What's All This Buzz About Sleep...
There is so much information out there about sleep lately! And there are an incredible number of people who are struggling with insomnia, myself included. This article will be more of an overview with other articles to follow because there is a lot to talk about when it comes to sleep.
How is insomnia defined? Insomnia can be marked by difficulty getting to sleep, staying asleep or early waking. Acute insomnia is periodic, lasts for days or weeks and is often related to a stressful event. Chronic insomnia is defined as trouble getting or staying asleep more than three nights per week for three months.
What is happening in our culture that has contributed to the epidemic of insomnia? Technology? Wifi? Work habits? Diet? Caffeine? All of these factors can play a role and each of us is affected differently.
Quality sleep is foundational to our health. It’s not just the number of hours slept, it is also the quality of sleep that is measured by how much of each stage of sleep you experience during the night. The types of brain waves, or electrical patterns, that are measured by EEG (electroencephalogram) from highest frequency to lowest are: gamma, beta, alpha, theta and delta. Gamma and Beta waves are typically prominent in the waking state. Alpha waves are prominent in a relaxed state. Theta waves are involved in daydreaming and restorative sleep. Delta waves, the slowest waves, are involved in deep restorative sleep.
A typical sleep cycle has 5 stages that can be measured by the changes in brain wave patterns. Stage 1 is light sleep when the brain waves switch to theta activity. Stage 2 involves the slowing of brain waves, lack of eye movement and shutting down of alpha activity. Most of the sleep cycle is spent in this stage. Stage 3 and 4 involve deep slow-wave sleep. The delta waves are prominent in this stage. This is also when nightmares and sleepwalking can happen. Stage 5 is REM sleep. REM stands for rapid eye movement. Your breathing becomes slow, muscles are paralyzed, eyes move around under your eyelids and dreams that you remember occur during this stage.
Here is a fun fact: sleep laughing is called hypnogely and occurs during REM sleep.
So why is sleep so important? Deep restorative sleep detoxifies your brain, allows the nervous system to rest and promotes healing of your body. Poor sleep contributes to weight gain, hormonal imbalances, mood swings and brain fog. www.drhyman.com Sleep is a priority!
Now that you know that quality sleep is really, really important, what do you do if you are not getting restorative sleep? I’ll talk more about circadian rhythm in another blog post, but for now here are five recommendations from Harvard sleep medicine for circadian rhythm management.
Go to bed between 9pm-9:30pm consistently
Get bright light exposure for 30 min in the first 30 minutes after waking. If you live in a cloudy area, you can use a 10,000 lux light like a “Happy Light” in the morning to have a similar effect.
Block out blue light after sunset using blue blocking glasses or using the night shift setting on your devices. Melatonin production is disturbed by blue light exposure (regular lighting and most screen exposure) and you need melatonin to prepare your brain for sleep.
Create complete darkness at night where you sleep-either with black out curtains or sleep mask (see previous picture with my model Lulu)
Avoid eating any food for at least 3 hours before bed.
These are all very basic steps that can make a big difference for some people. However, I also realize that there are many people who have tried all five steps and are still struggling. There are parents out there whose children don’t sleep well and therefore disturb their parents sleep cycles. There are people who are caregivers for a sick family member who doesn’t sleep well. I know the frustration of chronic lack of sleep!
Personal Reflection:
I am an experimenter with myself as the subject. I have tried many herbal and nutritional supplements, pulsed electromagnetic frequency mats, the Fisher Wallace device, and have not yet found the answer for my insomnia. I have benefited from the PEMF and Fisher Wallace in other ways but not improved sleep. There are pharmaceuticals out there, but most of the drugs that fall in the hypnotic category have side effects that are not great for your brain. I have ordered a new supplement that sounds promising, but it has not arrived at my house yet, so I will report on that in the future. I will also address the issue of sleep apnea in a future post.
I have been wearing the Oura Ring now for a year or so and have been pleased with the amount of information it provides. https://ouraring.com It is a ring that tracks multiple pieces of data including your body temperature, the time spent in each phase of sleep, heart rate variability and much more. It helps me see whether what I am doing has made a difference in my sleep quality. (I do not have any financial interest in Oura)
There is so much more to talk about related to sleep so here are some resources for further research if you are so inclined.
Sleep well my friends!
Resources:
Dr. Breus The Sleep Doctor: https://thesleepdoctor.com
Bulletproof Radio podcast #616 August 16, 2019 interviewing Matthew Walker, PhD author of “ Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams”
Doctor’s Farmacy podcast with Dr. Mark Hyman
Broken Brain podcast #53 with Dhru Purohit interviewing Shawn Stevenson, author of “Sleep Smarter”
Chris Kresser has a lots of information about many health topics on his web site: https://chriskresser.com
This blog is intended for educational purposes and not for medical advice. Please consult with your medical provider for specific recommendations.