Sleep well, to live well

4 years ago I started having real difficulties with my sleep. Since then it’s been quite the trial and error process to get back to having those quality sleeps I was dreaming of!

For me, much of it is down to imbalances in my system that easily get out of whack. I am careful of what I eat/drink as I can be up for hours if I don’t. However! The simple things (that perhaps we can all benefit from a reminded sometimes), for better sleep – can make a big difference.

Recommendations for better sleep and why:

Avoid phone use before bed
The blue light limits the production of melatonin (our sleep hormone). This is what impacts how quick we fall asleep and also how we wake up the next day - our circadian rhythm.

Finish eating early
So your body can focus on sleep rather than digestion.

Exercise
It's important for our body to use the energy it has stored for the day. Also exercise later in the day benefits from the increase in core body temperature, which following this drops and triggers drowsiness (more on that below). If suffering from anxiety or depression, exercise can also be an energy burner (good for anxious energy) or stimulator (good for sluggish energy) aiding in helping reduce symptoms.

Limit caffeine and alcohol intake
To reduce your system from being over stimulated from caffeine or alcohol which raises blood sugars, causing wakefulness. Research shows that even if one thinks they've slept well, the quality of sleep is not as great when caffeinated or effected by alcohol. Annoying but interesting hey!

Address your stress
To avoid mind chatter keeping you up.

Routine bed time
Our bodies like routine, they adjust to them and perform well when we keep to them. If we can keep a regular sleep - wake cycle, our body will know when to send the signals to keep us awake and alert for the day, and then when to produce melatonin so we can wind down, become more drowsy and sleep well.

Now if you think you sleep fine but are often tired – it could actually be the quality of your sleep which is the problem – and possibly some of those things are the culprit.

Tips to help you achieve those steps:

Journal before bed
If you write down your thoughts, they are less likely to be ruminated on when trying to sleep. But there are other benefits. To write before bed not only decreases stress but if you choose to write about your day, this enhances our memory. My tip would be try to add some gratitude in there by reflecting on a positive part of the day. Another tip is to just do a mind dump of to do list type stuff. Get it out of your head and then you can refer to it the following day. All of this can improve the quality and length of sleep.

Leave your phone in a different room

Meditation recording
Yoga Nidra, sleep hypnosis, meditation for sleep - all helpful to induce sleep naturally.

Reading
It helps stimulate a different part of our consciousness which aids in sleep. Naturally it can also lead to your muscles relaxing and slowing your breathing.

Focus on your breathing
This can be hypnotic and help lead you into a state of trance, which leads to a sleep state.

Stretching session
A trigger for your muscles to relax.

Warm bath ideally 90 minutes before bed
This will help instigate a natural process our bodies have of lowering our core temperature at night, which helps with sleep. Following a hot bath our body temperature will drop which helps in signalling the production of melatonin to benefit our circadian sleep cycle.

If you've got this far but STILL find it hard...

Keep a food/beverage diary. This could be the game changer.

(It was for me. Due to poor gut health, I have an overproduction of histamine. I have to watch my histamine intake in foods, especially before bed. One of the symptoms of histamine overload is insomnia.)

I get that it’s hard. It’s hard to say no to plans, it’s hard to not drink when others are, to choose a decaf when you want the coffee. To say no to the ice cream when you want it so damn bad...
but think about what you’re saying yes to. To get the most out of life, you really need quality sleep. Our quality of sleep impacts so much including our immune system, our memory and how we process information.

Another reason to care about this: You might sleep OK but not great or maybe you voluntarily stay up... and maybe you're functioning ok in the day but not enough to care more about your sleep. I wonder though, how much more could you achieve with quality sleep? Unfortunately our bodies can only handle lack of sleep for so long, this shit matters.

Helping others achieve quality sleep is a passion of mine as the impact of lost sleep can be very detrimental to our wellbeing. If this is something you want to work on, feel free to contact me.

If you’re on the search for better sleep, I hope this helps you. Have any questions or thoughts? Leave a comment!