To get a better sleep, you don't just need to get enough hours of rest. You also want quality slumber--the kind that helps restore your body and mind so they can keep performing at their best levels! My clients who struggle with anxiety, depression , or adhd are surely headed towards difficulty when it comes time for mood attention AND focus
Sleep helps restore you, gives your metabolism a boost, and aids in the consolidation of memories!
Do you feel like your day is always catching up to the amount of sleep that night? You're not alone. Almost everyone needs 7-9 hours, or their functioning starts decreasing and they start experiencing symptoms such as irritability/agitation; lack interest in activities usually enjoyed; mood swings (angry outbursts). If you have adhd this is worse because it exacerbates diffiuclties with your executive functioning skills.
Getting enough sleep. Whats light got to do with it?
I'm sure you've heard about how screens interfere with your sleep. But do you know why?
Our sleep quality is determined by our sleep-wake cycle. The circadian rhythm determines this cycle. Circadian Rhythm controls a lot. Hunger, body temperature, melatonin, activity level, and more. It's is a biological cycle that happens over 24 hours. The circadian rhythm is impacted by light, time your schedule, and melatonin. It's a complex interplay of biological functions.
Light and dark control this cycle. The sun resets it each day, and melatonin is key to this cycle cued by the light and the dark and crucial to sleep. This amazing cycle is hardwired into our body and triggered by the rotation ofthe earth.
Light is essential here BUT not all light is the same.
Tablets, phones, computers, and fluorescent lamps emit blue light and disrupt this cycle dramatically. These things aren't natural to our body. If you are trying to get enough sleep this will disrupt it.
Even the invention of electricity has harmed this cycle. With the invention of electricity, a hormone called leptin was disrupted which is related to hunger suppression at night. This phenomenon has been tied as one way human diseases suchs diabetes can develop!
Did you know you can reset your clock with light manipulation?
If you are off a schedule and need to be on a 9-5 schedule, you can " reset your clock. Get a black-out curtain, begin getting up earlier, spend time in daylight, and refrain from electronics. If you can commit to this for just three days, research shows your body can begin to release melatonin earlier in the morning.
The Kinds Of Sleep
Back to the quality of sleep.
There are two kinds of sleep. Slow wave and REM. Slow-wave sleep restores the body and protects it from physical disease, while REM Sleep helps you recover mentally. Too much screen time can disrupt and fragment your arousal throughout the night, cause brainwaves and heart waves to fluctuate and stop you from reaching refreshing sleep. Both slow wave and REM are important to our mental and physical health.
Women and sleep
Unfortunately, both REM and slow-wave sleep decrease with age.
This is a double whammy for women. Women can suffer from sleep issues through perimenopause and menopause. These issues impact 39-47 percent of perimenopausal women and 35 to 60 percent of postmenopausal women. Perimenopause and menopause can span women's mid 30's to when they are 60. So women can be impacted by sleep issues at higher rates than men.
Declining and fluctuating levels of hormones play a big role in getting enough sleep.
Progesterone and estrogen are the two main hormones implicated. Progesterone can impact breathing and sometimes cause sleep apnea.
Estrogen plays a role in the metabolism of serotonin and other neurotransmitters that affect our sleep-wake cycle. It can lower quality sleep by creating higher body temperatures ( hot flashes) and cause depression and anxiety, which can also cause sleep disruption.
29 Tips for Women to Get Enough Sleep
Because our sleep cycle is so important it can impact every single area of our functioning. Every part of our body is interconnected in this cycle. Our sleep, our appetite, our mood, our sex drive. Taking VERY good care of our stress level our mind and our body is a good way to start influencing how we sleep. SO is anything that creates predictability, stability and regularity in our daily cycles. These tips below are far from all inclusive but might be a good start for you.
Pick a regular bedtime. Find the time that works best with your body and schedule and try to keep it to see the same time every day, making sure you aim for 8 hours.
2. Keep a consistent daily schedule.
3. Screens can block the production of melatonin. To get enough melatonin, shut off all electronics at the very least hour and a half before sleep so you have enough melatonin to enter sleep.
4. Purchase screen goggles or glasses to block the light from screens. AMBER blocker glasses are the best.
5. Stop work at least four hours before sleep, so your mind is calm. Because our cortisol cycle is meant to decrease at night and be high in the morning, don't have stressful conversations in the evening or do stressful things at night. This will disrupt your sleep. Anything stressful should be done first thing in the morning so you can keep your body in a calm state and ready for rest.
6. Never exercise at night
7. Always open your eyes and get light first thing in the morning.
8. Block all light from your room so you aren't accidentally activating the wake cycle when you should be sleeping.
9. Read a book before sleep. Reading fiction has been shown to decrease stress.
10. Download f.luxto to block the light from screens
11. 50 percent of sleep problems are related to stress so practicing techniques that decrease stress help with sleep.
12. Use containment and set aside time during the day to worry or problem-solve. For example, from 9-930 am. When that time is up, you can remind yourself if problems come up to work on them or worry about them during your worrying time. During that time, ask yourself, is this a solvable problem or an unsolvable problem? If you can solve it, do, if you can, put it in the unsolvable column until new information comes in.
13. Analyze your time management strategies, and get help with them if they are increasing your stress
14. Learn about perfectionism and see if it is a source of your stress
15 Practice assertiveness skills this will decrease stress
16. Journaling daily has been shown to decrease stress.
17. Practice breathing exercises this will decrease stress by deactivating your sympathetic nervous system
18 Keep a gratitude journal this will decrease stress
19. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia or CBT-I is a highly effective treatment to get enough sleep. Learn about it here.
20. Try not to drink alcohol before bed; it will interrupt the quality of your sleep and lead to you spending less time in a restorative sleep
21. Keep the bedroom cool
22 Establish a bedtime routine that BEGINS IN THE MORNING. Think of your sleep as something you actively commit to such as your exercise routine. Controlling your light exposure, and working with your cortisol cycles all day long is
part of that routine. Light first thing in the morning activates that cycle. Darkness and calm beginning when you stop working also is part of that cycle.
23 Meditate Before Bed
24 Don't drink caffeine or cut it off the afternoon
25 Try to relax for several hours, not just before bedtime with soft music, light reading, or anything else that is calming or emotionally regulating. It takes hours for melatonin to be released.
26 Keep your Pets out of the bed
27 Get blackout light curtains
29. Trying to have good sleep hygiene and nothing works? CONTACT A SLEEP SPECIALIST IN YOUR AREA they can help you learn how to get enough sleep. You may have sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome.
References for how to get enough sleep
https://www.daocloud.com/sleep/the-key-to-feeling-well-rested-isnt-just-the-amount-of-time-you-sleep-article
Badali, M. (2014, How to use the power of your mind and body to reduce stress and sleep better.
Visions: BC’s Mental Health and Substance use Journal, 10
, 21. Retrieved from http://nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?url=http://search.proquest.com/magazines/how-use-power-your-mind-body-reduce-stress-sleep/docview/2231524103/se-2?accountid=13217
https://jamesclear.com/sleep
Medical information obtained from this website is not intended as a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you have a problem, you should consult a healthcare provider.