The Power of Sleep

The feeling of waking up from a good night’s sleep is a beautiful thing.

Having children, stress, digital media penetrating every facet of our life, eating food late at night, too much caffeine and lack of physical movement, are some of the many things that disrupt our sleep as adults. Can we shift the tide and go back to that restful sleep most of us remember ourselves having when we were children?

First, let's take a quick look beneath the surface to see what is happening inside our bodies at a physiological level. With this understanding, we can know why and what changes we have to make, to maximize our bedtime experience and return to having a good, rejuvenating sleep.

All animals, including humans, are governed by circadian rhythms. The circadian rhythm is like a 24-hour internal clock running in the background of your brain. It runs between sleepiness and wakefulness and is also known as your sleep-wake cycle.

As night falls and our eyes perceive increasing darkness, the hormone melatonin is released. This sends a signal to our body that it is nighty- night time and we start feeling the call for our bed.

When the sun rises, the light causes the release of the hormone cortisol, also known as “the stress hormone”. This hormone is “good” when it is released in the morning, as it tells our body to wake up. However when it is being released later in the evening it will inhibit the release of melatonin and thus impede our natural desire to go to sleep and then becomes ”bad” cortisol.

So what are some of the habits that you can implement that will support your hormones being activated at the right time and support you having a great sleep?

For starters we need to establish a going to bed and waking up time, along with an optimal duration of sleep.

Most of us know we should get our 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. Now with any topic these days, there are varying opinions. There are people who state that they function on 4 to 5 hours of sleep. This may be true, but for most people to feel fully rested and to give the body its proper healing, 7 to 8 hours is ideal. Now when it comes to the right time to sleep and wake up, there is a bit more variance. However, being consistent with your choice of when you go to bed and when you wake up is as equally important.

Now depending on the time of year and the part of the world you live in, going to bed between 9-11pm is ideal, while waking up between 5-7am seems to be the sweet spot to get a nourishing rest.

As a side note, those that are taking melatonin supplements to get to sleep, please note that this is a temporary solution. Melatonin's purpose is to get you to sleep, not to keep you asleep. You must put in the effort and make the lifestyle changes to ensure you have integrated good sleep habits for now and in the future.

There are other factors that have to be kept in mind regarding your sleep time. This can include your age, do you have an active late night social life and your work schedule to name a few. Most of us are not going out every night to party or work 7 nights in a row. When you are at home for the evening, aiming for a consistent bed and wake time will contribute to optimum sleep and will make for a better tomorrow in all areas of your life.

Now I can understand that many of you would laugh at having to have a consistent bedtime, especially if you are a young adult. This rigid routine may remind you of your childhood, when mom and dad were coaxing you every night to go to sleep. Going to bed at 9 or 10 pm may seem boring and you may worry that you might be missing out on something. My twenty something self would have agreed wholeheartedly. However, getting our bodies into a habitual sleep pattern, will result in more energy during our waking hours, increase our cognitive abilities, make us less irritable and decrease our need to caffeinate oneself during the day.

Which leads us to the coffee drinkers out there. Waiting a couple of hours before consuming that hot elixir will allow your body to wake up through the natural release of cortisol. The problem with drinking coffee upon awakening is that it will suppress cortisol release. I know many people get excited for that first thing in the morning coffee ritual. Yet the reality is you are not serving your body in the best way, even though your taste buds would disagree with that statement.

Now there are ways to break out of this morning habit, even If you have been drinking coffee for many years.

For starters there is no emergency to change this habit as most of you still have years of your life ahead of you. However, when you finally decide to make the change, begin by delaying your coffee intake by 10 mins upon awakening. Do this for one week. Then increase it by 10 min every week until you are not having your first cup of Joe until 2 hours after awakening. I know this may sound super challenging to many, but if you can do this, your body will thank you later.

Another important element which is easier to control is the darkness in the room. Even behind your closed eyelids, your brain can perceive the amount of light or dark around you. When you are sleeping in complete darkness, your body will have an easier time releasing melatonin. To achieve this state in your bedroom you simply go out and purchase black-out curtains or blinds to create a natural dark ambiance. Upon awakening, open the curtains and if the weather permits, go outside and look at the sun. If the sun is just rising you can look directly at it without damaging your eyes. The sun will give a strong signal to your body to release cortisol, which as you know by now wakes you up!

Another big disrupter of sleep is electronics. The bright blue light emitted from computers, cell phones, tablets, along with the light from televisions and digital clocks, inhibits the release of melatonin and keeps the body pumping out cortisol. What are things we can do to limit electronic disruption that is so prevalent?

Refraining from using electronics at least an hour before bedtime and/or wearing blue light blocking glasses when looking at a screen at night, will help dampen the cortisol release and activate melatonin in your body. In addition, keeping electronics out of your bedroom at night is important. Light, along with the invisible electronic waves that radiate from them will penetrate your body during the night and will affect your sleep and overall health in the long run.

How you approach your day also needs to be considered when looking at sleep. As I said at the beginning, we are running on a 24 hour internal clock, which we should always be attempting to optimize when we are both awake and asleep.

During the day, moving your body is one of the most important steps you can take in supporting your internal clock. Any form of strenuous exercise that exhausts your muscles will naturally allow your body to fall easier and into a deeper sleep, as it will be in a calmer state when you turn the lights out.

If your job is already physical, that is great. For those that spend most of their days in front of a screen, having a daily movement routine throughout the day is a must. This can include walking during your work breaks, getting up from the desk and doing stretches or waking up earlier than usual and getting your exercise done. Most importantly make sure you create an exercise program that you will enjoy and actually do every day.

Some additional tips for sleep health is lowering your house temperature at night. Studies have shown that a cooler room is better for sleep. Food intake should also be halted 3 hours before bedtime, so your body can work on healing during the night and not spend time digesting your food.

The last big blocker of good sleep is stress. We live in a world where our external reality seems to be creating more chaos. Our bodies and brains are constantly trying to adjust to this chaos, which at times can seem overwhelming.

What actions can we do to lower the stress for ourselves and others?

Activities such as walking in natural settings, yoga, meditation, swimming, breath work, martial arts etc, will put your mind and body in a better place. The secondary effect of those activities is that you will be more enjoyable to be around and others will less likely be stressed by your grumpy behaviour:).

If you have the activist spirit in you, advocating to your local and federal governments to alter your community’s landscape can be beneficial. Making sure your government officials put efforts towards maintaining natural settings in your communities, supporting local initiatives for community programs, and subsidies for adults and kids to participate in local sports and other activities is a great way to support yourself and others where you live. All of these initiatives will lower stress, get us healthier and support us having a better sleep.

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Now making some or all of the changes I have suggested will take more than a few nights, weeks or even months to integrate into you daily habits, but over time your natural rhythms will reset themselves, even if you have had years of poor sleep.

Remember to be patient with yourself and make the changes when you are ready to commit to them. Good sleep does not have to allude you for the rest of your life.

In closing, we spend one third of our lives horizontally snuggled and asleep. Biologically speaking your body needs this time to heal and recharge itself, as good sleep is the foundation of good health.

Please make it a priority for yourself

and others and watch how it changes how you experience life.