Poor quality sleep and insomnia are common symptoms of vitamin D deficiency.
Food sources of vitamin D include fatty fish, cod liver oil, organic and grass fed liver, egg yolks, and cheese but if you are truly deficient, supplementation may be necessary as often occurs in the colder months.
So it should be no surprise, that magnesium, which assists in the activation of vitamin D, is also important for adequate sleep. All of the enzymes that metabolize vitamin D seem to require magnesium, which acts as a cofactor in these enzymatic reactions. Poor sleep quality and insomnia are also common symptoms of magnesium deficiency. Magnesium also supports healthy levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that supports deep calm and restful sleep.
Food sources of magnesium include dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale and chard as well as nuts, seeds and legumes.
If you can splurge, I cannot more highly recommend the benefit of high quality sheets and bedding. We spend up to a third of our lives sleeping. There are few betters investments.
Sweet dreams!