How to Finally Get a Good Night Sleep
Are you struggling to fall asleep? Do you wake up constantly during the night and can’t fall back asleep? Do you wake up feeling unrefreshed? You are not alone! Problems with sleep quantity and quality are widely prevalent. So what is affecting your sleep and what you could do to get back those Zzzz’s smoothly. Multiple factors add up to a bad night sleep, but here is little guide to understand what might be going on and to help you find some natural solutions you can safely implement in your daily life.
Our body's internal time-keeping
Sleep disturbance is an extremely common complaint. The first step to a good night sleep is making sure our circadian rhythm (i.e. sleep-wake cycle) is functioning properly. The circadian rhythm is a cycle that repeats roughly every 24-hours and can adjust to changes in your environment such as temperature, seasons and light. It creates hormonal signals (e.g. melatonin, cortisol) for a natural sleep-wake cycle when we maintain a healthy sleep (i.e. approximately 7hours of uninterrupted sleep at the same time each day). The thing is, there are many factors that can make the maintenance of a healthy sleeping habit difficult and therefore cause disruption in your circadian rhythm: stress, depression, insomnia, children, anxiety, environmental changes/disruptive environment, emotional distress, pain, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, sleep terrors, diet and lifestyle. Additionally, getting 7 hours of sleep can be a real challenge for some of us when juggling with a demanding job, shift work and/or family life.
The Sleep Hormone Melatonin
Our master sleep hormone is melatonin. It is synthesised and released by the pineal gland in our brain in response to darkness and promotes sleep; levels naturally reduce with age (hence the importance to support melatonin production throughout this lifestage). When there are changes in melatonin production and melatonin receptor expression, our body's circadian rhythm is disturbed.
Multiple factors can affect your melatonin production, secretion and expression:
Melatonin is derived in the brain from the neurotransmitter serotonin which in turns is derived from the amino acid tryptophan. Certain nutrients depletion can therefore impair those conversions and may in turn limit melatonin production. For this conversion to happen, it is key to ensure the following nutrients are in sufficient amount in your diet: magnesium, omega-3 fatty acid and tryptophan.
Increases in stress hormone cortisol is often associated with decreases in melatonin, therefore stress can be responsible for sleep disturbance.
Microbiome imbalance in the guts can also have a negative impact on serotonin production and therefore our melatonin production. Ensuring a healthy gut microbiome is essential.
Electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) from mobile phones, computers and Wi-Fi can lower melatonin production at night. Turning off the the Wi-Fi and phones at night can help.
A sedentary lifestyle can impair melatonin secretion at night. Going on a 20-30min outdoor walk during daylight hours is a great place to start.
Exposure to natural light is key to regulate melatonin production at the right time of the day. We want to be exposed to natural light during day-time and promote a dim light atmosphere at night-time so that our body understand it is time for sleep (avoid exposure to screens before bed). A fully dark room is ideal.
Supporting Melatonin Synthesis
If melatonin production is impaired, some foods have been shown to help boost melatonin and help with with sleep:
Cherries - Cherries naturally contain melatonin - your body’s “sleepy time” hormone - that helps your body relax and wind down.
Kiwis - Multiple studies have shown the direct correlation between eating kiwi before bed and better sleep.
Walnuts – Have the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acid, alpha linolenic acid (ALA) all the other tree nuts. ALA is converted to DHA in the body to increase serotonin which is a precursor to melatonin.
Wild caught fatty fish - fatty fish contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids, they also contain high levels of vitamin D which has been linked to an increase in serotonin production to promote better sleep.
Almonds - almonds are also high in both melatonin and magnesium
Bananas – contain tryptophan and magnesium enhance various pathways involved in falling and staying asleep for longer.
Dark leafy vegetables – rich in magnesium which is necessary for GABA receptors to function properly that are in charge of regulating your sleep system.
Barley grass - promotes sleep and promotes relaxation as it contains GABA (also beneficial for anxiety – promotes relaxation) and tryptophan (precursor to serotonin (mood regulation) and melatonin (circadian rhythm).
Some herbal teas with sedative properties that can also be used safely to promote a better sleep:
Passion flower infusion is a mild sedative and anxiolytic. It is useful in insomnia, anxiety with ‘circular thinking’, agitation, tension, muscle pain / spasms. Avoid in pregnancy and lactation.
Chamomile infusion can relax the central nervous system and reduce neural activity in states of stress or anxiety.
Valerian root infusion has been showed to improves sleep quality and sleep latency (time required to fall asleep).
Seeking Profesional Help
Boosting melatonin is a good place to start but there are many reasons why you are not getting enough sleep or a good quality of sleep. Identifying the ‘why’ to your sleep issues is the first step I take as a Naturopathic Nutritionist practitioner. Indeed, a lot of people at the moment through stress, work pressure, poor dietary choices, over use of stimulants and all sorts of different factors feel like they are not sleeping well. You could reach for an over the counter sleep supplement but it probably won’t fix the root cause of your sleep issues. As a practitioner, my job is to ask ‘why’? Why your body clock is not ticking properly and what tailored solution we can find together using nutrition, natural remedies and lifestyle tweaks that works best for you and your busy life.
Now, I will always start by trying to determine if your sleep related issues need a conventional intervention with a sleep disorder specialist or a referral to a health practitioner. For example, sleep laboratories found that half of insomnia cases are related to psychological factors. If this is you, then the best route of intervention might be cognitive therapy to be able to see some improvement in your sleep quality. Another example is sleep apnea. If you suffer from sleep apnea, the common route of treatment include weight loss, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), or surgery.
Once these have been ruled out, it is key to understand which factors are creating obstacles to your sleep patterns - the common culprits include dietary stimulant, alcohol, recreational drugs, and medicines. The first step here is to eliminate those factors: avoid dietary stimulants (e.g. coffee, caffeinated drinks and food, tea, dark chocolate, etc.), alcohol, hypoglycaemia, stimulant-containing herbs (e.g. guarana, nicotine), over the counter medication and prescribed medication (always talk with your health practitioner before altering your prescribed medication).
If the obstacles can be removed I finally want to deep dive into the root cause of your sleep issues. I work my way backward, to heal the body systems that are impairing your melatonin production and disrupting your circadian rhythm. Is it your endocrine system because your stress hormones are out of balance? Is it your digestive system because you have an imbalance of gut microbiota? Is it your nervous system and an issue with your neurotransmitters?
Hopefully, if we start digging and understanding ‘why’ while supporting your sleep hormone simultaneously, you might finally get the restful sleep you deserve and the power to know what you need to do for a healthy sleep.
What you CAN do NOW:
If you are looking to improve your sleep easily, here are 10 very useful tricks you should definitely try:
ROUTINE - Go to bed and wake-up at the same time every day (even on holidays and weekends)
ENVIRONMENT - Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing and at a comfortable temperature (fresh temperature – ideally around 19-20ºC is best)
NO SCREENS - Remove screens from the bedroom (TV, laptop, phone) and avoid bright screens light 1-2h before bedtime – if this is not possible consider investing in a pair of blue light glasses. Do not switch on lights, TV or phone if woken-up during the night.
MOVE - Exercise during the day as it can help you fall asleep more deeply at night – make sure you finish your last physical exercise is at least 2h before bedtime
GO OUTDOORS - Make sure to walk outdoors everyday (in the morning, at lunchtime, and/or in the evening light) and try to get some sun exposure
LAST MEAL - Eat your last meal 2h before bed to facilitate digestion, opt for an easy to digest meal like a soup or a stew. If hungry before bedtime, eat a light and healthy snack such as banana with almond butter, Greek yogurt with nuts and seeds.
AVOID STIMULANTS - Avoid consuming caffeine in the afternoon. Avoid consuming alcohol and cigarettes before bed.
WATER - Drink plenty of water during the day and reduce your fluid intake before bed to avoid waking-up to use the bathroom.
SLEEP FOOD - Increase consumption of sleep promoting foods during the day such as cherries, walnuts, almonds, kiwi fruits, wild caught fatty fish, bananas and dark leafy greens.
RELAX - Build a night-time relaxation routine. For example have an Epsom salt bath before bed, practice bedtime Yoga for 10min, practice breathing technics/meditation during the day and before bed.
Sleep deprivation can be very serious and you should consult with your health practitioner or a certified naturopath if this is affecting your daily life.
