Trouble sleeping? Figure out why so you start sleeping well again
If you have trouble sleeping, whether you can’t fall asleep at night or stay asleep throughout the night, the first step to sleeping well is figuring out the WHY. Why are you waking up in the middle of the night? Why can’t you fall asleep at the end of a busy day? Why is it so difficult to turn your brain off at bedtime? Why do you keep waking up between 1am and 3am unable to fall back to sleep? All of these questions help you figure out why you’re not sleeping and what you can do about it.
How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep: Treating Insomnia Naturally
Insomnia and fatigue are two of the biggest complaints I hear from my patients. Whether you are having difficulty falling asleep at night, staying asleep, or simply don’t wake up feeling rested, no one enjoys insomnia and the fatigue and grogginess that follow a night (or many nights) of poor sleep. From the frustration of not being able to sleep, to the fatigue and poor concentration (among other things) it causes, everyone wants a solution. Poor sleep can even lead to increased anxiety and depression, weight gain due to increased appetite and poor blood sugar control. Our bodies are designed to sleep at night to restore and function and energy , and without it, our bodies and minds just don’t work like they are supposed to.
There are different types of insomnia. The two main types include difficulty falling asleep and difficulty staying asleep.
Difficulty falling asleep is being unable to fall asleep even once in bed at night, regardless of how tired you actually feel. There are different factors that can keep us up at night. Some of the most common are:
Irregular sleep schedule
Poor sleeping conditions
Stress and elevated evening cortisol - that “tired but wired” feeling at bedtime
Lack of daily movement
Caffeine too late in the day
Difficulty staying asleep includes waking multiple times throughout the night or waking once unable to fall back to sleep, or waking up too early in the morning.
The most common causes of this are:
Blood sugar dysregulation (a drop in blood sugar in the middle of the night is a sure way to get woken up)
Hormones - hello perimenopause and menopause!
Poor sleeping conditions
Stress/anxiety
Tips to a better night’s sleep: Say “Goodbye!” to insomnia and “Hello!” to a restful night’s sleep!
Bedtime routines: they’re not just for kids. We all had a bedtime routine when we were kids, but somewhere along the way we lost it. Now is the time to bring it back! It will differ from when you were a kid (or maybe not) but creating a routine helps signal your brain and body that sleep is coming, and help your body get ready.
Maintain a regular sleep schedule: wake up and go to bed at the same time each day. Consistency is key. There is no one correct bedtime for everyone, so it’s more about consistency rather than timing. Creating a healthy sleep schedule by going to bed at the same time every night and waking up at the same time each morning can help regulate both melatonin and cortisol which makes it easier to fall asleep at night, and easier to wake up in the morning!
Relax before bed. Any sort of calming activity before bed can help your body get ready for sleep. Find whatever works for you such as a warm bath, reading a book, coloring, journaling, or listening to music.
Resolve stress, concerns or worries before bedtime. De-stress. Decreasing stress is all about finding what works for you. Not everyone is relaxed by the same things and what one person may find relaxing may actually stress someone else out. So make sure to find what works for you!
Deep breathing and meditation are two great options. They take our focus off our day to day lives and stressors and help calm our minds down.
If your mind is running and keeping you up at night, try to write down worries/stresses before you go to bed so that they are “out of your mind” or create a plan of action on how to tackle the issues keeping you up at night.
Create a sleep friendly sleep environment. Decrease stimuli and make sure the room is dark (reduce ambient light, turn off all screens and make sure there are no other lights on). Black out curtains are also a great option to reduce outside light from infiltrating your sleep space.
Avoid screen time before bed, including television, computers, tablets, and cell phones. Avoiding these for at least 20 (but preferably 30-60 minutes) before bed will help regulate melatonin and cortisol production. The bright lights from screens (even when they are dimmed) is very stimulating to our brain and nervous system and make it harder for our bodies to determine between day and night which alters our cortisol/melatonin production and makes it difficult to fall asleep when we want to.
Sleep as long as necessary to feel rested (usually six to eight hours for adults)
Do not force sleep. Find a bedtime that suits your schedule and is approximately 6-8 hours before you need to wake up. Trying to make yourself go to sleep before your body is ready often leads to more frustration.
Eat a bedtime snack: Do you often wake up in the middle of the night around 1-3am? If so, then your blood sugar may to be blame!
Eat protein and fat at bedtime. This can help you fall asleep and stay asleep more easily. A snack about 30-60 minutes before bed will help to keep your blood sugar stable throughout the night so that you aren’t being woken up between 1am and 3am due to low blood sugar.
Foods such as turkey, chicken, hard boiled eggs, and avocado are great bedtime snacks. Turkey and chicken contain tryptophan which can help promote sleep and the protein helps keep your blood sugar stable for longer. Turkey, chicken, spinach and salmon also contain Vitamin B6 which help promotes sleep. Other snack ideas include: vegetables with hummus or guacamole which will provide the fat and protein needed to stabilize blood sugar.
Avoid stimulants before bed. This includes coffee/caffeine, sugar and alcohol. This also includes nicotine.
Caffeine: Don’t drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages after 1pm to avoid causing a spike in energy and cortisol when there shouldn’t be one. Drinking all of your coffee by lunchtime is best.
Sugar: This includes anything that can spike your blood sugar- sugary foods and desserts, soda, bread, white potatoes, and pasta. (These foods should be limited in your diet anyway, but if you do eat them, try to do them closer to lunch rather than dinner.) Blood sugar spikes before bed can cause a crash in the middle of the night which will cause your body to wake up in an effort to regulate blood sugar.
Alcohol: Many people think that an alcoholic beverage before bed helps them sleep, but this is not the case. Alcohol affects your nervous system and blood sugar and can cause poor, disrupted sleep.
Exercise regularly but not at bedtime. Get your workout in at least 3-4 hours prior to bedtime. Exercise during the day can help you fall asleep at night more easily but exercise too late in the day can actually keep you up at night.
Lift heavy things. Weight lifting helps the hormone changes associated with perimenopause and menopause, boosts metabolism, and helps you sleep at night.
Avoid daytime naps longer than 20 to 30 minutes and avoid naps late in the day.
If you’re still struggling to fall asleep and stay asleep, there are supplements to help you sleep. Make sure you have followed the above guidelines before adding any additional sleep aids.
Magnesium glycinate helps calm the nervous system to promote sleep.
Glycine is an amino acid that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain to calm down the nervous system and induce sleep. Glycine can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
5-HTP - this is the precursor to serotonin which is required for melatonin synthesis. Taking 5-HTP can not only help boost your mood but also improve your sleep.
Valerian is calming herb which is great for those who find it difficult to fall asleep due to an overactive mind at bedtime.
Combination products that include herbs such as Passiflora, Chamomile, Kava, and Lemon Balm are great relaxing herbs for the nervous system which can help decrease anxiety and create a general sense of relaxation and well-being. Taking these before bed can help promote a calmer state to allow the body to more easily fall asleep and stay asleep.
Lavender essential oil is a calming essential oil to help decrease stress and anxiety. Putting a couple drops on your pillow can help promote better sleep.
L-theanine has a calming effect on the brain which can make falling asleep at night easier
Why I don’t recommend regularly supplementing with melatonin. The body naturally produces melatonin when it is dark out to promote sleep. Melatonin only helps signal the brain to fall asleep; it does not help you stay asleep. Melatonin can also create a dependency with the need for higher doses over time to achieve the same effect and severe rebound insomnia when trying to discontinue melatonin.
You can naturally increase your melatonin production with exposure to natural light when you wake up in the morning and again at dusk. A consistent sleep schedule, regular exercise, avoiding screens at bedtime and sleeping in a dark room as mentioned above all help naturally regulate your melatonin too.
Exceptions: Melatonin can be helpful to supplement when there is travel with a time change and jet lag, and shift workers who must alternate between sleeping at night and sleeping during the day.
*Make sure to consult with your physician before beginning any new supplement. Supplements also vary in quality and efficacy so make sure to get your supplements from a reputable source.
Make your appointment with Dr. Sahni today to get to the root cause of your insomnia and receive a personalized sleep plan specifically for you!