Simple hacks to improve sleep. How sleep impacts health, weight, and mood.
Sleep, we all do it, in fact, we spend around a third of our life asleep. Some of us are better at it, and some struggle to consistently get good sleep. These patterns can change in different life stages, and some people seem to survive with only a few hours each night! Did you know that poor sleep can increase stress, anxiety and pain sensation, increase weight, disrupt mood and affect heart health?
This article aims to answer all the questions…What happens in sleep? How does it affect our health? Why is it important and how to get better at longer, deeper and more restful sleep for better health? And, most importantly what can we do to get longer, deeper, better quality sleep?
Simple sleep hacks, and why sleep is essential to good health
This post covers:
What happens during sleep?
What are circadian rhythms and seasonal cycles?
What is the glymphatic system, and why is it important?
How the gut-brain connection affects sleep, hunger and weight.
Hormones and sleep, why am I waking so often?
10 Tips to improve the length, depth and quality of sleep.
What happens during sleep?
Sleep is one important part of our circadian rhythm cycle, commonly recognised as a sleep-wake cycle but is also influenced by, and also impacts metabolism and digestion, hormonal fluctuations, and nervous system regulation.
During some stages of sleep, the brain wave activity changes, particularly in an area called the thalamus shutting down sensory awareness and processing. This allows the brain to perform different actions, processing information and thought to aid brain plasticity. In other words, by shutting down awareness of conscious thought and sensory perception, our brains can process the information of the day to assist in learning.
Regular, good quality, refreshing sleep for 7 -9 hours each night for adults, and more for children and babies is necessary for optimal health. Poor sleep can disrupt performance at work and home, affecting memory, mood, and stress resilience contributing to mental illness and poor cardiovascular health. All of these factors can then contribute to further sleep issues, creating a cycle that can be harder to break, so it is important to seek help as soon as possible.
Sleep occurs in 90 - 120 min cycles, two distinct stages called:
Rapid eye movement (REM) - usually makes up about 25% of your night’s sleep (except babies, accounting for most of their sleep), it is the time of highest electrical activity causing the eyes to dart around under the eyelids, when most dreams occur. Initially REM cycles tend to be shorter around 10 mins, with duration increasing to around 60 mins over the night.
Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) - makes up the rest of your sleep, and varies with age and the amount of sleep deprivation.
The 4 stages of NREM sleep include:
Stage 1 - when alpha waves of wakefulness give way to drowsiness / dozing, hovering between being awake and asleep. Typically lasting around 1 - 7 minutes.
Stage 2 - between 10 - 25 mins, where body temperature drops, and breathing / heart rate slows with loss of awareness of your surroundings
Stages 3 & 4 - Lasts around 20 - 40 mins is delta sleep, or deep sleep. Your blood pressure, breathing, heart rate all slow down and your muscles relax. It’s in this stage that growth and repair processes occur.
Napping also changes with age, throughout the night and day. Babies develop a circadian rhythm (or internal day-night cycle) favouring sleep at night from around 2 months old. At 6 months around 25-50% of babies will wake at night and nap during the day. Daytime naps usually stop before 5 years of age or may indicate insufficient sleep at night if they continue.
Teenagers experience a natural alteration to their circadian rhythm, feeling an energy dip early morning until around 9 - 10 am (when adults are usually more alert) then their body temperature rises through the morning and until around 1 pm when they are most alert. An afternoon slump between 2 - 5 pm (where adults experience this around 1 - 3 pm) and they will start to feel sleepy around 1 hour later than adults around 11 pm. Exposure to blue light from devices can suppress evening melatonin (sleep hormone) production and disrupt sleep onset.
Adult sleep stabilises around the age of 20, with variations in the length of sleep that usually falls between 7 - 9 hours to feel properly refreshed and function at one’s best.
What are circadian rhythms and seasonal cycles?
Circadian rhythm is regulated by light exposure, melatonin release, and influenced by metabolism, food amount, timing and choices, hunger, and stress. Seasonal cycles are less noticeable, but are affected by the seasons changing light-dark cycles and even enzymes we consume in/on organic foods.
Our sleep requirements change with age, generally, the younger we are, the more sleep we require.
The recommended amount of hours by age, are:
Newborn - 3 months - 14 to 17 hours
4 - 11 months - 12 to 5 hours
1 -2 years - 11 to 14 hours
3 - 5 years - 10 to 13 hours
6 - 13 years - 9 to 11 hours
14 - 17 years - 8 to 10 hours
18- 64 years - 7 to 9 hours
Over 65 years - 7 - 8 hours
However, some people need a little less and some a little more sleep, generally, less than 7 hours regularly for an adult is associated with poorer health outcomes. Interestingly, poor sleep in animals has also been shown to have negative impacts on health.
In addition to our natural circadian rhythm, we each have different sleep ‘chronotypes’ , a natural disposition to sleep or be awake at certain times.Chronotypes are often described by animal behaviours, such as an ‘early bird’ or ‘night owl’ which reflects variations in the time melatonin subsides in the morning and is released during the evening and are most likely to be a genetically inherited.
What is the glymphatic system, and why is it important?
Recent discoveries have shown how sleep provides an increase in a housekeeping role by removing normal cell by-products and toxins that can build up in the brain. This process, part of the lymphatic system, is called the ‘glymphatic’ system where fluid drains away excess particles including beta-amyloid and tau proteins, build-up of which is associated with the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. The glymphatic system may also be responsible for increasing the distribution of non-waste compounds such as glucose, amino acids and neurotransmitters around the brain.
Functioning mainly during sleep, low activity of the glymphatic system could be a major risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, with a growing body of research indicating that chronic sleep deprivation may contribute to dementia and cognitive impairment.
How the gut-brain connection affects sleep, hunger and weight.
Did you know that healthy digestion and healthy sleep can impact each other - poor digestion can cause poor sleep and poor sleep can contribute to poor digestion!
Around every 90 mins, between meals (in a fasted state) a strong, wavelike contraction occurs throughout the digestive system called the migrating motor complex. Unlike normal peristalsis, this stronger contraction is a necessary ‘house-cleaning’ process of the gastrointestinal tract, effectively sweeping out particles and residue which occurs more frequently during sleep.
Reduced frequency/impairment of the migrating motor complex is often associated with the incidence of SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), a common digestive complaint with symptoms of bloating, reflux and altered bowel habits. The migrating motor complex is stimulated by hunger hormones motilin and ghrelin, and also by the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin, commonly known as a ‘happy hormone’ is also required to produce melatonin at the end of the day, necessary for sleep. So, low serotonin can result in low mood, poor sleep and poor digestion, and poor digestion can affect the species diversity and abundance of the microbiome. Some microbiome species are responsible for making a range of neurotransmitters including serotonin, and dopamine that affect mood. So, it’s easy to see how important the gut-brain connection is!
Poor sleep can stimulate altered levels of the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which are responsible for hunger and appetite. Poor sleep can reduce glucose tolerance, leading to insulin resistance and over time to Type 2 diabetes, something that is made worse by consuming highly refined carbohydrates (the very foods you crave, when tired!).
Hormones and sleep, why am I waking so often?
Most people are aware of the hormone melatonin, which is converted from serotonin in the pineal gland as evening approaches. Production increases during darkness to promote the onset and maintain sleep. Melatonin is also part of our immune system, is an antioxidant, and helps to regulate blood pressure and appetite.
Low melatonin can make it hard to fall, or maintain sleep and can result from high cortisol ( stress hormone)during the day. So, any kind of stress especially later in the day, including high intensity exercise (the body can’t tell good stress from bad), stimulating movies, books, or conversations (again, good or bad) can raise cortisol and lower melatonin. This can mean having trouble feeling sleepy at bedtime, going to sleep or even staying asleep during the night. Often when we wake, we need to use the bathroom and so it’s easy to think that this is the reason for waking, however, generally we can hold on all night.
It’s worth noting that all supplemental melatonin is similar but not the same as melatonin that the body makes because it is synthetic. Pharmaceutical melatonin is either totally synthetic derived from petrochemicals, or from the pineal glands of animals, typically cows, pigs and sheep. Herbal melatonin,(phyto-melatonin)is derived from plants and is identical to the human melatonin molecule, it's still essentially synthetic but can be a more effective and better choice - depending on your perspective. Supplementary melatonin is never as effective as ‘the real thing’ that we produce in our own bodies!
To make it more complicated, poor sleep can contribute to higher levels of cortisol, part of our stress response system making us more sensitive to stressors, more moody and more anxious. When tired we are more hungry (in particular for refined carbohydrate foods, like sugar, bread, cakes, and biscuits), because the body is looking for quick energy.
10 Tips to improve the length, depth and quality of sleep.
Let the morning sunshine in - the strongest influence on circadian rhythm is the colour of light our eyes are exposed to. On waking, immediately open the curtains and look towards the sky (but not directly at the sun!)for a few minutes, allowing the predominantly blue light frequencies to hit the light receptors in the backs of the eyes. In fact, the proportion of blue and red light frequencies change throughout the day, and this strongly influences our sleep/wake cycle. Getting natural light frequently during the day can also help.
Save your bed for sleep & sex - our bodies form habits and get cues from the environment around us, and the circadian rhythm is a great example of this. The mental association of bed for relaxation, sleep and sex is stronger than we think and needs to be maintained. Avoid watching TV, working and eating in the bedroom, and keep your bedroom quiet, dark and cool
Go to bed and wake at the same time every day - this can reinforce the circadian rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep, have better quality sleep and wake more easily. Most people find going to sleep before 10:30 gives a better quality of sleep.
Avoid caffeine after 2 pm - caffeine prevents the production of melatonin (sleep hormone)and stays in the body for around 6 hours.
Avoid alcohol and tobacco - both can impact sleep for up to 4 hours before sleep. Alcohol takes on average 1 hour to metabolise, increasing blood alcohol levels as the night continues. So whilst it initially has sedative effects, it contributes to lighter sleep and more frequent waking in the latter part of the night. It may also prevent the REM sleep stage, and increase snoring and sleep apnoea. Nicotine increases awareness, blood pressure and heart rate and can therefore disturb sleep. Nicotine patches, gum or cream have been reported to stimulate vivid dreams or nightmares. Nicotine and tobacco smoking can contribute to sinusitis, nasal congestion, reflux, and headaches which can also interrupt sleep.
Avoid putting on lights, or looking at the time if you wake - looking at the time can reinforce a waking habit and for those anxious about not sleeping can raise cortisol, making it harder to return to sleep. Artificial lighting such as LEDs, fluorescent lights, compact fluorescent lights and devices all have high and unnatural levels of blue light frequencies which can also stimulate waking cortisol.
Before bed journaling - writing down your thoughts of the day can effectively ‘put away’ the bad thoughts, stressors, and worries that may stop you from falling asleep. A gratitude journal can also help, by writing 3 things each day that you were grateful for - helping you to focus on the positives.
Regular exercise - regular exercise outdoors, and especially in the morning light can help regulate the sleep-wake cycle. Exercise can improve mood, help to regulate insulin sensitivity, and reduce stress. A 30-minute morning walk can combine exercise, and light exposure and has a myriad of other health benefits. It’s best to avoid strenuous workouts late in the evening, as they can raise cortisol and make it harder to fall asleep.
Avoid bright artificial lights after sundown - Blue light is the frequency of light that generally comes from the sun. Over the course of the day, blue light reduces and the proportion of red light is higher. Our body has receptors that register this blue light and it, in turn, stimulates the production of melatonin to help us sleep at night. Too much blue light in the evening or nighttime can prevent this melatonin production causing sleep issues, particularly if we spend all day indoors under artificial lighting. LED, fluorescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs give out unnaturally high levels of blue light, and after the sun has gone down this can be particularly disruptive to sleep. Dim lights, use fewer lights if you don’t need them, use a pair of blue-blocker glasses and/or use filters on devices.
Stay hydrated and avoid refined carbohydrates before bed - many people avoid drinking fluids before bed, concerned that it will contribute to waking to use the bathroom. A healthy body can sleep through the night without needing to urinate, and waking frequently to urinate is more commonly due to high stress causing lighter sleep making it easier to wake. Equally, not being well hydrated can cause waking due to dehydration - water is essential to almost every cellular process in the body from making energy to removing toxins and waking is a way to stimulate drinking water. Drink 1.5-2 L of clean, filtered water during the day ideally, not with meals or within an hour of bed and sleep more soundly. Refined carbohydrates like sugar, bread, pasta, and white rice can cause blood sugar levels to rise, particularly if you have Type 2 diabetes or some level of insulin resistance and this can cause a big sugar spike which can cause the kidneys to overcompensate causing frequent urination, cause headaches and dehydration and disrupt sleep onset and quality.
Like to find out more about how naturopathy can help?
Click the button below - book a chat to find out how I can help.
Frequently asked questions -
-
Yes, and no.
It’s certainly true that it can be harder to make melatonin, it is a natural decline but we still require the same amount of sleep. Some common medications can impact melatonin production such as beta-blockers, some antiinflammatory medications, and many others - which people are more likely to be taking in later life.
Good quality sleep can help increase melatonin production which also helps the immune system stay strong and robust. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant and can improve many health conditions, so doing anything you can to improve sleep will improve your mood, and overall health.
-
Sometimes when stressed, we wake during the night because of low melatonin and then can’t get back to sleep because of rumination, which creates more stress and so the cycle continues.
Apart from changing or eliminating stressors in our lives - which is usually not within our control, mindfulness and meditation can be great ways to learn how to control rumination. Think of meditation as training to develop non-judgemental awareness of your thoughts and learn to control them. A way of training your awareness, so that you control your thoughts. Even monks who have meditated their whole lives find that they still have intrusive thoughts sometimes. It is the action of being aware but not attaching yourself to the thoughts, and gently returning to the objective that is important. Much like watching clouds pass by in the sky, you might think ‘oh, that’s interesting but I’ll deal with that later’, or words to that effect, then return to the practice. The more you practice this, the better you get at it and the more control you have over your focus of attention.
Therefore, the busier your mind is, the greater the benefit you will derive. A naturopath can help prescribe calming herbs, dietary or lifestyle changes or nutrient supplements that may aid in slowing your mind and/or body down to enable greater success in meditation.
Apps to help sleep, by storytelling, music or relaxation can be helpful to distract the mind enough to get back to sleep.
-
Something common to (but not limited to) people with ADHD, or those who are time poor is revenge bedtime procrastination, or sleeptime procrastination. This is the conscious (or sometimes unconscious) delaying of bedtime, to pursue leisure activities when it is not necessary to do so. It can be watching bad TV, scrolling on a device, or doing other activities that are less important than sleep.
It can be related to chronotype, so night owls are more likely to delay bedtime, and research shows that students, women and people who work extended hours are also more likely to.
Using apps such as AutoSleep/AutoWake/HeartWatch if you have an Apple watch, can help monitor the effectiveness of sleep, set bed/wake times and place greater intention on the importance of sleep.
-
It’s amazing how adaptable the human body is, it’s possible to become accustomed to the feeling of being tired and still function reasonably well. Some people with chronic sleep issues feel that they need less sleep and that they can function optimally like this. Whilst there is always variation in the human condition, the body still requires a minimum of 3 REM sleep cycles, to complete all of the cleaning and restoration functions required for long-term good health. Lack of sleep can raise cortisol above normal levels, giving more energy in the earlier part of the day. The clues to know if you are actually not tired from lack of sleep are:
Do you need to nap during the day, or fall asleep whenever you sit in a comfy chair or unexpectedly?
Are you waking refreshed and bouncing out of bed?
Are you hitting the snooze button?
Do you sleep through your alarm?
Do you crave sugar, sweets or carbs through the day?(this can also be insufficient calories or protein)
Do you get ‘hangry’? (hungry and angry)
These all may be clues
Often with a few small changes people with chronically short sleep, sleep for longer and find that they can function even better than they have been.
Recent research in mice has found a gene that may occur in a small number of people, which may explain why memory is not impacted by lack of sleep. Mouse studies don’t always replicate human physiology, so more research is required.
-
It’s always important before you start taking any herbs that you check that they don’t interact with any medications. Herbs are natural, but they are still medicines.
Some herbs that can help with sleep are:
Valerian - Used for centuries valerian can be very effective for helping with sleep onset however, be aware this herb can have an opposite reaction in some people.
Passionflower - a gentle relaxant, passionflower can help to go to sleep and stay asleep. Taken as a tea throughout the day, it can help calm the nervous system.
Lavender - as an essential oil (don’t use too much or it can be stimulating!), in a capsule or as a tea.
Lemon Balm - as a tea calms the nervous system, the digestive system and has a multitude of other benefits.
And, there are many, many more. Contact a naturopath to be prescribed the right herbs for your situation.
