Surefire Strategies for Better Sleep

Quality, deep, refreshing sleep is so important, especially now as the days shorten and we approach winter. Sufficient sleep helps our body to recover from the day, helps rebuild the immune system and leads to improved brain function and memory. But good sleep doesn’t always come easily. For many people sound sleep is extremely elusive.

There are so many aspects of our lives that can trigger poor sleep – stress, electromagnetic radiation from electrical and digital equipment, poor diet, alcohol, hormones, noise, light, temperature, a ‘loud’ or restless sleep partner are just a few. Right from the start one trigger I always get my clients who are suffering from poor sleep to change is to stop using electronic devices well before going to bed. But that’s just one of a number of lifestyle practices you can use to change your life and your stress levels by improving your sleep patterns.

These seven simple changes will help you get a great night’s sleep.

Create A Calm Sleep Friendly Space

Is your bedroom a soothing sanctuary or is it also a place where you work? It’s essential to establish a firm boundary between work and rest, and then to maintain it. Your bedroom needs to be a place where you unwind and take ‘you-time’. When the boundaries between work and rest are unclear the pressure and the overwhelm it causes always surround you and you never get a break from them. Keep your bed for sleeping or other fun bedtime activities. This helps your brain come to associate bed with these activities rather than work, which makes it easier for you to nod off. Clear away any clutter and mess. Open the windows to refresh the energy. Add fresh flowers, beautiful and meaningful ornaments, a candle or Himalayan Salt Lamp. Create a restful and nurturing sanctuary you love to come back to.

You’re more likely to get good sound sleep in sleep friendly surroundings.

Create an EMF-Free Zone

If you’re surrounded by electronic devices while you sleep your brain waves and circadian rhythms are affected throughout the night. Quite simply, you will never get good sleep.

There’s quite a deal of concern that the pulsed frequencies of electronic devices interfere with the body’s own signals. The electromagnetic fields (EMF’s) of the devices negatively affect the emotions, organs, endocrine (hormone) production and the immune system. Consequently, this leads to poor sleep as well as many other health problems.

There are many studies¹ that show exposure to electronic devices and even electric lights before going to bed interferes with sleep patterns¹. Far from allowing you to wind-down in the evening electronic devices actually increase your alertness and interfere with REM sleep². Light from any source, including the low levels of light emitted by electronic devices, is known to disrupt circadian rhythms and cause poor sleep.

There have also been studies into whether the electromagnetic fields (EMF’s) around electronic devices affect the release of melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone. This 2007 study³ showed melatonin production, and therefore sleep quality, may be affected in some people. For sufficient good quality sleep switch off your smartphone, ipad, laptop, TV, and any other devices at the source. If you need an alarm to wake, find an alternative to your phone. Sleeping close to an active smartphone is absolutely NOT WORTH the wide-reaching adverse effects it has on you. If you do need to leave any devices switched on, make sure they are well away from your body, at least a metre. Even better if they are right across the room or in the en-suite or next room.

Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields and

remove the devices responsible.

Create Peace

If you need entertainment before sleep, keep some books or magazines in your room, or perhaps a journal. Not only does journalling help to empty your mind of those annoying thoughts that keep you awake, it also has many other health benefits, including relieving arthritis. Use your journal to establish your gratitude practice and build your personal Happiness Bank.

Check the temperature. A moderate temperature, no warmer than 20 to 21 degrees celsius, supports undisturbed sleep.

Darkness helps you sleep better as even small amounts of light interrupt the production of the neurotransmitters needed for sound sleep. Use ‘block-out’ curtains if there are lights outside your window. Don’t turn on lights suddenly during the night as they disrupt production of the sleep-inducing hormones, melatonin and serotonin. Don’t use white light as a night light. The soft pink glow of a Himalayan Salt Lamp avoids the problem if you must have light in the bedroom. If you can’t block out light wear an eye mask.

Music is a wonderful aid to help you relax. Gentle music, white noise or relaxation recordings all help you unwind. Definitely no TV right before bed! Stop about thirty minutes before retiring and definitely don’t watch it in bed.

Transform your bedroom into a space you look forward to spending time in

Create A Scent-sual Space

Our sense of smell plays an important role in mood, memory and emotions. It is linked to the limbic system, considered the ancient and primitive part of the brain. As well as promoting relaxation, research shows that certain bedtime scents can even influence the type of dreams people have.

Many essential oils induce relaxation and are powerful sleep aids. Lavender stimulates the release of feel-good hormones and is a well-recognised relaxant to help with insomnia⁴. Sprinkle a few drops of lavender essential oil on a cotton ball beside your pillow or in your room. Vanilla, rose, chamomile, sandalwood and surprisingly, coffee are others that can also help insomnia by calming you. (Although homeopathic Coffea has excellent calming and sleep-inducing properties, and so maybe it’s not such a surprise!)

Create A Healthy Eating Plan

Shunning caffeine should be a no-brainer. Drinking coffee, tea or hot chocolate does keep many people awake. But other foods such as soft drinks, processed foods and even medications often contain caffeine, so you may need to be wary of those if you’re sensitive to caffeine.

Some foods such as dairy and wheat can cause gastric disturbances that may keep you awake. Avoid them altogether, or at least in the later part of the day.

L-tryptophan is found in protein foods and helps promote the production of melatonin and serotonin to aid sleep. A small protein-rich snack such as nuts in the evening may help you sleep better.

Avoiding sugar and processed grain snacks before bed helps avoid the rapid spikes and drops in blood sugars that interrupt sleep.

Alcohol is a ‘no-no’ for sound sleep. Although it produces sleepiness and initially sends you to sleep, it prevents you entering the deeper sleep cycles. Also, the effect of alcohol is short-lived. As its effect wears off after a few hours you are likely to wake up, completely unable to return to sleep.

Chamomile tea before bed is an excellent way to promote good sleep. It has a slight homeopathic effect to relieve anxiety and promote relaxation.

Support your body with nurturing foods to create balance

Create A Sleep-Ready Body

Exercising daily for at least thirty minutes helps you fall asleep but be sure not to do it too close to bedtime. This is because exercise stimulates the release of metabolising hormones that will keep you awake.

Create A Night-Time Ritual

Setting a bed-time ritual sends cues to your brain that it is time for it to prepare to sleep. Just as you might read a bed-time story to a child to help them relax before they sleep, setting routines also reminds your mind it’s time to relax and sleep.

Develop your own night-time routine. It may include a warm bath, some yoga, reading, listening to music, writing your journal, in fact anything that soothes and relaxes you. Repeat this every evening in the thirty minutes before bed so your brain and body associate this activity with sleep.

Write down your list of whatever you need to do in the morning, earlier in the evening before. This shuts down the ideas and thoughts that normally run around your head while you’re trying to drop off to sleep. The same goes for any plans, worries or other thoughts that might keep you awake into the early hours of the morning.

Going to bed at the same time each night and rising at the same time each day allows your body clock to synchronise with these times, making both sleep and waking easier.

A hot shower or bath before bed increases your body temperature. As it falls again you will relax and fall asleep. If you have cold feet warm them with socks to prevent sleep disturbance.

If noise wakes you or keeps you awake wear ear plugs.

Take some time to reflect on the day passed as well as the brand-new day ahead, so you can leave stress behind and start the new day afresh.

If you can’t sleep get up and address the cause or do some quiet activity until you feel calm and ready to return to bed.

Don’t watch the clock! If you are still not sleeping put the clock away,

watching the hours tick away will only make you stressed.

Sleep Problems of Menopause

For some women who are passing through menopause, insomnia becomes a real and distressing issue. Hormonal changes causing hot flushes, palpitations, or night sweats can interrupt sleep and cause havoc. Before taking Hormonal replacement Therapy (HRT) have a talk to a Wholistic Health Practitioner about the many natural options available to balance hormones and reduce these debilitating symptoms.