Sleep Better
Learn how to sleep better
Good quality sleep is one of the most important factors in managing your physical and mental health. If you are not sleeping well it is very difficult to improve any other aspect of your mental health. Improving your sleep is the single most effective intervention when it comes to management of anxiety, depression, stress, and physical wellness.
Some of the systems impacted by sleep
The brain – poor sleep makes it difficult to make and recall memories, it impairs processing speed and leaves you at increased risk for dementia later in life.
The immune system – poor sleep means that it is harder for you body to heal. This can leave you open to illness and injury.
The endocrine system – This is the system that releases various chemicals in the body. These chemicals regulate appetite, wakefulness, libido and more.
The cardiovascular system- poor sleep can strain the heart, making you more likely to develop heart disease.
Factors that control sleep
The Circadian Rhythm: This is the body’s natural clock, that stays on about a 24-hour cycle. It regulates wakefulness, body temperature, appetite, hormones, and energy expenditure.
Sleep Drive: This is the body’s urge to sleep. It should increase the longer you are awake and decrease the longer you sleep.
Physiological Arousal: This is the amount of activity in the body at any given time. It is controlled by the nervous system.
Things that disrupt circadian rhythm
Light: The clock is highly regulated by light. Light exposure wakes the system up and dark makes the system sleepy.
Schedule: The body does best when it is on a predictable schedule. It gets confused when you change sleep time, wake time, meal times etc.
Food and drink: Eating and drinking set in motion various processes that impact sleep. For example, the body cannot shut down for sleep if you are still digesting.
Travel: Better known as jet lag, traveling can confuse the body’s clock.
Aging: The natural aging process causes our sleep cycles to change. Periods of wakefulness become shorter as do periods of sleepiness. Sleep might occur more frequently but could also be more disjointed.
How to fix circadian rhythm
Create a predictable routine: Be as consistent as possible with bedtime, wake time, and eating times. Try not to vary the routine by more than one hour. Try to keep a consistent schedule even on non-workdays and vacation days.
Be mindful of meal times: Don’t eat to close to bedtime so that your body has adequate time to digest. Don’t wait too long between meals or your blood sugar will be erratic.
Get natural light: Try to take in some outside time on a daily basis. The best times would be first thing in the morning and in the late afternoon. Limit light exposure in the evenings: Try to dim lights as it gets closer to bedtime.
Things that disrupt sleep drive
Napping: Sleep drive decreases when you sleep, so napping essentially resets the clock.
Falling asleep outside of bed: If your body gets conditioned to fall asleep on the couch or somewhere outside the bed, you may start getting sleepy when you don’t want to. Then when you try to move to the bed you wake yourself up and sleep drive decreases.
Sedentary lifestyle: If your body is not burning energy, it may not want as much rest
Ignoring signs of sleepiness: If you fight signs of sleepiness and try to stay up you may confuse the body. Signs of sleepiness include yawning, head nodding, eyes drooping, feelings of heaviness etc.
How to fix sleep drive
Limit naps: Ideally you would eliminate naps completely. If you must nap, limit them to no more than 30 minutes and not within 5-7 hours of your desired bedtime.
Go to your bed when sleepy: As soon as you start to notice signs of sleepiness go get into bed.
Increase activity level: Movement is a great way to get rid of excessive energy and tire both the body and mind.
Things that increase physiological arousal
Stress: Stress puts the body into fight or flight mode.The body will not allow you to rest if it thinks a threat is present.
Caffeine: Caffeine is often used to counter fatigue and increase alertness. Unfortunately excessive consumption or consumption late in the day can make it difficult for the nervous system to calm down enough to rest
Nicotine: Nicotine products such as cigarettes are also stimulants. Stimulants increases heart rate, respiration rate etc, which is the opposite of the conditions needed for sleep.
Other stimulants: Other products can also be stimulating such as chocolate, pre-workouts, and certain supplements. Make sure you know what you are putting in your body.
Working out: Working out near bedtime, increases the core body temperature making it more difficult to fall asleep.
How to decrease arousal
Manage Stress: Stress is toxic to the body, find healthy ways to manage stress levels (meditation, therapy, exercise etc).
Don’t stress in bed: When you worry in bed, your body starts to think of your bed as a stressful place. Don’t work or do stressful things in bed.
Limit Stimulants: Try to limit amount of stimulants you ingest and definitely avoid them within a few hours of bedtime.
Create a calming bedtime routine: Make sure the hour before bed is devoted to something calming/soothing.
Workout excess energy: Use exercise (earlier in the day) to get rid of restlessness and agitation
Need help fixing your sleep?
Consider brief therapy to assess and help fix any ongoing sleep concerns. Playa Vida Therapy and Wellness offers a full sleep assessment as well as ongoing therapy to coach you through the process of improving your sleep.