How to: deep, restful and high quality sleep

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Ciao everybody and welcome back to the blog! This week is all about sleep and some tips you can implement before bed to ensure that you get a high quality night’s rest. Firstly, however, I’d like to touch on some of the benefits to getting a good night’s sleep as it pertains to our health.

Some of these may be well-known but I think they’re worth repeating here:

  • Sleep helps to reduce stress [1]. This one is due to a few factors. Our stress hormone, cortisol, is elevated upon waking to get us out of bed and begin the day. Many of our daily activities (i.e. consuming caffeine, stressful work/ relationship, lack of exercise, and poor diet) can contribute to elevated stress levels. One way to help reduce stress is to get deep uninterrupted sleep. I will list a few ways down below to improve the quality of your sleep but with regards to cortisol levels, there are a few things to focus on. The first is to have a fairly consistent sleep schedule (go to bed around the same time each night) and have a nighttime routine to help you wind down. More on this below :) 

  • Sleep can improve your memory. When we sleep, our brain consolidates information and new memories from the previous day. “The cerebellum, which functions as one of the brain’s motor centers controlling speed and accuracy, [is] clearly more active when [people] had had a night of sleep” (3). In a study done at Harvard Medical School testing the link between sleep and memory function, “MRIs showed reduced activity in the brain’s limbic system, the region that controls for emotions, such as stress and anxiety.” Thus, sleep not only benefits our memory, but also helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

  • Sleep strengthens the immune system. When we sleep, our bodies take time to heal the areas that may be weak or functioning on a sub-optimal level. One of the areas that benefits from quality sleep is the immune system. “The active immune system is energy-dependent, and changes in hormone levels during sleep enable our bodies to take extra energy from the muscles and utilize it for building up and maintaining a healthy immune system” (4). 

  • Sleep elevates your mood. While there is plenty of science to back up this claim, I’d like to state the obvious that we are all much more pleasant after a solid night’s sleep. Few things feel better than waking up after a deep sleep. When you’re well-rested, you’re ready to take on the day. 

So, what are some ways to achieve a quality night’s sleep? I’ve put together my list of top tips for falling and staying asleep, though they are in no particular order. While these are my favorite ways to wind down, I’d encourage you to experiment with what works for you and fits your schedule. If you find something that works, please share it in the comments below because it could help someone else out :)

Top tips:

1. Create a relaxing atmosphere. Once your day has come to an end, and you’re ready to go to bed, make sure that the setting is relaxing and conducive to sleep. To me, this means dimming the lights, maybe playing some soft music and lighting some candles. My favorite nighttime scent (and one that is linked to relaxation and deep sleep) is lavender. I add a few drops to my diffuser and let is burn while I continue with the nighttime routine. The combination of the nice smells, dim lights and music works like a charm. 

2. Do some light stretching. After a long day of work, our bodies are often tight as we hold onto a lot of the stress and tension we encountered that day. It’s nice to stretch out and relax the muscles before we sleep because we don’t want to bring these stresses with us into bed and continue to hold onto them while we sleep. If you are interested in a few specific nighttime stretches you can do before bed, I’ll be posting a Youtube video this Thursday that shows you just that :) Link to my channel here. 

3. Stop looking at screens at least 30 minutes before bed. This is possibly the most important tip on this list. Even is you choose not to implement any of the other tips, this one should find its way into your nighttime routine. There are tons of studies stating the negative effects the blue light has on our sleep (and can delay the release of the sleep hormone melatonin), one done by Harvard Medical School that you can read here. Another negative side effect to looking at a screen before bed is that it prevents our minds from shutting off the day and preparing to sleep. Whether you’re reading emails, checking social media, replying to a friend, or watching cat videos on Youtube, the screen sends signals to your brain that you should stay awake and focus on the task at hand. This is particularly harmful when you turn the phone/ tablet/ computer off and roll over to sleep. We need time in between the screen and bed to give our brain the signal that we are ready to sleep. 

4. Read in bed. This brings me to my next tip which helps to avoid screens even if you’re not entirely ready to snooze. Think of the 20-30 minutes before sleep as a time to catch up on the book that you’ve been wanting to read for months or are currently enjoying. This is your time to dive into a fantasy story, an autobiography, murder mystery or comic-book. Reading is great for stimulating your imagination, expanding your vocabulary and relaxing your mind. The one caveat to reading before bed is that if the book is good you may end up reading until the wee hours which would negate this tip- but sometimes the book is worth it :) 

5. Don’t eat too close to bedtime. This last tip is meant to improve the quality of your sleep. I would recommend eating no less than one hour before bed to prevent any indigestion and discomfort while sleeping. Eating close to bedtime could interfere with sleeping as the body will want to expend the energy rather than go into a still state. If you have a hard time falling asleep, there are a few foods that are high in properties that promote good sleep (e.g. magnesium, melatonin and tryptophan). 

Such foods include [5]: almonds (melatonin), turkey (tryptophan), fatty fish/ fish oil tablets, walnuts, chamomile tea, pumpkin seeds (magnesium). 

So what do you all think? Do you currently have a nighttime routine? What would your ideal routine look like? I’d be really curious to know so please let me know down below or on Instagram. 

See you all here next week for a new blog!

xoxo,

Alexandra 

Disclaimer: All material on this website is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information; instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

Sources:

1. Thorpe, Matthew. “11 Natural Ways to Lower Your Cortisol Levels.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 17 Apr. 2017, www.healthline.com/nutrition/ways-to-lower-cortisol#section3. 

2. Barns, Laura. “Top 10 Benefits Of A Good Night's Sleep.” The Sleep Matters Club, Sleep Science, 14 Feb. 2017, www.dreams.co.uk/sleep-matters-club/top-10-benefits-good-nights-sleep/. 

3. “Study Shows How Sleep Improves Memory.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 29 June 2005, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050629070337.htm. 

4. Tabor, Vedrana Högqvist. “How Sleep Affects the Immune System – Boosted - by BOOST Thyroid App – Medium.” Medium.com, Medium, 25 Apr. 2018, medium.com/boosted/how-sleep-affects-the-immune-system-9595d39c08ce. 

5. Elliott, Brianna. “The 9 Best Foods to Eat Before Bed.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 23 Oct. 2017, www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-foods-to-help-you-sleep#section3.