Insomnia is defined as regularly having problems falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early in the morning and not able to go back to sleep again. All of these scenarios cause us to not feel refreshed from sleep the following morning and can lead to headaches, irritability and blood sugar issues. In the longer term, lack of deep rejuvenating sleep can cause more serious problems as our body does not get the chance to do all the healing and detoxification it is meant to do while we sleep.
A study conducted in Southampton during 2018 - 2020 indicated that, prior to the first lockdown in March 2020, one in six people experienced insomnia which rose to one in four people following the lockdown. Causes of insomnia seem to focus mainly on anxiety and worry but there are many other reasons for poor quality sleep including hormone imbalances, blood sugar imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, neurotransmitter imbalances and impacts of foods and stimulants and medications.
Sleep is a vital pillar for good health and you may suffer from many kinds of symptoms if you do not get sufficient deep sleep each night. It is important to note that you will never experience deep sleep if you are highly stressed. You may fall asleep but sleep very lightly if very stressed. This is because your body assumes that something life-threatening is close at hand, for example, a predator and that you may need to run away at a moment’s notice. It is such an important key to sleep that we reduce our daily stress so that our body knows that it can allow us to sleep deeply and that we are not constantly in survival mode. A simple habit like regularly breathing deeply for five minutes is enough to significantly calm our stress.
Here are ten tips to help you prevent insomnia:
Create a sleep sanctuary in your bedroom - our bedroom needs to be fully dark, you can invest in some blackout blinds and cover up all lights from electronics. Ensure you are comfortable and that the bedroom is slightly cool. Using an essential oil like lavender is great for helping you wind down at bedtime. Sprinkle a few drops on a tissue and put inside your pillowcase.
Align with your natural circadian rhythm - within thirty minutes of waking up, expose your eyes for 10-30 minutes to direct natural daylight or a light lamp if it is still dark. This resets your circadian rhythm and according to one study can also help you lose weight! It is also important to go to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day.
Avoid blue light at night - avoid using electronics with blue light within 2 hours of bedtime. Blue light reduces melatonin which your body starts making from about 9pm onwards. Melatonin is vital for good quality sleep. You can use filters to reduce blue light or blue light blocking glasses but it is better to reduce usage of electronics and relax.
Exercise at the right time - it has been shown that regular exercise can help sleep if done consistently over several weeks. Early morning cardiovascular exercise is best and ideally outside. Avoid intense exercise 2-3 hours before bedtime as this will reduce your sleep quality.
Eat dinner early - ideally finish your evening meal 3 hours before bedtime so that your digestion is complete before you go to sleep.
Keep your blood sugar stable - eat low glycemic meals during the day to keep blood sugar stable at all times. You may wake up around 2am or 3am if your blood sugar drops significantly during the night and your body creates cortisol as it fears for your survival! If this is something you think is happening for you, try eating an apple and a few nuts before going to sleep to keep blood sugar stable through the night.
Avoid caffeine after midday - it is commonly known that caffeine can help you stay awake when you need to but were you aware that it can take 10 hours for it to completely clear your system? Similarly chocolate contains a stimulant called theobromine which can impact your sleep.
Reduce stress - your body needs to have rest and relaxation through the day so that you avoid waking up at night thinking about things that you have not had time to think about during the day. See this great video to understand this concept! A great way to achieve this is meditation - there are so many apps like headspace and calm. My favourite is the ziva meditation technique. Take time to regularly do activities you enjoy, for example, gardening, sport, spending time relaxing with friends and family, journaling or reading a good book. This will also help keep your hormones balanced. Also, ensure you have a calming bedtime routine for the last hour before sleep.
Breathe through your nose - there are many benefits including improving your oxygen intake, keeping your mouth moisturised with less bacteria and it helps you reduce stress and snoring. Practice breathing through your nose more during the day to reduce mouth-breathing at night. Listen to this podcast with Patrick McKeown for more info.
Eat foods high in melatonin - these include nuts (in particular, pistachios), seeds, mushrooms, eggs and fish. Also, ensure you are eating a healthy diverse diet rich in plant foods as a lot of melatonin is made in the gut and is dependent on good gut bacteria.
I hope these tips help you improve your sleep. If you do just one thing to help your sleep, the best daily habit is to expose your eyes to direct natural daylight as much as possible. This helps reset your circadian rhythms and should not fail to improve the quality of your sleep.
Download my free sleep questionnaire to help you further understand how to improve your sleep.
