There is so much focus on diet and exercise yet, in fact sleep is just as important, if not more so in some cases, and the best thing about it: it's free! Sometimes we just need to re-learn how to do it better.
I am not a sleep specialist or scientist. However, I have accrued a wealth of sleep related knowledge and resources I would like the share with you.
This quest initially stemmed from my own experiences of sleeping disorders. When I was younger, I could sleep anywhere at anytime, and for a long time, until my sister died, when I was 26. I was immediately thrown into the torment of not being able to sleep. When I did find the elusive slumber, I was plagued by night sweats, which continued long after the insomnia.
The intense phase eventually passed after about 2 years. However, my sleep was never the same again. It was as if my ability to sleep had been fundamentally impaired somehow. In more recent years, since finding a more holistic path in life, I have enhanced my sleeping ability by making simple lifestyle changes. I now sleep 8-8 1/2 hours almost every night and go to sleep within minutes.
How many hours do you sleep a night? The National Sleep Institute advises 7-9 hours. If you are sleeping for less than 7 hours it is most certainly not enough.
What does sleep do?
A good night's sleep allows the brain and body to slow down and rest. Sleeps helps to maintain memory, balance hormones, increases immunity, helping the body to fight infection and aid the process of recovery, as well as improving the brains ability to learn.
Sleep is beneficial to your overall cardio vascular health; the blood pressure lowers, the heart rate decreases and HRV increases. It washes away the built-up plaques in the brain; we need this as there are links between lack of sleep and Alzheimers'. It promotes better physical and mental performance the next day and enhances performance over the long-term too.
There are links between lack of sleep and Alzheimers'
What happens when we don’t sleep?
We all know sleep deprivation can affect our mood and cognition, energy levels and ability to concentrate. However, lack of sleep can also reduce sex drive, cause premature ageing, poor balance and more accidents. The memory can also be affected, and there are links between lack of sleep and obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
There are links between lack of sleep and obesity, diabetes and heart disease
I know that, when I have not slept, I crave sweet sugary carb based foods. The hormones produced from lack of sleep cause us to eat more and, more often than not, the wrong types of foods. We also have less energy to move and can therefore put weight on much more easily.
Leptin tells the thalamus (within the brain) that we are not hungry, and it peaks while we are asleep. Gremlin (like a gremlin) is the reverse - this gets disrupted when the sleep is off, causing us to crave and eat all of the wrong things. So sleeping well is basically a good diet to be on, a way to keep yourself lean and healthy.
Sleeping well is basically a good diet to be on, a way to keep yourself lean and healthy
Lack of sleep also fires up the amygdala, the oldest part of the brain, sometimes called the lizard brain. The amygdala is responsible for the fight or flight/sympathetic nervous system response in which the stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline are released, causing us to feel on edge or anxious. So, if you are chronically (more than 3 months) not sleeping well you are likely to be in a state of constant low-level anxiety or stress.
Lack of sleep can also affect the health of the cardio vascular system. Daylight saving highlights this in these shocking figures. There is an approximate 24% increase in heart attacks the day after the clocks go forward in spring, conversely an approximate 21% reduction in heart attacks the day after the clocks go back in autumn. That is the collective effect of just one hours difference to our sleep and really accentuates the importance of it.
Mental Illness
Lack of sleep can aggravate mental illness, and mental illness can aggravate the ability to sleep. This is most certainly a case where sleep is more important that diet or exercise.
I witnessed my mum having several nervous breakdowns and psychotic episodes throughout my life, all of which stemmed from a combination of stress and lack of sleep.
Short term lack of sleep results in a slowing down of bodily and mental functions. Initially you run on adrenaline however that quickly exhausts you, even more so than the lack of sleep. Then, the worry of not sleeping becomes the anxiety that stops you from sleeping and you get caught in a vicious cycle. The brain begins to associate sleep with worry and panic and begins to perceive it as something to be avoided.
The insomnia can then become a fear of not being able to sleep.
Personally, even after one night, I can really feel a drop in my mood, motivation and memory, and I am definitely more irritable and more reactive.
Alzheimers' and Dementia
I can remember Margaret Thatcher proudly proclaiming in the 1980s that she only slept for 4 hours a night, and her American counterpart, Ronald Regan, was the same. They both went on to suffer from the dreadful Alzheimer’s Disease, caused by a build-up of plaques on the brain. Chronic sleep deprivation increases the amyloid plaque deposition, to which sleep is like a shower washing away the build up of these plaques, so lack of sleep can accelerate the risk.
Basically shorter sleep = shorter life
However, making some simple lifestyle changes can really improve your ability to go to and stay asleep.
What can we do to sleep better?
Your ability to sleep at night starts from the moment you get up in the morning.
Light and melatonin
The sleep hormone ‘melatonin’ is only produced at night and is also a tumour suppressor.
While light suppresses melatonin in the evening, getting from just 5 minutes of sunlight into your eyes early on in the day can help your production of melatonin at night, even on a dull day. The earlier you let in the light, the earlier you will begin to produce the sleep hormone in the evening.
Blue light inhibits melatonin production, ie phone/tv and lamps. You can use 'nighttime mode' on your phone to create a warmer light and can purchase blue light blocker glasses or red lights. I have a mini red light that clips onto my book in bed at night. Dim the lights down a few hours before bedtime too.
Here are photos of my mini red book light:
You can buy them here.
We can only produce melatonin in darkness so do wear an eye mask, and/or get a black out curtain. I personally use both and I usually start the night with an eye pillow on top of the eye mask too.
Eye pillows can stimulate the vagus nerve which comprises 80% of the rest and digest/parasympathetic nervous system. If you can’t sleep then it would be beneficial to stimulate this part of the nervous system before bed (some tips below).
I have an EYE PILLOW SHOP on my website and if you subscribe to my news letter you will receive 10% off.
Caffeine
Coffee is considered to be a psychoactive stimulant. Its has a half-life of 5 - 6 hours, at which time about 50% of the caffeine is still in your system. It then has a quarter life of between 10 - 12 hours. So having a coffee at 2pm and going to bed at midnight is like having 1/4 cup of coffee just before you get into bed (this differers from one person to the next depending on the metabolic rate).
Having a coffee at 2pm and going to bed at midnight is like having 1/4 cup of coffee just before you get into bed
If you can’t sleep at night and drink a lot of tea or coffee, then try winding down your intake or switching to decaf. Do this slowly as there may well be some side effects.
I am currently running a 6 week course on sleep; one lady came to me unable to sleep, but she was drinking 10 cups of tea a day and eating biscuits with them. She pulled it back to 7 in the first week and 3 in the second week and has now predominantly switched to decaf. She feels like a new woman! She is more energised, sleeping better and has lost weight.
Falling asleep after drinking coffee during the day and staying asleep may well be achieved. However, according to sleep specialist and neuroscientist, Matthew Walker, caffeine can decrease the deep sleep by up to 20% (which is the equivalent of ageing by a decade). You may wake up feeling unrefreshed the next day, then opt for more caffeine to wake up = vicious cycle.
caffeine can decrease the deep sleep by up to 20% (which is the equivalent of ageing by a decade)
See in this clip Matthew Walker talking about sleep and caffeine, and if you’re still not convinced to give it up, read the comments below the video!
Now I absolutely love tea and coffee, and reluctantly gave it up 3 months ago. I can honestly report that although my sleep doesn’t feel any different, I am waking up feeling more refreshed and energised. My friend Andrew gave it up at the same time, now he already adheres to all of the sleep hacks (even more than I have mentioned here) and he said nothing has improved his sleep more than giving up his 4 cups of tea a day.
Nothing has improved his sleep more than giving up his 4 cups of tea a day
I don’t have it in the house at all and have switched to only drinking an occasional coffee as a treat while I am out, and it must be decaf. I have had about 3 cups of tea in total this year, I was on 5-7 a day before that!
When you add more energy artificially you create a deficit, and must always pay back the energy at a later time. My pay back was every morning when I got up and I would then simply add more. You end up being in a perpetual cycle of wanting and needing constant caffeine simply to function.
Alcohol
Many people use alcohol as a sleep aid. However, it is, like other sleep aids including cannabis and sleeping pills, a sedative. Sedation does not bring us to the equivalent quality of sleep, The electrical patterns of the brain are not the same. Alcohol fragments the sleep and we may wake up many times throughout the night. Fight or flight/sympathetic nervous system is activated and stress related chemicals are increased as alcohol is metabolised. Alcohol (and cannabis) also suppresses REM sleep; have you ever had those crazy, often lucid dreams first thing in the morning after drinking a lot the night before? That is because the alcohol has stopped being metabolised and the brain is cramming in all of the REM sleep in one hit, so the dreams feel more real and intense.
Nose Breathing vs Mouth Breathing at Night
Breathing though the mouth can aggravate snoring, sleep apnea, ADHD and is incredibly dehydrating as up to 42% of the body's moisture is lost through the mouth at night. Nasal breathing aids the production of the hormone vasopressin, This stops the kidneys from releasing fluid into the bladder, so the water is retained = less disturbing toilet trips during the night.
A simple, cheap solution to this is taping the mouth closed at night using surgical tape. I have been doing this for 3 years and if I do not, I experience a hung over feeling - lethargy, dull headaches and a fuzzy brain.
In one of my recent sleep courses, a participant began taping her mouth at night and was astonished at the reduction in the amount of times she was disturbed by having to go to the loo during the night.
You can read more about nose vs mouth breathing in my blog ‘Shut your Mouth’.
Other
Daily exercise helps us to sleep at night, especially when done in the morning.
Create a routine by going to bed and getting up at the same time each day.
Creating a bedtime time ritual can associate the mind with sleep.
Do not eat too close to your bedtime and definitely not sugar.
Stay away from anything that stimulates the body, mind or emotions close to bedtime.
Remove all devices from the bedroom; the bedroom should only be associated with sleep and intimacy.
The temperature of the room is important, have a cool room temperature of between 60 - 73 degrees. Also having a hot bath an hour or two before bed will help to drop your body’s core temperature which will help you sleep.
Eating a healthy diet will help and 30g of fibre can help to increase the amount of time spent in deep sleep.
Naps - do you nap in the day? Do you fall asleep in the eve watching TV? Stop napping in the day if you can’t sleep at night.
Also consider changing your mattress and pillow.
Try drinking camomile tea or other natural sleep enhancers.
Try listening to brainwave entertainment and binaural beats, there are plenty of resources on Spotify, iTunes and YouTube.
If you have something on your mind, try journalling before bed to get any nagging thoughts or feelings out of your head.
Methods for getting to sleep/back to sleep
So, you have done all of the above and now it’s time to go to bed, However, you fear not being able to sleep. Basically, unless there is a physiological problem, insomnia is pretty much a fear of not being able to sleep, which then becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.
There is a lot of information here, You do not need to do all of these things that I have mentioned. Experiment and see what works for you.
Meridian points
The body has its own medicine cabinet of acupressure points. Here is a video of me demonstrating a short meridian point sequence for sleep.
Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve makes up 80% of your parasympathetic/rest and digest nervous system, and can be activated by stimulating the ears and throat where it runs through. I have already mentioned the benefit of using an eye pillow to bring about vagal stimulation.
Before bed you could do some head rolls and neck stretches, also turn to look over each shoulder. Try humming bee breath and ujjayi pranayama (detailed below). The vibration increases vagal stimulation.
Massaging the ears, the back of the ears, the tragus (the flap covering the ear hole which can be pierced as an anti-anxiety aid), the backs of the ears and the sides of the neck.
Other activities that can increase vagal tone include cold water therapy, eating spinach, seeds nuts, bananas, poultry, implant pulse generator therapy. However, too much stimulation can induce fainting, due to the drop in heart rate and blood pressure.
Yoga
Certain yoga positions will help to aid the relaxation response by calming the nervous system. Forward folds, child’s pose and resting the legs on a chair, bed or up the wall. Basically by putting the body into a position where it knows there is no threat brings a relaxation response from the nervous system.
Here is a 40 minute yoga sleep routine that I recorded.
Breathing techniques to do before and in bed
There are a number of breathing practices you could do before bed and in bed some of which I have detailed here.
Slow belly breathing
Belly breathing through the nose will start to begin a relaxation response
Add a longer exhalation
The most beneficial method is adding a longer exhalation, as that can really stimulate the rest and digest nervous system, which helps us to relax. The exhale must be longer than the inhale so slow it down as much as you can. Counting the breaths will help you concentrate on the task. Breath in for 4 and out for 6 or 8 counts.
Ujjayi Pranayama / Ocean Breath
This is done by using a restriction in the glottis/throat, like the “haaaa" sound when steaming up your sunglasses. The mouth is closed. This is sometimes called victorious breath, ocean breathing and it sounds like Darth Vadar.
Ujjayi is a heating breath and will stimulate your rest and digest nervous system.
The vibration helps to stimulate the vagus nerve in the throat.
Can be added to any of the other breathing techniques.
Humming Bee Breath/Bhramari Pranayama
Inhale a belly breath through the nose and slowly hum it out until the breath has completely gone
Do from 6 rounds up to 3 minutes
6:6 / Coherent / Resonant Breathing
In for 6 seconds and out for 6 seconds - use a timer
Balancing for the nervous system, puts all measurable processes into balance - HR, BP, HRV etc
4:4:6:2 (Marksman Breath)
Soothing for the nervous system, mind and body
In for 4 hold for 4 out for 6 hold for 2
You could do this in bed with the legs up the wall
Link on YouTube to 5 minute guided relaxation and 5 minutes of Marksman Breath
Nadi Shodhana - Alternate Nostril Breathing
Balancing for all conditions and calming
Optional ratios:
1 - 4:4
2 - 4:8
3 - 4:8:8 (retention is 8 counts)
4 - 4:16:8 (the 16 is the retention)
4:7:8 Breath
In for 4, hold for 7, out for 8 with a ‘woosh’ sound on the out breath
Chandra Bedhana / Moon Piercing Breath
In left nostril out right nostril - repeat for 5 + minutes
Can also add a longer exhales- ie count in for 4 through the left, exhale out for 6 or 8 through the right
Lie down if more comfortable
Cooling in temperature (given for menopause symptoms of heat)
Cooling for the nervous system - calming breath
Once you’re in bed
Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra translates to ‘Yogic Sleep’. This is a deeply relaxing practice in which the mind is awake and as the body rests. You can do a yoga nidra before bed to help you sleep, However, I also find them very beneficial to do in the morning following a night of very poor or limited sleep. It aids deep rest and will give you energy.
You can access some Yoga Nidra recordings I did for the App Insight Timer through my website here.
Or Insight Timer App here, you can also listen through a desktop.
Please follow me and review if you join Insight Timer - it’s free and has over 100,000 meditations on there. Simply search for what you are looking for.
Counting the Breath Back:
Start from 20 and count back on each exhalation
Every the mind wanders start again at 20
If it is too easy and your reach zero start from 30 or 40 or higher
If it is too hard start from 10
This is one that I often use if I can’t sleep or if I wake up tin the middle of the night, it usually works really well
ABC Game:
This is my current go to technique if I wake up in the middle of the night, it really works for me.
Choose a category and name from A-Z for example cities/boys names/fruits/animals/songs. This gives the brain a task to do rather than ‘trying’ to get to sleep. Adding a long exhalation on each name will really help. Sleep comes quicker when you don't ‘try’ to do it.
Here is a snapshot of my regime
Nighttime routine:
I go to bed between 10.30-11pm every night (unless I have a night out - it is okay to live too!) Mine includes dimming the lights an hour before bed, massaging my feet with oil and massaging my face with a Gu Sha stone. I then read in bed using a red light and occasionally do a yoga nidra for sleep. I use surgical tape across my mouth so that I breathe through my nose throughout the night. Read my nose vs mouth breathing article here.
Morning routine:
My alarm goes off at 7.30am midweek and I do 5 minutes of 6:6 breathing in the bed before I getup. I am usually out of bed by 7.45am. Weekends, unless I have been up really late the night before, I get up by 8am.
I have a 1-2 mugs of hot water, shower and massage my face again with the Gu Sha. I then usually do a 5 minute yin yoga style back bend, 5 minutes pranayama and practice mantra meditation for 20 minutes. If I have time I do more pranayama with movement.
Then I have sometimes have fresh ginger and lemon in hot water and usually porridge or occasionally just fruit on its own.
I very very rarely drink caffeine and avoid eating for at least 3 hours before bed.
All of this may seem overwhelming, so start with small changes. You don’t have to do everything at once. This will make it easier to sustain, and if anything really helps your sleeping please let me know.
The first steps I would advise would be to get a sleep mask and ditch the caffeine.
Good luck on your sleeping quest.
Sleep Well
Links to other resources:
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