Sleep better
Sleep Optimization Routine
A good night's sleep plays a vital role in overall health and wellbeing; feeling rested and energized when waking up, promoting cognitive function, memory, focus, and alertness, balancing hormones, metabolism, respiratory, neural, and vascular systems (NHI). A good sleep routine is one of the best investments in health. Below I’ve summarized one routine that can optimize sleep.
Circadian: A term derived from the Latin phrase “circa diem,” meaning “about a day”; refers to biological variations or rhythms with a cycle of approximately 24 hours.
Morning
1.Morning Sunlight
Getting morning sunlight onto the retina is probably the most important act to promote a good sleep routine (PMID31534436).
After all, we live on this earth that spins around itself in a 24-hour rhythm in which light and dark follows, and biology has adapted to this cycle. Our circadian pacemaker in the hypothalamus (the suprachiasmatic nuclei) responds directly to light hitting the retina in our eyes, and thus sets the day-night rhythm that our body so dearly needs in order to function optimally.
Modern society has developed and changed relatively fast; with artificial light, indoor activities, and screens which interfere with the biological rhythm, and increases the risk of sleep disorders. But this knowledge can also be used to our advantage; light is an effective and free option to improve sleep. Moreover, with few side effects (the only one I can think of being an eye injury if you stare directly at the sun).
The easiest way to ensure you get enough sunlight in the morning is to incorporate a walk outdoors into your morning routine, for instance on the way to kindergarten or work. Remember to take off the shades and look toward the east, but not directly on the sun or so much that it hurts. All in balance, listen to your body, it knows.
Day
2.Movement
Movement is important to take care of your physical body, to promote strength, flexibility, and balance, to reduce the risk of injuries, to maintain healthy functions such as digestion, lymph drainage, and (for elderly and those with reduced balance) to avoid falling. A body with less pain is also a body with less distraction and will promote a good night's sleep. Type of movement can be any form; Yoga, physical exercise, nature walk, gardening, horseback riding, or any other preference.
3.Boosting the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest-and digest system).
Many of us have super hectic days, with a resulting non-stop “alertness” in which our bodies do not get any pause. From the moment we wake up to the alarm clock, world news, e-mails, social media, scheduling notifications and to-do-lists tick into our mind. Moreover, if we have any spare moment, we keep on feeding our brain with podcasts, thriller shows, music, and other impressions. This causes the body’s autonomic nervous system to be alert in a sympathetic mode. The autonomic nervous system sets heart beat, breathing, metabolism and temperature, digestion and everything else that goes on automatically in the background). The sympathetic nervous system is often called “the fight-and-flight system”, implying that it is meant to be turned on when we are running from a lion. The problem is that we are not running from a lion for real, but when the eyes see a horror movie or a challenge at work, it thinks it is. And so the body gets “turned on”, with higher heart rate and respiratory frequency, blood flowing to the muscles, carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction in the blood (because we are hyperventilating, breathing out more CO2 because the body is preparing for a physical challenge), on the cost of digestion, rest, and sleep. This is ok for shorter moments, but not all the time, every day.
Stress in itself is a natural part of being human. But negative stress (also called distress), such as symptoms of anxiety and depression, can cause adverse effects over time. It can lead to loss of cognitive function and memory (PMID: 19401723). High levels of distress are associated with decreased well-being, academic impairment, and adverse socioeconomic effects (PMID: 28802728). Mental health problems account for nearly half of the disease burden of young adults (PMID: 25534496). Distress can turn into symptoms of restlessness, fatigue, headache, and brain fog, or a feeling of hopelessness, demotivation, self-doubt, bad consciousness, and shame. If our body is in a sympathetic state most of the time, every day, over long periods of time, this may cause changes in the cortisol and norephedrine systems, leading to higher blood pressure, breathing pattern issues, anxiety, and sleep issues.
An objective measure of this imbalance in the autonomic nervous system is heart rate variability (HRV). When we are in a symphatetic state, the HRV is low: the heart rate is beating like a clock because it is distressed (and overtiden by stress hormones), instead of maintaining its natural fluctuations with the breath (physiological respiratory sinus arrhythmia). We want high HRV, and a dancing flexible calm heart.
The nervous system loves balance - it is meant to be awakened and alert, but it is also meant to come back to a chill mode. The body needs time off from stress. In other words, we need to reset the nervous system and boost the opposite branch of the sympaticus, called the parasympathetic nervous system.
How to reset?
Small moments of conscious time throughout the day can boost parasympathetic activity (and raises HRV) is gold. These are some suggested tools that work for many:
Relaxation (without any stimuli other than your heart beat, breath, and natural sounds). Get to know your body, listen to it. Accept it. Give it time to be seen. Relaxation has been associated with reduced expression of genes linked to inflammatory responses and stressed-related pathways as well as increasing energy metabolism, insulin secretion and other health promoting effects (PMID23650531).
Relaxation together with friends and family is even better! Good relations are also super important for our overall health and wellbeing. According to Jeffrey Rediger it is the most important factor that boosts our parasympathetic nervous system (Cured).
Breathe. Another way of boosting the parasympathetic nervous system (increasing our HRV) is to perform breathing exercises that are aiming for slower breathing frequency (voluntary slow breathing) and especially longer expirations (PMID: 35623448). When we breathe out, the thoracic pressure increases and so the baroreceptors register higher flow of the blood (less space = higher flow). This signals the brain centre to boost the vagus nerve, and so the heart rate slows. So the breath controls the deep mind controls the heart.
4.Journaling
Many humans do not set aside time to just think and digest the impressions and relations and events throughout the day, and so, when night time comes, the mind yearns for processing.
Instead, try to set aside 10 minutes during the day to intentionally dedicate attention to whatever comes up. Can you believe the thoughts, and the secondary feelings? Any patterns? Are there any choices you can make or any changes in your reactions and perception that can change the situation? What about moving forward? Are there any questions that you do not have the answer to yet? Write them down. With time you will find new questions and come deeper to the core. And free your mind and body from these questions right before you’re about to sleep. With time this will promote a safe environment for your body to let go, for when the mind is calm the body follows, and we promote high quality sleep.
5.Food and drink to support your body
For this point, I’ll state the obvious first; no caffeine, tein or energy drinks after 12.00. Caffeine resembles purines, a mild boost of our central nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system that alerts the body. It has maximum effect 15 -120 minutes after intake, and it takes about 5 hours for the body to half the amount of caffeine in circulation. That means, if you drink a cup of coffee at 2 pm, ¼ of that amount is circulation at midnight. Many of us drink more than one cup. So, my rule is half a cup in the morning, then no more.
Unfortunately, chocolate has some of the same effects on our nervous system as coffee. But all in moderation, also moderation.
Another important (and sensitive) habit for good sleep is to cut alcohol. Only a single glass of wine can cause imbalances to your sleep. When you think about it, alcohol is many places an important part of social life, and there is an underlying pressure to drink. But alcohol is a (dimming) drug, and it has toxic effects on your body. So if you want to take care of your mind and sleep then it’s time to be brave(!) Herbal tea, fresh juices, and water are good options.
Healthy nutrient rich food will also promote a happy well-functioning body. What does your body like? Usually more vegetables, real food, and less processed foods and sugar. Many experience more deep sleep and higher energy in the morning if they don’t eat late meals. Try to eat your last meal of the day at around 6-7 pm for optimal sleep performance.
This one too has many exceptions, for dining out with friends can also be a good tradeoff. Nothing in extremes.
Evening
6.Slow down bed time routine
So this one is all about slowing down the body and preparing for a good night's sleep.
Since we know screen light messes up with the circadian rhythm, cut down on TV, but instead read books, work in the house, prepare the kids for bed, listen to podcasts, talk to friends and family, cook, etc. If you do watch TV, try to keep the screen in night mode, and get at least 45 minutes before bedtime without any screen (including the phone). Singing with the kids is also a nice activity, as that is actually another breathing exercise that boosts the HRV and parasympathetic system (lower respiration frequency and longer exhales). When you think about it, this is what we do naturally when calming a baby. If you want a hot drink, chamomile tea can be a suitable option to further calm the body (PMID25644982).
6. Slow breathing
Then, right before sleep, when in bed, try the breathing exercises again. The 4:8 breathing (inhale to four, exhale to eight) is a good one. The point is not to follow the counting perfectly, feel free to make up your own pace, but aim to slow the frequency and to lengthen the exhale. The counting is also good to keep a focus on something other than spontaneous thoughts, if they get you easily distracted and alert. Some Iike drifting off into half consciousness, but that is highly individual. In any case, sleep comes when you let go. So making sure that you feel safe and comfortable is important too (nice clean sheets, a soft supporting bed and pillows, temperature at around 18 degrees, no draw through, and for some a weight duvet can add to the grounding and safety feeling - in order to prepare the body to let go).
Conclusion
That was it! It looks a lot, so remember this; The point is not to do everything on the list perfectly, it is only a guideline and with time and awareness you will find your balance and personalized sleep routine. If you want to remember only three things; (1) sunlight in the morning, (2) practice 2 minutes of relaxation or slow breathing several times a day to boost your parasympathetic nervous system, and (3) sort out your schedule to support your body and mind for a good night's sleep.
