Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder that affects a person from either falling asleep or staying asleep. This concerns upward to 50 percent of adults at some point in their lives. A continual lack of sleep alters how the body mitigates stress, and also inhibits the body’s ability to regulate healthy inflammation markers, not to mention how well healthy tissue regenerates.
Adrenal stress is a contributor to insomnia. The adrenal glands release the fight-or-flight hormone, adrenaline, when we need it, and sometimes when we don’t, such as at night time. Another stress hormone, cortisol, has a peak activity level during the hours of 2am to 5am which could cause a person to wake up unexpectedly during these hours. Insomnia alone is a good reason to find healthy methods to manage stress.
A common theme I see play out with insomnia, as well as other areas, is to take a pill and make the problem go away. If that were the case, many health issues would vanish. That is why we have to factor lifestyle into the equation. There is something lifestyle-ish promulgating sleep disturbance that needs to be addressed.
I too have fallen prey to the false premise–take a natural sleep aid with no lifestyle change and assume that will result in a normal sleep pattern. Not so. Once I had a more firm grasp at the causation of my erratic sleep state, I knew that changes were in order to my nightly routine.
Taking a sleep aid 30-60 minutes before bed with no lifestyle change may work for some, but for those with an overactive mind, a more proper regimen is in order, such as changing up one’s nightly customs. In order to get to bed at an appropriate hour, it requires time, sometimes hours, to go from an active awake state to a passive relaxed state. Prepare for bed at least two to three hours ahead. You need that allotted time to shift the busy mind from active to passive. During this two-to-three hour preparation for your scheduled bed time, do tasks that are relaxing: watch TV, read a book, soak in a warm bath, and so on.
Natural sleep aids are meant to help steer you from the active to passive state, and that takes time. Three hours prior to bed, I will take the first dose of my natural sleep aid, and then again two hours before bed, and sometimes again one hour before bed. I monitor how sleepy I am throughout the three hour transition from awake to dosing off while watching television. Every night will be different and I view it as such.
At least 90 minutes prior to bed, put away all electronic devices: smart phone, tablet, and computer. Have it out of arms length, either across the room or in another room. These technologies often times stimulate and excite the brain, causing the brain to “wake up” before bed time. Turn off all news and social media also at least 90 minutes before bed. The news cycle and social media posts will be there waiting for you in the morning.
Additionally, sleep routine is very important. Schedule the same bedtime every night, even on the weekends and holidays.
Lastly, your posture leading up to bed time makes a significant difference. If you are in a sitting position prior to sleep, this can trigger the brain into thinking it’s “not quite time for bed” even though it is. At least 90 minutes before getting to bed, be in a laying position, either on the couch, in a reclining chair, or bed itself. When you are in a laying position, this triggers the brain to sense we are now getting ready to sleep.
To recap, prepare for bed two or three hours in advance doing only relaxing tasks. Turn off all news and social media, and stow away all electronic devices at least 90 minutes before bed and at this time get into a laying position while enjoying entertainment on TV or in a book. Soon you’ll be off to Never-Never Land.
by John Connor, CNC
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