Sleep is one of the most important “free” therapies we can take advantage of… if we let it occur! Not only is sleep a mandatory event, but it helps our brain consolidate new memories, incorporate new knowledge, solve problems, and be creative. And feel re-energized! Remember when we used to say “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”?
Our cells and DNA expression have evolved over the millennia to have a day and a night cycle. When we “push the limits” of expanding that daytime, at the loss of dark-time, we can get into trouble. Our brain sleep centers control when we feel sleepy, and when we wake up, but the brain centers are influenced heavily by the things that we do. For example, the blue light that is emitted from artificial household lighting, computer screens, TV, smartphones, and LED lightbulbs, the refrigerator or microwave, and full-spectrum bulbs. When received by the eye/retina and transmitted to the brain, the signals from blue light tell our ancestral brain that it is still daytime… even after the light source has been turned off! This effect can last for hours, depending on the person. Artificial light is wrecking sleep around the world!
One can help counter the blue light mediated awakeness (ie, overstimulated and unable to get to sleep) by avoiding all blue light for 2+ hours before bedtime. So that your brain can “wind down” as if it were experiencing a normal sunset. However, later in the evening is when a lot of folks catch up on the news, or their emails, or Facebook. If you can’t get out of that exposure before bedtime, I recommend doing 2 simple things. First, see if there is a program/app available for your computer/smartphone/TV setup that changes the color spectrum of the light that it emits. For Mac users, try f.lux software for free. For Windows 10 users, try “Night Light“. Second, wear blue-blocking glasses for 2+ hours before your anticipated bedtime. These glasses should ideally be large enough to block blue light coming in from the sides, not just from in front of you. Inexpensive versions are available on amazon, and there are even designer blue blocker glasses out there that cost a lot more. This one (Uvex S0360X)is one that fits over glasses, and this one (Uvex Skyper S1933X) can be used without glasses. Some people even wear the more expensive lensed glasses underneath the “safety” glass style to make sure they are getting maximal blue light blockage. Don’t forget to keep them on until you are getting in bed! Any blue light exposure essentially starts the stopwatch all over, so don’t let a trip to the fridge ruin your brain’s wind-down procedure. Wear the glasses 100% 2+ hours before bed. Period.
Another thing that keeps people from getting to sleep initially is if they feel too hot or too cold. We evolved to have temperature differences of several degrees, daytime vs nighttime. So keep the bedroom a few degrees cooler than your usual daytime thermostat preference. However, some folks have circulation problems or Raynaud phenomenon (blood vessels spasm/shrink and won’t allow warm blood to reach the toes/fingers). It is essential to get those digits warm before trying to sleep… this can be effectively done by warm baths, sauna, heat pads; find what works for you. Importantly, however, your whole body needs to cool slightly during the night, so use a timer if needed for any heated bedding products, and have it turn off after an hour or two (once you are predicted to be asleep).
Changing up the pre-bedtime routine can also assist! Try more relaxing, wind-down activities, such as reading (with blue blockers on!), craft projects, spending time with a pet, self-care items such as relaxation, meditation, passive stretching exercises. Highly recommended from the Essential Oils world is Lavender Oil in the bedroom. Try it! You can make or purchase a sachet for the pillow. An essential oil ultrasonic diffuser such as this smaller unit does not have to be super-expensive, and they are pretty simple nowadays, just put distilled water into the chamber and add a few drops of the Essential Lavender Oil. (Make sure is pure essential oil, no carrier oils). Put the lid back on and turn it on! It will shut down when the water level gets low. Try any of these activities as long as it does not frustrate/anger or make you feel like you are working out at the gym. Do avoid projects that will bring on stress or anxiety, such as political discussions, and also avoid eating for 3 hours before bedtime so your intestines can be in a restful state too. Stress doesn’t have to be “mental” to affect the body’s ability to sleep–it can be any physiologic stress. Dehydration is another bodily stress, be sure to drink plenty, up until several hours before bedtime (this timing is variable depending on the person, to avoid awakening to go to the bathroom).
Melatonin 30 minutes before going to bed can assist the brain’s sleep centers by “priming” them. Melatonin in itself cannot force sleep to occur, but it helps the sleep centers adjust their timing if the melatonin can be taken at the same time every evening. It can assist the circadian rhythms (and therefore sleep) to become steady instead of erratic and unpredictable. Some people find that melatonin helps them stay asleep if a prolonged-release form is utilized. As well, some people are helped to relax by taking oral magnesium at bedtime, in the L-threonate for brain and memory function, the taurate form if anxiety contributes to sleep trouble, or the glycinate form if constipation is also present. Avoid magnesium oxide (poor bioavailability, causes loose stools).
Sleep disorders are rampant, and more prevalent as we age. Not just with “sleep apnea”, but other changes occur that put the population at risk for sleep interruptions. As we get older, our neck/throat tissues become more lax and can occlude the airway (and interrupt breathing enough to bring us out of needed sleep). It is a separate issue from sleep apnea. Either way, if you snore (even if your neck size is normal), you may benefit from a formal sleep study to determine the cause. If there is a condition robbing you of sleep, it needs to be stopped, since chronic sleep loss contributes to dementia.
Finally, enough cannot be said for the “usual suspects” that sleep experts call “sleep hygiene”. This includes making sure the bedroom is QUIET, COOL, and DARK (any pathway or night-light lighting needs to be RED spectrum only). Here is one red night light available on amazon (yes, as reviewers note, its appearance is pink when not lit up). In addition, you could over up any blue/green/white light sources in the bedroom and bathroom pathway. These lights can be tiny little things, like LED indicators on electronic devices such as smoke detectors, TV screens, bed heating devices, etc. You can use red electrical tape or buy fancy Red blue-blocking stickers online. Regarding quiet, well, sometimes you can’t help what the rest of the world wants to “say” when you are trying to sleep. This is when “white noise” comes in to play. Perhaps “pink noise” or “brown noise” is more to your ears’ liking? They are all choices available, and you can buy a device that generates it or you can get a free White Noise App for a smartphone/device to play the sound all night long (but make sure the screen is turned off!).
There are so many aspects to getting good sleep. This is only the surface! There is a fascinating 2018 book called Why We Sleep that goes into much intriguing detail on the subject of sleep, what the different stages actually do, and how it helps memory. If one loses sleep, one loses memory.
Get as much good sleep as you can– you have my permission to become selfish about your sleep.
Now we’d like to hear from you. What are your tricks to improve getting to sleep?