The Rhythm of Restful Sleep
Written By Laura Ashley Lamm, Ed.D.
One of the best things we can do for ourselves when at home is get a good night’s sleep. For many, that is a task that is hard to come by. Sleep becomes the item at the bottom of the to-do list. Days and nights are packed full with professional and family responsibilities and sleep falls in place for a few hours.
Sleep is important to our overall wellbeing. Understanding why is a crucial step towards incorporating more restful hours into 24-hours.
Sleep is important to a number of brain functions, including how neurons communication with each other, and without sleep, you cannot form or maintain the pathways in your brain that let you learn and create new memories, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. In fact, your brain and body stay remarkably active while you sleep and lack of sleeps results in more difficulty concentrating and responding quickly when awake.
“ The guidelines of sleep are pretty clear. Seven to nine hours is best. Recent studies show poor sleep reduces life expectancy,” said Dr. Gregory Gridley, Ph.D., medical psychologist at UNC Health Lenoir.
“Sleep is a restorative dynamic. Your brain produces a human growth hormone when you sleep, so you are getting a metabolic clearance. The metabolic clearance of your brain is where the build of the consequences of metabolisms and toxins come out and clear. You, in fact, lob off memory you don’t need and you store new memory.”
In essence, sleep plays of the role housekeeper. It comes in and sweeps away or removes toxins in your brain that build you
while you are awake. When the brain lacks enough sleep, you lack energy and that’s when you turn to carb cravings.
“If you don’t sleep enough or you sleep too much, what tends to happen is your brain does not have the energy – generally speaking – to function well. As a result, you tend to look for energy in food and may gain weight,” said Gridley.
“You are going to self-medicate, in a sense, with carbohydrates because they give you a mood and physical boost. The problem with simple sugars, they go in quickly and come out as quickly as they go in. That drops the blood sugar, maybe lower than when you started out, and that’s why you ear the whole box of chocolate chip cookies,” he continued.
Sleep has long been a favored study among researchers with findings proving the value of sleep to the body.
“If you take young guys and test them at Point A with half of them sleeping less than six-and-ahalf hours and the other half sleeping more than six-and-a-half-hours, and then test them at Point B, the guys who slept less will get a C+ while the guys who slept more than six hours will get an A,” said Gridley.
It is worth noting that every person is different. Each person will have varying health conditions, metabolisms, cognitive functions, routines and circadian rhythms.
“Everyone is different. When physicians meet with a patient, we get a detailed overview of their entire health and when you get into treatment dynamics, it is really a synthesis of all of those things,” said Gridley, “but, we do see a disruptive effect of sleep.” LL
Building Better Sleep Habits
If you are combating a lack of sleep or difficulty sleeping, there are ways to help mitigate the strain on your brain and body and reset yourself into a healthier rhythm.
1 Set a schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
2 Exercise for at least 30 minutes most days of the week if you can. Other options are exercising three days a week. It is best to not exercise within a few hours of bedtime as your body will be alert and energized.
3 Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcoholic drinks late in the day and before bed.
4 Relax before bed. Take a warm bath, read, meditate or try breathwork.
5 Put down your phone. Aim for at least 60 minutes of no screen time before bed.
6 Create a room for sleep. A calming atmosphere can help you prepare and fall asleep faster. Avoid bright lights and loud sounds. Keep the room at a comfortable temperature.
7 Try red light therapy. Sit in front of a red light box for 30 minutes. The warm, gentle light helps shift the nervous system from “fight-or-flight” mode by easing muscle tension, reducing pain and lowering stress.
8 Practice breathwork, such as the 4-7-8 technique. Inhale for four (ex. count 1-2-3-4), hold for seven, and exhale for eight.
9 Don’t lie in bed awake. If you can’t get to sleep, do something else, like reading or listening to calming music, until you feel tired. Saying to yourself, ‘I can’t fall asleep,’ only adds stress to the mind and body.
10 See a doctor if you have problems sleeping or if you feel unusually tired during the day. They can help identify the problem and find the best solution for you.