By Marcey Klein BS, NC
Deep restorative sleep is imperative to good health. Our brains and bodies detoxify during the night, our cells regenerate, our digestive systems rebuild, and our bodies can take a rest. The problem lies when we either have a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting into that deep sleep. I will address all of these issues. Falling asleep. We need an adequate supply of serotonin to convert to melatonin, our main sleep hormone. In order to have enough serotonin, we need the amino acid Tryptophan which converts to 5HTP and then to serotonin. We also need vit B6 for our bodies to make melatonin. We can take 5HTP and B vitamin supplements to help with this, and we also need to watch our stress because under large amounts of stress our bodies overproduce cortisol, interfering with the production of serotonin. Take holy basil if you’re under a lot of stress, it deactivates excess cortisol, and ashwagandha helps with reprogramming cortisol production, making sure it goes away in the evening so melatonin can be produced, and then cortisol being made in the morning so we have energy when we wake up. Also, eating carbohydrates at night is a good way to get tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier since it usually has to compete with the other amino acids, the rise in insulin directs the other amino acids to the muscles, and tryptophan can get a clearer passage to the brain. Cherry juice and bananas are high in tryptophan and are good to have a half hour before bed. It’s important to make sure to get out into the sunlight during the day to help us become less sensitive to the blue light emitted from our electronic devices. A rule of thumb is to not be on our computers or phones an hour before going to sleep. The blue light stimulates our brains (something we don’t want right before bed) and we’re less sensitive to it if we get sufficient natural light from being outdoors. Staying asleep and getting into deep sleep can really make or break the next day for us. We want to keep our blood sugar consistent through the night since when our blood sugar dips we have a tendency to produce adrenaline to offset the low blood sugar, and this wakes us up. So it’s important to have a good dinner, not a huge dinner that will keep us up trying to digest it, but one that is going to give us sufficient fat and fiber to keep our blood sugar stable through the night. Pesto with whole grain noodles, potatoes with butter or coconut oil, chicken soup with lots of fiber rich veggies, baked winter squash with olive oil. I also like to take a night time tincture combination of valerian, which helps increase the production of GABA, a substance that normalizes nerve impulses in our brain, California poppy, skullcap, and wild milky oats which are all restorative to the nervous system. We have some great combination tinctures at Wild Roots Market, which I take 20 to 30 minutes before bed since tinctures are fast acting. This usually shortens the time it takes for me to fall asleep and I usually sleep through the night. If I do wake up in the middle of the night for some reason, I will just take more and that will usually do the trick. If one needs to reprogram their sleep, melatonin is a helpful aid. Starting with a half milligram to one milligram should be sufficient. Also going to bed at a decent time is imperative and waking up early will help us make sure we will be drowsy by bedtime. Exercise is super important as well for not only helping us sleep better but for overall wellbeing and detoxification. Just don’t exercise too late at night as this will usually stimulate us, early in the morning is perfect, and one last thing, it’s best not to ingest caffeine after 3 or it has a tendency to interfere with our sleep, and when you do drink something with caffeine, make sure to keep extra hydrated. I really hope this helps, it’s taken me years to figure out sleep, but it has been absolutely worth it. A good night’s sleep on a regular basis will change your life!
