Resetting Your Internal Clock

October 18, 2020

Resetting Your Internal Clock - Through Sleep

It is the time of year that the days have begun to get shorter already. You may have noticed that it is staying dark longer in the morning, and the sun is going down sooner in the evening. This could give you a good opportunity to reset your sleep schedule.

One important aspect of good health remains in getting adequate sleep. This is something that for many reasons a majority struggle with. You may have trouble shutting down your mind at night to go to sleep. You may wake frequently during the night, or even having trouble going back to sleep. Then in the morning you will wake feeling even more tired than when you went to bed. There are many other more subtle symptoms of poor sleep quality.

Symptoms of inadequate sleep:

· Daytime sleepiness

· Forgetfulness

· Inability to concentrate

· Waking feeling fatigued and unrested, even after prolonged sleep time like on the weekend when you have slept for 8-9 hours

· Moodiness, depression, or increased anxiety

· Increased weight gain, or inability to lose weight

· Dull dry skin, puffy eyes

· Intolerance to stressors that you would have previously handled better

· Gastric/stomach upset like diarrhea or abdominal pain

· Increased errors, accidents (dropping things, tripping, bumping into objects)

· Frequently sick (colds, flu, asthma) with slow recovery

· Decreased tolerance for other people

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms it may be important to evaluate your sleep routine.

Adequate high-quality sleep is something most people have a difficult time getting these days. Getting proper sleep is important to your body and mind. This time allows for regeneration and rest physiologically as well as mentally.

While sleeping your brain rests your conscious mind, and your subconscious will process things into long-term memory, as well as process situations or worries to help yourself mentally prepare for other possible ways to solve problems.

Meanwhile your body cycles through processing minerals, breaking down external and internal nutrients and toxins in your body. This is a time for your organs to take energy it has received throughout your awake hours and break it down into different hormones and chemicals to allow your organ systems to function at their best.

When we deprive our bodies of proper sleep, it cannot bounce back as easily, as it was not allowed to process out toxins adequately. Over time this builds up, and compounds other stress in our lives and creates a great imbalance setting us up for illness and disease.

Effects Poor Sleep Hygiene Can Have on The Body:

· Hypertension (high blood pressure)

· Diabetes type II, Metabolic disorder, weight gain and obesity

· Increased risk for Kidney Disease and Cardiovascular Disease-including heart attacks

· Increased levels of stress hormones

· Stroke

· Increased risk for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions:

o Arthritis

o Fibromyalgia

o Lupus

o Asthma

o Rheumatoid Arthritis

o Thyroiditis (Hashimotos)

o Alzheimer’s Disease

· Increased pain secondary to the inflammatory conditions

· Increased frequency of exacerbations of CHF (Congestive Heart Failure) and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

· Overall decreased quality of life

As you can see good sleep is essential to our health and welfare. There are many things though, that are within your own control to improve your sleep quality. Creating a sleep hygiene plan will help support your body’s ability to sleep more soundly. Keeping a routine is important to maintain this good quality sleep.

For improved quality of sleep the recommended amount is somewhere between 7-9 hours (for adults). Most try to get that, but somehow end up short.

Some ways in which you can improve your sleep:

· Location: Make sure where you sleep, sleeping is the primary thing you do. Also, minimize other sleep disruptions, like decreasing external noises around your room (consider using “white noise” or other light sounds or music), make sure your pets are not interrupting your sleep.

· Quantity: 7-9 hours each night. Try to begin to go to bed a half hour to an hour earlier, and transition to a time that allows for this amount of sleep. You can journal how this change makes you feel. You can read more about how much sleep is recommended for each age group here.

· Quality: sleep that is as uninterrupted as possible. You should avoid television and other electronics in the bedroom, as well as doing any work that could be stressful, especially within 2 hours of when you are going to sleep. The electricity and light emitted from electronics can impair your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Decrease light coming through windows. Decrease what you drink within 2 hours of going to sleep, so you are not waking to use the bathroom frequently.

· Temperature: keeping your bedroom cooler at night allows for deeper more restful sleep. Ideally the temperature should be between 63-68 degrees Fahrenheit.

· Alignment: having the right support of your neck and spine during sleep is also especially important to consider. There are body pillows and different head pillows with options of support based on if you are a side sleeper, or back sleeper for instance. There may be things your chiropractor can recommend if you see one.

· Routine/Schedule: keeping yourself on a regular sleep schedule can also make a great difference. For those on swing shifts where they switch from working different shifts ever 1-2 weeks there is a huge impact on their quality of sleep. So, it is best to aim for going to bed and starting your day at the same times.

Over time you may be able to incorporate many or all these suggestions. There are other things that can improve sleep quality that I have not mentioned. If you are told you snore very loudly, or you feel more tired after sleeping, have a BMI greater than 35, have any sinus problems, or have had a deviated septum, you may want to discuss with your doctor getting a sleep study. These could be signs of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) which would require other interventions. OSA can lead to increased risk of serious health conditions, and majorly impact your ability to ever get quality sleep. During a sleep study they can measure your oxygenation level as well as EEG (electroencephalogram, also known as the rhythm waves your brain makes) and EKG (electrocardiogram, also known as your heart rhythm) rhythms while sleeping to make sure it is adequate. This can measure how deep your sleep is, how well you are oxygenating, and how well your heart is beating while you sleep.

I hope this will help give you some ideas in which ways you can begin to improve how well you are sleeping. It can really make a difference on your ability to enjoy and function during your awake hours. Sleeping well can also improve your dream state. Many people with sleep disorders will state they don’t recall dreaming at all.

Please share any ideas you have or use to get a good nights sleep! I would love to hear what you find helpful.

Tina