10 ways to improve sleep–part II
In part I of this post we discussed the top 5 ways you can improve your sleep starting tonight. But did you read this thinking, ” I’ve tried all this before and it hasn’t worked!” If so, take heart. In part II, we’ll look at some less conventional methods to improve sleep. If you’re doing all 10 of these things by the end and still can’t sleep, then maybe horse tranquilizers are right for you after all. On to the list!
6. Respect your circadian rhythm.
Circadian rhythm is the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. We are wires to awaken with the sun and rest shortly after sunset. Unfortunately, modern technology has virtually made our hard-wired circadian patterns obsolete. But just because this has already happened doesn’t mean that its OK or that its too late to do something about it. Where to start? Look at your sleep and wake times—do they even remotely approximate the diurnal circadian rhythm we are meant to have? Next, look at your work schedule. There’s no doubt that shift work, especially the night shift, is one of the most toxic work environments. People who work these shifts—nurses, police officers, medical residents—place enormous amount of stress on their bodies. Studies suggest that this type of work is detrimental to your health, happiness, and increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and metabolic syndrome. Although not quite as bad, simply staying up late—especially when exposed to artificial blue light sources, can wreck havoc on your system as well. If you’re in a night shift job or consider yourself a night owl, think about the bigger picture.
7. Supplements.
Melatonin. ZMA. Now there’s even Doc Parlsey’s sleep remedy. And the list of sleep aids goes on. Fortunately, I haven’t had much personal experience with any of these, but there’s no doubt that if the aforementioned sleep remedies and tactics aren’t working, natural supplements may help. I’d start with melatonin, since it is key to the circadian rhythm and is exceptionally safe with little side effects and longstanding efficacy reports. But don’t confuse natural sleep remedies with pharmacologic therapies, especially those that disrupt neurotransmitters, like ambien or benzodiazepines. We are all about healthy habits here, and trust me–using a psychoactive sleeping pill every night is not one you want to begin.
8. Time restricted feeding (TRF).
TRF is all the rage these days in the functional medicine community. Recent data from Sachin Panda and others suggests that doing something as simple as restricting how many hours in the day that you eat can make major improvements in metabolic health. Lots of studies have been done on mice, but in an exciting recent publication, researchers allowed human subjects to eat whatever they wanted during an 8 hour feeding window. After 12 weeks they lost weight and had lower blood pressure. But the apparent advantages do not stop there: TRF helps entrain and reinforce the circadian rhythm, which can improve sleep and potentially prevent chronic disease. In practicality, this means don’t eat immediately upon waking, but wait a bit (maybe even skip breakfast altogether and make it an intermittent fast). Eat a relatively early dinner and don’t snack late at night—especially sugar and alcohol. Anecdotally, I find that fasting helps greatly with sleep. If you’re having trouble with sleep and you are overweight/obese or diabetic, TRF may help not only your sleep but also your overall health (and just imagine the potential benefits if you eat the right kinds of foods during that feeding window).
9. Awake naturally.
The sensation of good, restful sleep isn’t just about how you slept, but about how you wake up. It really goes back to the circadian rhythm (is anyone sensing a theme here?). The retina is keenly sensitive to blue light. When you get it at night, it suppresses melatonin and keep you awake. We are meant to get that blast of blue light early in the morning to get us going to face the day. If your schedule permits, allow yourself to awaken naturally to the rising sun–especially on summer mornings when the sun rises relatively early (I apologize if you’re reading this in Alaska). Or if you’re an early riser like me, get out there and take a nice peaceful early morning walk and allow that rich morning light to help set your circadian rhythm. What about in the winter? Phillips makes a great wake light with a natural hue of light that gradually intensifies over 30 minutes to simulate a sunrise right on your nightstand. Its not the prettiest thing, but I’ve been using this one for years and can attest that waking to this light beats the absolute crap out of an alarm clock. Its uncanny that I almost never make it to the end of the 30 minute wake light period, when the loud (and cheezy) bird chirping alarm activates to wake persistent sleepers.
10. Cold exposure.
This is one that you might find a bit unconventional, but the science seems to really support that cold exposure promotes sleep. In part one we talked about keeping your bedroom environment cooler by knocking down the thermostat a few degrees. But you take up the ante a bit by doing something a little crazier: taking a cold shower before bed. Don’t believe me? Well, just google it an you’ll see all the folks who do this and swear that it helps everything from sleep to sex drive. The thinking behind this relatively simple bio-hack is that a cold shower drops your core body temp just a little, and cooler temperatures promotes sleep. Even if you take a “cool” shower (ie not piping hot), the effect may stiff be achieved due to the evaporation cooling process when you get out. Your spouse may think you’ve gone off the deep end, but before I took a prescription sleep aid, I would try this easy and cheap home remedy.
In summary, sleep is critical and most of us don’t get enough of it. Respect your body and its natural rhythm and you will likely see improvements not just in your sleep, but in your mood, metabolism, and energy as well.
Please subscribe below to receive a monthly “OHH Insider” newsletter and notifications of new content on the blog. That’s all for this week, and thanks for reading!
~Brendan
