The three cornerstones of optimal health are: diet, physical activity, and sleep. Yes, sleep. Although Americans are very good at minimizing the importance of sleep, it is critical to vitality. Because we pretend we’re superhuman, needing far less rest than we actually do, and we try to minimize non-productive time — sleep, a time when we are resting and not producing something of tangible value, is dramatically undervalued. But viewing sleep as a time of unnecessary rest and of non-productivity is faulty logic.
Sleep is important physical rest, but it’s also very productive. Sleep is a time of mental and physical assimilation — the brain processes information taken in during the day, hormones & neurotransmitters are regulated, muscles are repaired, the immune system recharges, and the gastrointestinal system rests.
This is a very personal topic for me. Even as a kid, sleep never came easily — I needed complete darkness and white noise, and sharing a bed with a sibling or friend was out of the question. In adulthood, these trends continued and with the added stress of an incompatible marriage, a toxic work environment, and graduate school, my sleep problems worsened. Even though I took some recommended steps to mitigate my sleep issues, I still struggled. In my late-twenties and early-thirties, I took over-the-counter sleep aids every night to try and get 5-6 hours of fragmented sleep. Then an epically colicky infant was added to the mix. Sleep deprivation caused by stress was slowly, stealthily, destroying my health.
Many of us are very good at downplaying (or ignoring) the difficult and overemphasizing the good parts of our lives. In many ways focusing on the positive is a very healthy thing to do, especially for mental health — having a positive mental attitude is incredibly valuable, but not if it means ignoring things in our lives that should be corrected. Enormous sources of stress (unrealistic workloads, debt, overcommitment, bad relationships) aren’t problems that will correct themselves, and their emotional weight increases exhaustion and worsens sleep.
When we’re sleep deprived it’s more difficult to make any type of decision or exercise willpower. We’re depleted, irritable, and less-effective than we should be, consequently we struggle at work, we struggle at home, and we struggle with diet and lifestyle. People who are exhausted often turn to stimulants like caffeine and depressants like alcohol or sleep aids to cope — unfortunately reliance on stimulants and depressants make the situation worse. It’s a pernicious cycle that easily turns into a long-term problem.
Not only does sleep deprivation leave you functioning at a fraction of your capacity, just a few nights of poor sleep negatively impacts regulation of several hormones involved in stress response, weight, and appetite control, including cortisol, ghrelin, leptin, and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). Insulin sensitivity is also impaired. Chronic sub-optimal sleep is linked to many disease states including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, depression, and anxiety. Our national sleep disorder is a problem with tremendous social, medical, and personal costs, and we shouldn’t ignore or accept it as part of modern life.
In the new book The Sleep Revolution, Arianna Huffington calls for a cultural shift regarding sleep and its place in society. She reports that forty percent of Americans are sleep deprived and two-thirds of U.S. adults don’t get sufficient sleep during the work-week. I was once one of the forty percent, but over the past year I’ve worked diligently to correct my sleep issues. I’m still a finicky sleeper, but I now routinely get adequate sleep and the impact on my overall health has been tremendous. Outlined below are the steps I took to address my sleep challenges, I hope you find some of them helpful.
- Reduce stress. At the beginning of this article I listed several significant sources of stress in my life. When possible, I corrected them (relationships & work) and learned coping skills for others (parenting).
- Prioritize exercise. Although I’ve never been inactive, for several years, I was not as active as I needed to be. When I laid down to go to sleep, my body was simply not physically tired. I’ve realized that I need to be physical active every day in order to sleep well. My general routine is: running/biking and weight training 4 days a week, daily walk or bike commuting around town, and daily stretching for 10 or 15 minutes. Occasionally I’ll have a day where 10-15 minutes of movement is all I can manage, but I still make that time a priority.
- Screen-time curfew. I stop using any device with a screen at least 30 minutes prior to bed and my bedroom is essentially screen-free (I do have my phone set on airplane mode across the room from my bed for clock and alarm purposes). I love a saying my partner has, “our beds are for two things, neither include late-night reruns” (or texting, social media, or email).
- Reduce blue light. Although I try to be off my computer by the time the sun sets, occasionally (especially during the winter months) I work on my laptop in the evening. Screens emit substantial amounts of blue light, a particularly stimulating light wavelength that suppresses melatonin production and throws off circadian rhythm. To help reduce blue light exposure I installed an app called Flux on my computer that automatically dials back the blue light emitted based on the time of day and my bedtime. Because artificial lighting also emits blue light, I keep indoor lighting dim in the evening.
- Turn off wi-fi. This is a relatively new addition to my sleep-promoting environment. I have yet to find the reliable research to support this, but some people in the natural health and functional medicine communities believe that the radio-frequencies emitted by smartphones and wi-fi can interrupt sleep in sensitive people. Since it is very easy to turn off wi-fi at night and to set my phone on airplane mode, I decided to give it a try. Anecdotally, it has made a big difference for me, especially for sleep onset.
- Supplements. I take two natural supplements about 30 minutes prior to bed to aid sleep. The first and most important supplement is a magnesium drink called Natural Calm. Magnesium is involved in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body including those that regulate relaxation, sleep, digestion, energy production, protein synthesis, and muscle function. Some sources claim that up to 80 percent of U.S. adults are deficient in magnesium. The other sleep & stress reduction supplement I take at night is called New Mood by Onnit.
- Darkness. My bedroom has blackout curtains covering the windows and only one source of other light – the faint red glow from the clock on my phone, which I keep on the other side of the room from my bed. Because the blackout curtains don’t keep all light out of the room, I also wear a sleep mask.
- Quiet. I use earplugs to minimize distracting noises that may occur while I’m asleep. If needed, I’ll also turn on a fan for white noise.
- Routine. Just like preparing a young child for bed, adults benefit from a pre-bed routine. A routine helps signal to your mind and body that the time to sleep is approaching. My bedtime routine includes putting my devices to sleep, taking supplements, washing my face, flossing, brushing my teeth, and usually reading a physical book or magazine in bed.
- Sex. The hormone oxytocin and endorphins released during sex and orgasm have calming, relaxing, and sedating effects.