5 Tips To Getting Better Sleep
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Sleep is one of the most vital factors in maintaining health and general well-being, but according to statistics from the American Sleep Association, a lot of people aren’t getting enough! Our sleep needs change as we grow from infants to adults, but generally it is recommended that an adult get 7-9 hours of sleep a day. 35.3% of adults are getting less than the minimum 7 hours of sleep recommended. [1] Ongoing sleep deficiency can result in a plethora of health conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. In addition to physical health issues, sleep deprivation also affects are cognitive function and emotional well-being. After several nights of losing sleep—even a loss of just 1–2 hours per night—your ability to function suffers as if you haven't slept at all for a day or two!! [2]
Since getting enough sleep is clearly important, today I want to share 5 tips for improving the amount and quality of sleep you are getting.
1) Consistency is Key
Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day is crucial for maintaining a sleep-wake cycle. While it may be tempting to sleep in on the weekend or days off, fluctuating more than an hour from your normal times can be enough to throw off your entire sleep cycle. Keeping a sleep journal of when you go to bed and wake up throughout the week can be a good starting point for developing a sleep schedule based on your natural rhythms. One of my favorite tools for monitoring my sleep patterns is the Whoop app! Not only does Whoop track the amount of sleep I’m getting but it also shows the amount of REM and deep sleep I’m getting.
2) Establish a Bedtime Routine
Once you’ve figured out a good rhythm of what time you are going to go to bed and wake up, you can implement a simple bedtime routine. It’s typically best to give yourself an hour to unwind before actually going to bed. During this hour, you ideally want to avoid all screens! This includes phones, tablets, laptops, televisions… you get the gist. Dimming lights and/or lighting candles instead of using room lights is also very helpful. A study actually showed that 99% of a group exposed to room light before bed experienced a delayed onset of melatonin production in comparison to a group exposed to dim light. [3] This is a great time to take a bath, read a book, pray/meditate, do some light stretching, and/or journal. By no means do you need to do all of these things, pick a couple that you enjoy and find relaxing.
3) Create an Ideal Sleeping Environment
Making sure your bedroom is dark is important. As we mentioned above, room light affects the onset of melatonin production as well as the duration of melatonin. In that same study, they found that exposure to room light during normal hours of sleep suppressed melatonin production by greater than 50% in most trials. [3] If there is a street light or any other source of light outside your bedroom window, a black out shade or curtains are a great option. Lowering the temperature at night is also ideal. According to sleep.org the suggested room temperature is between 60 - 67 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal sleeping. Our bodies naturally drop in temperature to initiate sleep, so lowering the temperature of your environment can help facilitate this process.
4) Spend Time Outside Each Day
Exposure to natural light is extremely beneficial in maintaining a normal circadian rhythm. Experiencing dawn AND dusk sunlight is actually the ideal way to maintain a balanced sleep-wake rhythm. Exposure to only dawn lighting causes us to start waking up earlier and exposure to only dusk lighting causes us to start waking up later… that’s why exposure to both balances one another out!
5) Essential Oils and Supplements
The olfactory (smell) system is an extremely powerful system. Certain essential oils can be extremely relaxing and even promote better sleep. Some of the more commonly used bedtime oils are lavender, cedarwood, copaiba, and serenity. You can start diffusing these oils in a diffuser approximately 30 minutes before bedtime (make it part of your routine) and then allow the diffuser to run it’s course while you drift off to sleep! You can also topically apply these oils to the bottom of your feet, along your spine, or across your chest to improve rest. Any time you are applying essential oils to your body, you want to be sure that they are therapeutic grade! Here is a link to my favorites of these sleepy time oils.
Copaiba can also be taken as a supplement. With properties similar to CBD, it has a calming effect on the body. To learn more about why you might want to try copaiba rather than CBD check out this post. Melatonin is another option that people often find helpful for getting better sleep. A common mistake people make when taking melatonin is that they actually take too high of a dose, which can cause a rebound of alertness a few hours after taking it. The physiological dose that seems to be beneficial is approximately .3 mg. One other supplement that is an essential oil and GABA-based supplement is Adaptiv. This supplement naturally supports your body in adapting to stress and promotes calming.
As you can see, sleep is extremely important but there are many ways to enhance and increase the sleep you are getting! If you have further questions or need helping getting any of the oils or supplements, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Resources
Sleep and Sleep Disorder Statistics. (Retrieved July 21, 2020). https://www.sleepassociation.org/about-sleep/sleep-statistics/
Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency. (Retrieved July 21, 2020). https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency
March 2011. Exposure to Room Light before Bedtime Suppresses Melatonin Onset and Shortens Melatonin Duration in Humans. (Retrieved July 23, 2020). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047226/