10 ways to get a good night’s sleep
If you struggle to get to sleep or stay asleep at night, you certainly aren’t alone. It is estimated that between 10% and 30% of adults suffer with chronic insomnia, with many more struggling with poor quality or not enough sleep.
You can easily tell how significantly sleep impacts your health and wellbeing after just a few nights of poor sleep affecting mood and energy levels. Sleep is essential for brain performance, mood, immunity, physical performance, blood sugar balance, regulating inflammation and many more functions.
There can be multiple reasons for having trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep. Take a look at the following ten tips and see where you can make changes for a good night’s sleep.
1 Balance blood sugar
It’s normal for blood sugar levels to fluctuate to some degree at night, however if they becomes too out of balance it results in sleep disturbances. Therefore it’s important to keep them well balanced during the day so that they can remain nicely stable at night.
The best way to achieve this is to ensure that your meals/snacks include protein, a healthy fat and wholegrains/vegetables (no refined carbohydrates), avoid alcohol and do some form of exercise every day.
2 Daylight exposure
Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman of the Huberman Lab has done a lot of research on the effects of morning sunlight on circadian rhythms and sleep. He recommends getting sunlight into the eyes as soon as possible upon waking to help set circadian rhythms and suppress melatonin (the sleep hormone). This means between 5-20 minutes of daylight as soon after waking as possible, depending on cloud coverage, not looking directly at the sun but not wearing sunglasses. movement in too.
Aim to make a short early morning walk one of your non-negotiables for daylight and physical activity.
3 Avoiding blue light late at night
In our modern world we have blue light exposure nearly all the time thanks to bright LED lights and light from screens. Daylight (mostly blue light) used to stop when the sun went down and we would use candles or oil lamps which is a softer yellow light. Wavelengths from blue light can be very disruptive to sleep by supressing the secretion of melatonin at it’s natural time and disrupting circadian rhythms.
Ideally aim to avoid looking at a screen a couple of hours before going to sleep (easier said than done I know), or if that’s not an option try some blue light glasses to reduce the effect of blue light to the eyes, also put your devices on night mode which has a warmer tone.
4 Caffeine
This is a huge culprit when it comes to poor sleep and can create somewhat of a vicious cycle. Another big culprit in today’s sleep problems. Enjoy caffeine in the morning, after breakfast, if you like it but avoid it 8-10 hours before bed. This is because caffeine has a half-life of 5 hours meaning around half the caffeine consumed will still be in your body in 5 hours negatively affecting sleep if consumed later in the day.
5 Magnesium
Magnesium is used by the body in many essential processes. It is thought that it helps to calm the body and mind if taken before bed due to it’s role within the nervous system, which is why magnesium supplements are a popular choice.
However the best way to get more magnesium is through your daily whole-food diet, sources include leafy green veg, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, beans and wholegrains. You may also choose to have an Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) bath before bed which is also a great way to unwind.
6 Lavender
This fragrant purple flower is a popular aromatherapy remedy for promoting a restful sleep, largely due to its relaxing and anxiety reducing effects. A lavender pillow spray or pulse point roller oil can be a lovely part of your bedtime ritual. Take a few deep inhalations before sleep. In summer keep a few fresh lavender sprigs next to your pillow.
7 Journaling for a busy mind
Journaling can be one of the best ways to calm a busy mind. Keep a notepad and pen by your bed and jot down whatever it is in your mind before you go to sleep. This could be what you have to do the next day, what happened during the day, or a thought that might be troubling you. It is freeing to the mind to just get it out on paper. Another nice way to journal is to write down what you are feeling grateful for that day, even little things like a delicious meal or the comfort of your bed, setting the tone to fall asleep with a peaceful mind.
8 Physical activity
Sufficient physical activity really makes a difference, as if you haven’t done enough during the day, you may not feel tired physically tired enough by bedtime to have a restful sleep. Lack of physical activity can also result in imbalanced blood sugar levels. Ensure that you do something every day that gets you moving, even if it’s just a walk so that your body is as tired as your mind.
9 Taking B vitamins at the wrong time
This can be a simple mistake that I have witnessed that can have a detrimental effect on sleep. B vitamins have an energy-boosting effects due to their essential role in energy metabolism. If you are taking a supplement that contains B vitamins (this includes a multi-vitamin) be sure to take them in the morning with your breakfast and not in the evening.
10 Avoid alcohol
The sleep foundation found that alcohol can have a significant effect on quality of sleep and that more than one unit of alcohol a day for women and two for men, can affect sleep by as much as 40%. If you drink regularly and are experiencing sleep problems try a couple of weeks without alcohol and see if your sleep improves.
References
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/sleep-facts-statistics
https://hubermanlab.com