Sleep
I used to be a good sleeper. When I say a good sleeper, I mean that sleep came easily to me, and I could stay asleep all night long. That was until I hit menopause. Then things changed. I found that I could not fall asleep easily, and that I also woke more often in the night. Some nights I still struggle to get a good, restorative deep sleep. I have come to realise that worrying about not sleeping is definitely counteractive, so in this article I hope to shed some light on a few important facts.
I am sure you are aware of the fact that along with nutrition, exercise and mindfulness/meditation practices, a good night’s sleep is essential for good health.
Sleep is a function that enables our bodies and minds to repair themselves and recharge. Adequate sleep will ensure that our brains process memories and think clearly and our bodies repair themselves. Consistently good sleep will lead to a healthy mind and body.
Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, is linked to poor metabolism, weight gain, restlessness, lack of focus, lack of energy, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, poor mental health and even early death.
There is a certain orthodoxy that claims we need to sleep 8 hours a night because evolutionarily we are programmed to live like our ancient forebears. For some of us, this information only serves to create more stress as we lie awake watching the minutes and hours tick by. A vicious cycle ensues and with it the elusive slumber.
For this reason I drew much solace from reading Daniel Lieberman’s book, Exercised, in which he discusses very interesting research done on modern hunter-gatherer societies that yielded unexpected results. People who live without electric lights, clocks or screens mostly slept less than eight hours a night. In the warmer months they slept on average 5.7 to 6.5 hours, and in colder weather they slept on average 6.6 to 7.1 hours. They rarely napped, either. Thus, contrary to general wisdom, non-industrial populations did not and do not sleep more than people in the industrialised world.
If you were worried about not hitting the magical 8 hours, relax! It is fairly easy to know whether you are getting enough sleep or good quality sleep by a simple checklist. If you find it easy to get up in the morning, you stay awake all day without dozing, you do not suffer from mood swings, you do not have trouble focusing and you are getting somewhere between six and eight hours of sleep, you are probably doing fine.
However, as with everything in life, there is usually room for improvement, so here are a few guidelines to improving sleep quality and quantity:
Eat a healthy, nutrient dense diet. Sugar-laden, processed foods are terrible sleep disruptors.
Aim to rise at the same time every day and go to bed at the same time every night. Setting good sleep routines is one of the best ways of ensuring better sleep.
Do not take naps during the day.
Start winding down at least 2 hours before you want to go to sleep.
Develop a mindfulness practice, preferably morning and evening. Journaling before bed is also very helpful to get bothersome thoughts out of our heads and on to a page.
Disconnect from screens and adopt the habit of wearing yellow or red tinted (blue-light blocking) glasses, use low wattage yellow lights or candles, avoid stimulating work, do gentle, relaxing activities.
Eat your main meal no less than 3 hours before you go to bed. Do not have a big heavy meal just before going to bed. Be consistent with your eating routines.
Reduce overall caffeine consumption, and do not have coffee less than 8 hours before bed, in other words, stop drinking coffee, black tea and caffeinated drinks by midday or 2pm the latest. Dark chocolate can also be a sleep disruptor for some.
Avoid alcohol no less than 3 hours before going to bed, it may make you drowsy, but it will dehydrate you and impair your sleep. Alcohol prevents you from reaching REM - the deeper states of sleep.
Exercise during the day for good quality sleep, but do not do heavy exercise in the evening, it is too stimulating.
Make sure you expose yourself to the sun for at least 15 minutes in the morning. Go outside and be in the sun, it helps to set your circadian rhythm - light in the morning, dark at night.
Keep your bedroom as dark and as cool as possible with blackout curtains and an eye mask if necessary. Slightly cool temperatures are far better for sleep than a warm bedroom.
If possible, preclude all activities other than sleep and sex from your bedroom. This trains our brains to associate the bedroom with sleep.
Sweet dreams!