Stress and Sleep Issues go hand in hand.
There is nothing more important than a good quality night’s sleep to ensure all your body systems are working to their optimum. Until I started studying natural therapies I didn’t understand the term quality sleep or the importance of sleep to the proper functioning of all parts of our body: brain function, gut function, reproductive function, hormone function, and more.
If you are mid 30s or younger and have noticed problems around sleep (that are not related to partying too hard) it is definitely something to investigate. Older men can have sleep issues related to stress and prostate troubles and for women approaching perimenopause, sleep can be disrupted by hormonal imbalances. For these women as progesterone is a calming hormone and estrogen helps with regulating body temperature – both of these being out of balance can create sleep disturbances.
Sleep issues at any age are a sign that something needs to be addressed:
- It could be that ongoing stress has caught up with you OR
- It could be that you are beginning the next phase of your life.
Whatever your age or the cause there3 are natural supplements that can support you and bring back balance in your bodily systems. However, good sleep hygiene can sometimes be enough ( you don’t always need to pop a pill). You can start with the following tips to create the right internal and external environment for better sleep:
1) THE 30 MINUTE RULE
This involves turning off stimulating electronics at least half an hour before bed (yes – no scrolling through social media just before or IN bed). Boring, I know, and literally EVERYONE says this, so, guess what? maybe there is some truth to it!
2) GO TO BED 30 MINUTES BEFORE YOU WANT TO GO TO SLEEP
If you have difficulty getting to sleep then it is most likely stressful just getting into bed worrying about whether or not you will get to sleep. The solution is to go to bed with the intention of reading or journaling about your day, which leads to the next tip…
3) JOURNAL BEFORE BED and WHEN YOU WAKE
Writing down your thoughts, including things that bothering you is a great way to “get them off your chest”. You would be surprised that the simple act of getting them out of your head and down on paper can help release them from your mind.
Morning journaling, as soon as you wake, can help release subconscious thoughts and ideas that may have come to you when you were sleeping. Even if they don’t make sense, at the time, this is a very useful tool to look back on in a few months to reveal important information.
4) CREATE A BEDROOM SANCTUARY
Minimize clutter (yes an uncluttered room does help to unclutter your mind!),
Turn on a diffuser with some relaxing scent – my favourite is lavender &
Change your sheets regularly to feel fresh and clean
5) HAVE A SHOWER or LONG RELAXING BATH
Do this half an hour before bed. to help reduce your body temperature (important for sleep) as well as allow your body to wind down and get to sleep.
6) TAKE HERBAL MEDICINE OR NATURAL SUPPLEMENTS
There are many natural options for supporting a natural sleep cycle. A herbalist or naturopath can create a formula specific for your requirements. Supplements taken at the right time and in the right dosage can make a big difference in terms of getting to sleep and staying asleep.
7) REBOOT YOUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
Sometimes your circadian rhythm can get out of balance through unhealthy patterns or lack of routine. Start every day by exposing yourself to bright light as soon as possible: open the blinds and expose yourself to bright light as soon as you awaken and/or go outside. Equally, at night remove bright lighting (including exposure from your computer or phone – if you must use them, ensure you have a blue light filter) and make sure your bedroom is dark.
8) EXERCISE DURING THE DAY
This ensures your body feels tired and activates hormones that induce sleep later in the day.
9) SLEEP INDUCING FOODS:
Kiwi fruit is something that you wouldn’t expect is a sleep promoter, but research has proven this small green fruit is beneficial for improving the ability to get to sleep. Other foods to help you de-stress and bring you to a calm state to improve sleep are cacao bean (not just the powder) and milk (only if you don’t have an aversion to dairy or lactose!)
This is by no means a complete list, but a general guideline for someone to start with. I cover this and details of the types of natural medicines that can help you in my webinar on “”How to get to sleep and stay asleep” – the webinars in a series I presented during Natural Medicine Week. To see a recording of this webinar go to Webinars for your Health