Sleep Week Part 2

Sleep Week  is wrapping up today!  If you missed Sleep Week Part 1, that blog post is HERE.  There are tons of great tips in that post also - so you don't want to miss it.  And I'm telling the story of why I'm learning smarter sleep strategies.

I'll jump right into the tips!

Tip 4 (remember tips 1 through 3 are on the other blog post, link above!)

Getting more sunlight during the day can help us sleep better at night.

Our circadian timing system (our own internal 24 hour clock) is heavily impacted by the amount of sunlight we receive during the day.  This circadian timing system is responsible for releasing specific hormones at certain times throughout the day.

Morning sunlight specifically improves sleep by signaling a certain part of our brain, as well as the organs and glands involved in this hormone production, to be more alert and “wake up”.  

The best times of the morning for this sunlight exposure is between 6:00 AM and 8:30 AM – for at least 30 minutes of exposure.  Your eyeballs actually take in the sunlight without sunglasses.  Sunglasses during this time especially, inhibits the natural exposure of light we need to ensure healthy hormone secretion and healthy sleep.

The morning sunlight exposure triggers our body to produce optimal levels of daytime hormones and neurotransmitters that regulate our internal circadian rhythm timing system. 


This helps regulate the timing, production and release of specific hormones involved in sleep at the appropriate times throughout the day.

Tip 5 

FIX YOUR GUT TO FIX YOUR SLEEP 

The food that we eat and the environment in our gut will either make or break us getting a good night’s sleep.

About 95% of our body’s serotonin is located in the gut (it’s produced there).  And serotonin plays a role in mood, digestion, sleep, appetite & memory to name just a few responsibilities.

Serotonin is the building block for melatonin.  Melatonin is the “get-good-sleep” hormone.

Now, let’s relate this all to gut health.  A healthy gut has good digestion – to help with nutrient absorption, hormone production, etc.  And remember that most of our immune system is located in our gut!  

A healthy gut also has a very diverse ecosystem of bacteria with the right balance of good bacteria and bad bacteria – this ecosystem is what drives our belly.  Think of this ecosystem just like a rainforest and our gut bacteria is just like all of the thousands of animals & critters found in a rainforest.

When we change our food – we can dramatically change our sleep.

 

By eliminating those foods that damage our gut’s bacteria, we help our digestive system function at it’s best – to have better digestion, more balanced hormone production and better nutrient absorption from the foods we eat.

Here are a few things that damage our healthy balance of good bacteria in our digestive system.  Agricultural chemicals, PROCESSED FOODS, chemical food additives (read labels), food preservatives (read labels), chlorinated water, diet soda (all soda!), high sugar foods and excessive antibiotic use.

Tied into all of this is the fact that most Americans have some degree of leaky gut (because of our food supply) which means that we also have to focus on HEALING OUR GUT.

Tip 6 

All about the BATH TIME! 

If you have trouble falling asleep, try taking a warm bath 1 ½ to 2 hours before bed.  

This may sound counterintuitive because the warm bath will raise our core temperature.  BUT the secret is that by the time we go to bed, our core temperature will have dropped and leveled out a little cooler.  

This cooler core temperature makes it easier for us to sleep because our body’s internal thermostat naturally tries to cool us off at night to prepare us for sleep.

Tip 7

Foods to help with sleep.

Magnesium is an anti-stress mineral.  It has so many different functions in the body – from balancing blood sugar, optimizing circulation and blood pressure, relaxing tense muscles, reducing pain and calming the nervous system and more.

Magnesium is also necessary for optimizing sleep!

Here are a few magnesium rich foods to help our bodies NATURALLY get better sleep.

Spinach, chard, pumpkin seeds, yogurt or kefir, almond, black beans, avocado, figs, dark chocolate, bananas, cashews, salmon, goat cheese & artichokes.

Tip 8

I’ve saved THE MOST INTERESTING sleep topic for last!  

GET GROUNDED, for sleep’s sake.

I won't go into an in-depth science lesson here, although I totally geek out with science.  Just think free radicals, chronic inflammation, damage to our internal tissues and cells.  Then think of allowing our bodies to naturally produce more of it's own antioxidants to combat free these free radicals.

We’re at our most natural electrical state when connected to the Earth.

To summarize, it’s critical that we get our body in contact with the Earth on a regular basis to:

1. displace the positive charge that we’re carrying inside our body

2. absorb free electrons to improve recovery, heart health, hormones

3. to get a great night’s sleep

We need to come into contact with the earth’s surface directly with our bare feet for a minimum of 10 minutes each day.  

We want to have bare foot contact with soil, grass, sand (like at the ocean) and living bodies of water like the ocean.  

How interesting is all of this information?  I could talk about sleep for weeks and weeks!

Thank you so much for reading the blog today :-) 

*Disclaimer: The entire contents of this blog are based upon the opinions of Kristin Ratliff, PharmD. The information on this website is not intended as medical advice, nor is it intended to replace the care of a qualified healthcare professional.  Always consult your healthcare provider before changing your healthcare regimen.  *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.