Sleep: The Magical Healer
Sleep helps our bodies repair, regenerate, and rest. We don’t really understand all the reasons why we need sleep, but we do know it’s necessary for survival and for our nervous systems to work properly. Have you ever had a bad night’s sleep only to find yourself drowsy and unable to concentrate the next day? It also leads to impaired memory and physical performance. Did you know that severe sleep deprivation can lead to hallucinations and mood swings?
It’s so important to sleep!
Sleep may seem to be a passive and dormant state, but even though activity in the cortex (the surface of the brain) drops by about 40% while we are in the first phases of sleep, the brain remains highly active during later stages of the night. A typical night's sleep comprises five different sleep cycles, each lasting about 90 minutes.
REM sleep is thought to help consolidate memory and emotion, as at this point in sleep, blood flow rises sharply in several areas of the brain that are linked to processing memories and emotional experiences. In areas involving complex reasoning and language, blood flow declines. A study done on mice shows them only surviving an average of 5 weeks when deprived of REM sleep.
When we sleep, we move into an anabolic state - in which energy conservation, repair and growth take over. Levels of adrenaline and corticosteroids drop, and the body starts to produce human growth hormone. This hormone helps the repair of muscles and bones by facilitating the use of amino acids (the essential building blocks of protein). Every tissue in the body is renewed faster during sleep than at any time when awake.
Your Circadian rhythm is like the master clock.
They are regular biological events that happen to all humans, plants, and animals on a daily basis. It’s the natural cycle of our bodies every day. The circadian rhythm regulates the processes of the body, from digestion to cell renewal. For example, prioritizing tissue repair while you are asleep and prioritizing the search for food, metabolism, and movement while you are awake. All these body rhythms are triggered by an action of a network of chemical messengers and nerves which are controlled by the circadian clock. Melatonin is a hormone that helps us sleep, its secretion starts around 9 pm and ceases around 7:30 am with our period of deepest sleep at 2 am, whereas cortisol peaks shortly after waking.
5 Reasons Why Sleep is Important:
Plays an important role in metabolism
Lowers cortisol levels
Helps fight cravings
Helps combat blood-sugar cravings
Helps recovery from exercise
Tips For Better Sleep:
Avoid stimulants: No coffee or caffeine (including chocolate) after 12 pm as sometimes it can take the body 8-12 hours to metabolize it.
Try to go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning. This will help reset the body’s internal clock.
Avoid large meals before bedtime. Eat a high protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan needed to produce melatonin and serotonin. Also, eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
Keep your bed for sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax because your brain thinks the bed is not just for sleep but also work and watching TV. If you find that you perform various activities in bed, consider adding a comfortable beanbag chair or a small couch into your room for those activities, instead of using your bed.
If you do plan to use a computer, tablet or watch TV there are a couple of options: you can decrease screen brightness to its lowest setting or install the Flux app on your screens. Another option is to wear amber-tinted glasses in the evening for the last 2-3 hours of the day.
Establish a bedtime routine and use relaxation techniques. This could include meditation, deep breathing, aromatherapy, and/or indulging in a massage from your partner. The key is to find something that makes you feel relaxed, then repeat it each night to help you release the day's tensions.
When you can’t sleep, it’s best to get out of bed. After 20 mins, if you are not asleep, get up and go somewhere else in the house and do something that won’t stimulate you such as reading or even dusting until you feel sleepy again. That way tou are out of bed and slightly active, so when you lie down again your body temperature will drop so you sleep better.
Want to learn more about sleep? Check out my SLEEP PODCAST below or by clicking here