How To Sleep Well
We need to experience a certain nervous system tone and hormonal rhythm to sleep well.
Sleep is the result of many processes all strung together like beads on a necklace. Sleep is the clasp that brings it all together.
Two parts are essential to having great, restorative and healing sleeps:
The day game
The night time routine.
How Your Day Affects Your Sleep At Night
This is an under appreciated part of sleep hygiene. Keeping with the metaphor of beads on a string. The day game, is all those beads and the nervous system is that string.
Ask yourself, what are all the things you do in a day? And then go further— of all those things you do in a day, what cultivates the conditions for restful sleep?
And to string it together: how does your nervous system tone thread through everything you do in a day? This is a whole conversation in itself. In a bite: your nervous system tone will dictate how you perceive everything that happens to you in a day. So regulating your system and building capacity is incredibly important. Our mentor and colleague Irene Lyon is an excellent resource to explore the wild world of nervous system regulation.
A brief exploration of the concepts of yin and yang are relevant here (thank you Chinese wisdom). Yang is expansive, achieving, striving, doing, being. It is the energy that moves us. Yin is opposite: receptive, restful, waiting, nourishing and soft. We need balance in our day to create the conditions for sleep at night. If every single thing you do in a day is yang, winding down and falling into deep sleep will be challenging. For some, this is a hard pill to swallow and may require a serious reframe of how they live their lives.
To start to explore the possibilities of cultivating yin in your day routine, what is one thing you can do every day to invite “rest, repair and receive” into your life? Try this for 2 weeks and see what happens.
Day time hack: get at least 5 minutes of morning sunlight in the eyes to help stabilize your circadian rhythm. Our sleep-wake cycle (also known as our circadian rhythm) is a light mediated process. Light rays enter the eye and communicate important information to the pineal gland. Melatonin is secreted as the sun begins to set, and the change in light is detected in the eye-pineal gland network. Melatonin is a potent anti-oxidant, highly neuroprotective and absolutely essential for sleep. In our recipe for the best sleep ever you’ll see a few different strategies to optimize melatonin production as it relates to light.
How Can I build A Night Time Routine For Great Sleeps?
Great sleeps are possibly one of the best things in the world. To wake refreshed and ready for the day ahead is such an incredible gift. Let’s get there!
The Best Sleep You Have Ever Had Recipe:
No caffeine past lunch.
Only one alcoholic drink (if any) with dinner.
Cool (temperature, maybe also decor) room.
Dark room. Cover those windows if there are street lights beaming in. Black out curtains are marvellous.
Quiet room (consider ear plugs or white noise if needed).
Lights down & non-toxic candles up past sunset.
Consider infra-red lights at night if you are not into candles (lizard lamps from pet store).
Blue light blocking glasses after sunset if lights are on.
Blue light blocking glasses when you are on your computer past sunset.
Choose a scent that you use every evening that tells your system “it’s wind-down time”… Lavender, chamomile, rose, lemon balm, vervain, and valerian are a few options.
Create a wind-down routine that involves some form of embodiment. This might look like lying is savasana and breathing into the abdomen (belly breaths), gentle stretching, Feldenkrais, yoga nidra, body scan, open mouth exhales, qi gong, etc. Getting into the body and out of the mind is important.
Play calming music a couple hours before bed time.
A hot bath with magnesium salts in the evening.
Massaging the body with a calming massage oil (try essential oils mentioned above in sesame, coconut or olive oil) — try abdomen, feet and chest.
If you are one to have an ocean of thoughts splashing around in the mind, grab a writing utensil and paper and get it all down. All of it. Everything you are thinking about, worrying about, planning, processing, integrating and all the things to do tomorrow.
Data to collect if you are struggling with sleep:
Who do you sleep with?
Where do you sleep?
What are you sleeping on?
What time do you wake up in the middle of the night?
What is the experience when you wake up?
What did you eat and drink that day?
What do you have to do tomorrow?
What happened today?
What are you dreams like?
If you are waking in the middle of the night:
Get up and out of bed. Light a candle and read a book, put on some music. Eat a nutritious snack. Lying in bed thinking about how you are not sleeping, as tempting as it might be, does little to help you regulate your system.
Final thoughts…
If you try the recipe for sleep and still cannot sleep, you need individualized support!
The disclaimer… The amazing thing about humans is that we all have incomparably unique health profiles and needs. The health-related information contained in this article is intended to be general in nature and should not be used prescriptively or a as a substitute for a visit with a naturopathic doctor. This info is intended to offer general information to individuals. If you have questions about how these strategies could be used in adjunct to your current heath regime, book and appointment with us or consult a licensed naturopathic doctor for individualized care.