5 Possible Reasons Why You’re Not Sleeping Well
Sleep is rooted in our health but often neglected.
Ive always loved sleep, needed it and never understood how people could function off of very little sleep.
Growth hormone is released when we sleep which helps regulate our fat, tissue, muscle, bones and other metabolic functions. Sleep also supports neuroplasticity and waste drainage from the brain. You can only fight off sleep for so long before your body forces you into it.
More and more people are finding it difficult to have sufficient, deep, restful sleep even if they go to bed early enough.
A common resort to this problem is to “take something to help them sleep” whether its a pharmaceutical like ambien or a herbal remedy like valerian, passionflower, lavender.
Either way these approaches may provide temporary aid but don't address the internal imbalance. It doesnt enable you to get to the root of the problem.
Just like hair loss, there are so many root imbalances that can be causing the problem, the key is to uncover which one is specifically affecting you.
Rather than adding something into our body, maybe it requires doing something differently instead.
5 Possible Reasons Why You’re Not Sleeping Well
BLUE LIGHT
Blue light is emitted from screens and certain light bulbs.
We tend to wind down in the evenings after a long day by spending time looking at a screen, either by scrolling through social media, streaming our favourite show, watching a video from youtube or going through emails.
Blue light exposure in the evening/night works against our circadian rhythm - the natural timing of our biological clock. We rise with the sun which corelates to increased cortisol and prepare for rest as the night falls with the increase of melatonin. When were exposed to blue light in the evening, it primes our body to feel like the sun is out.
A study done by Harvard was conducted where they split people into 2 different groups. Exposed one group to 6.5 hours of green light and 6.5 hours of blue light. The blue light group had their melatonin suppressed twice the amount of the green group.
HELPFUL TIP: use blue light blocking glasses (with orange lenses), dimmer/ softer light usage in the evening.
STRESS
Be mindful of how you spend your time hours leading up to your bed time.
Many of us engage in stressful situations whether its because we are trying to build a business or have things to finish dealing with from our jobs.
Even if you intentionally 'disconnect' from work related tasks, still be mindful of what you're watching. Thrilling + suspenseful content can also enable the release of stress hormones and be counter productive to winding down into a relaxation state.
Cortisol is oppositional to melatonin - the more cortisol you pump out will lead to the decrease melatonin.
HELPFUL TIP: finish stress producing tasks as early in the day as possible, reduce watching intense and thrilling content in the evening
BLOOD SUGAR MANAGEMENT
Your body responds to low blood sugar by releasing stress hormones adrenaline + cortisol. They work to bring glucose into the blood when levels are low either by breaking down glycogen in the liver or breaking down muscle to take the amino acids and convert them into glucose.
If we dont eat enough during the day, we dont have adequate levels of glucose stored in the liver to use as energy while were sleeping (since we cant get blood sugar from eating because we're sleeping). If many hours have passed since we last ate and our bed time, we are going to have low blood sugar.
Our cells are wired to utilize glucose for energy (unless under certain circumstances they are enabled into a state of ketosis and use fatty acids instead). Our body is going to be looking for glucose to provide to cells and if there isnt enough stored in the body as a result of the day -- the body will respond by releasing stress hormones that can hit you while you're still awake or in the middle of the night.
HELPFUL TIP: have nourishing and blood sugar balanced meal throughout the day, have a light bed time snack ALWAYS pair carb + protein
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS/WIFI
Before I read any studies, I realized from own personal experience how much of an impact EMF had on my overall state and my sleep. We currently live in a world where we are saturated with emf, where we live, work, and buy our groceries, every business operates with wifi
Studies have shown connections between EMF exposure and impaired sleep.
A 1999 study wanted to examine if 50hz of emf could impair sleep. There were 18 subjects divided into 2 groups. 1 group exposed to emf for the duration of the study and the second group did not have emf exposure. They found the emf exposed group was associated with reduced sleep time and sleep efficiency.
Another study done in China in 2014 looked at the effects of emf exposure on sleep quality and sleep duration among power plant workers. They were examined through questionnaires, lifestyle and sleep factors, physical examination and blood collection. They found subjects with long daily exposure had a significantly higher risk of poor sleep quality compared to those with short daily exposure time.
HELPFUL TIP: download your content to watch it offline and turn off wifi router at night
PARASITIC INFECTION
Different types of parasites have been noted to disrupt sleep.
HELPFUL TIP: work with a practitioner to analyze and address parasites as it is a multi step process
HELPFUL TIPS
Wear blue light blocking glasses
Minimize stressful tasks in the evening and minimize watching thrilling and suspenseful videos
Manage blood sugar by eating enough balanced meals in the day or have a light bed time snack
Caffeine enables the release of cortisol, try to minimize caffeine consumption later in the day
Turn wifi off at night
Assess for parasites and address with a health practitioner
Stretching improves blood flow, relieves muscle tension and promotes relaxation. A popular stretch to help wind down is to put your body into the shape of an "L" against the wall, lay down but lean your legs straight up against the wall
