Ten Tips For Bringing Calm To Your Sleep Routine

Many of my perimenopausal women patients main concern when they come into my office is how poor their sleep is. Perhaps it’s waking to go to the bathroom, having a night sweat and needing to take the covers off, suddenly remembering something you have to do the next day, or your child waking you at night and then you can’t fall back asleep.

Insomnia is a major health issue that affects millions of people and can affect overall quality of life, energy and productivity in the day as well as long term health.

The Two Main Types Of Insomnia Are:

Sleep onset insomnia is the difficulty falling (it takes longer then 30 mins to fall asleep) or initiating sleep and sleep maintenance insomnia is the difficulty staying asleep (a patient who wakes at least once in a night and it takes longer then 30 mins to fall back asleep). Many of my patients complain of difficulty staying asleep and in particular they wake around 2-4 am.

Common causes of sleep onset Insomnia include: psychophysiological insomnia (PPI), periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS), restless legs syndrome (RLS), obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAS), congestive heart failure (CHF), delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS), etc. These patients are characterized by frequent arousals or failing to get to sleep in the early sleep stage and don’t feel refreshed in the morning.

HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.13078/JKSRS09015

Falling asleep within 20 to 30 minutes of going to bed is a good sign your body and mind were ready to sleep. But if you don’t fall asleep in this time frame, don’t worry but definitely track it and speak to someone if things don’t improve. Try some of these top tips for preparing our mind for sleep.

• Plan ahead for the evening. Within 30 minutes of waking up, go outside and view sunlight for 2-10 minutes. This helps set the circadian rhythm of your brain in the day time which ultimately helps you to sleep better at night.
  

• No caffeine after 2pm. It takes typically 5 or more hours to clear caffeine from the body so if you consume caffeine (let’s not forget this is a stimulant to give us energy) it will often not clear out of the body if you have it too late. Caffeine sources include not only coffee, but green or black tea, chocolate and any caffeine energy drinks.

• As the sun starts to set, view the sun to send another signal to your brain that it’s evening. This is important for circadian rhythm and it has a direct impact on sleep.

• Dim the lights in the evening around dinner time to signal to your brain that it is time to go to bed. This means making sure that the light level is what you would have if you were “eating by candle light”.

• Reduce screen time 3 hours before bed but minimum of 2 hours before bed especially screens like phones, tablets and computers. Screens have a lot of blue light which disrupts our brains natural production of melatonin at night.
  

• TV is ok if it is a comedy or a relaxing show, but avoid the news or shows that are loud or stimulating like action shows or thrillers. Or, instead of sitting and watching TV, try rolling out your yoga mat and stretching.

• Consider a warm bath by candlelight with 2 cups of Epsom salt and a few drops of lavender essential oil.

• Do some deep breathing or meditation, listen to relaxing music, or use an app such as Medito (free app), Smiling Mind (free app), Calm (paid app), or Headspace (paid app) to relax your mind and tune out the daily noise. Remember this is a practice so it takes time to build up your meditation muscles. Start with 1 minute a day if this is a new thing for you and go from there.

• Eat dinner 3-4 hours before sleep and then go for a short walk. Doing this helps with digestion and regulating blood sugar levels, and is a great way to get outside and decompress. You also don’t want to go to bed hungry as this can cause some people to wake up. Find the right balance for you in terms of eating timing.

• Enjoy a nice warm cup of chamomile tea a few hours before bed to soothe body and mind. Steep for at least 8-10 minutes. If you are prone to waking at night to urinate – drink only quarter of a cup. Chamomile contains a bioflavonoid compound called Apigenin which calms the nervous system by reducing anxiety and causing sedation. Chamomile is part of the daisy family so be mindful of this if you are allergic to this family of herbs.

If you do have any underlying health concerns such as the ones mentioned in this article, or you don’t know where to start with addressing your insomnia, it’s important to speak to your primary health care provider. Often, addressing the underlying primary health issue(s) can improve the insomnia itself.

I use tools such as blood testing (including hormone and other blood markers for inflammation and nutrient deficiencies) and also can help patients discuss tools they can use to manage their stress and help them sleep better.