5 Tips For Your Best Night's Sleep
You've heard it before: sleep is the fundamental building block of health. Without adequate sleep, none of our bodies’ systems can function as designed. 2020 has been far from normal, and we've recently learned that the number of prescriptions for sleep aids has increased exponentially over the last six months. In fact, millions of Americans have reported experiencing insomnia, increased sleep disturbances, and sleep quality issues during this time period. This can be due to a myriad of issues, but one thing is for certain: more Americans are looking to pharmacological interventions for insomnia than ever before. But don’t reach for that pill bottle just yet! Below, we discuss five simple tips to improve your chances at a great night’s sleep, along with two non-pharmacologic interventions for those who may need extra assistance getting zzz’s.
The Importance of Sleep
We all know that there is no greater feeling that waking up rested and ready to take on the day. A good night’s rest allows us to be productive, more present, and live healthier lives. This article discusses some of the most important benefits of sleep. Despite knowing that sleep is conducive to good health, sometimes, we cannot sleep—no matter how hard we try. At one point or another, we all experience intermittent restless nights; whether it be from caffeine consumption too late in the day, or a traumatic event that keeps us awake.
Over the last six months, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of individuals who report experiencing insomnia, sleep disturbances, or poor quality sleep. This is due to a culmination of many things: stress due to economic uncertainty, fear and anxiety of becoming ill or losing a loved one, depression due to being isolated from friends and family, and of course, the ever-present 24 hour news cycle.
The big problem here is that sleep deprivation, especially when it is long term, can contribute to stress, chronic illnesses, compromised immunity, and early mortality. While there are a myriad of sleep aids out there that promise to nip your sleep problems in the bud, many of these options can leave you feeling groggy into the next day, or worse, possibly dependent over time. In a world full of problems, we are here to bring you tangible solutions. We know that getting adequate sleep can add years to your life, and our goal here is to allow you to do just that! Next up: sleep hygiene!
What is Sleep Hygiene?
According to the Sleep Foundation, sleep hygiene means “having both a bedroom environment and daily routine that promotes consistent, uninterrupted, and good quality sleep”. Good sleep hygiene means putting yourself in the best position to sleep well each and every night. Things like maintaining a regular sleep schedule, creating a quiet and comfortable sleeping environment, following a relaxing pre-bedtime routine, and building healthy habits during the day can all contribute to optimal sleep hygiene. This article includes several tips to encourage excellent sleep hygiene, and below, we have included our 5 best tips to help your achieve your best night’s sleep.
5 Tips to Sleep Better Than Ever
Keep your room cool, dark, and quiet. This will ensure that the three most common sleep interrupters do not happen when you’re trying to catch some zzz’s (being too hot, light disruptions, noise pollution). Invest in a noise cancellation (white noise) machine if you live in a louder environment that is more susceptible to late night noise. Blackout shades can also promote a cooler, darker, and quieter sleeping environment.
Utilize your bed for sleep and only sleep. With many of us now working from home, it can be tempting to get simple tasks done from the comfort of our beds. Despite how cozy it may be to answer emails from your bedroom, opt to keep your sleeping and working environments separate. This also goes for students who are working on schoolwork from home!
Create a schedule, and stick to it! It may sound a little cliche, but we are living in a time where many of our schedules have abruptly changed. Daily structure flew out the window with the stay at home order, and it has been difficult to get back into a daily routine. If you are going to schedule something, let it be a bedtime routine. A good example may be a nightly bath, reading a good book, journaling, or a guided meditation. Designate a strict “lights out” time, along with a waking time.
Just say no to screens after sunset. Blue light mimics the sun; therefore, when you are trying to wind down and get ready for bed, exposure to blue light from smart phones, tablets, and TVs trick your body into thinking that it is daytime, and suppress your body’s natural ability to produce melatonin. Not only this, but mindless scrolling can stimulate your brain (hello, anxiety!) and deter you from shutting down and going to bed. If you MUST look at a screen, invest in some blue light blocking glasses to offset the harmful effects of blue light.
Get moving! Daily exercise has endless benefits for health, and according to physicians, exercise increases time spent in the most restorative sleep stage: deep sleep. Daily exercise also helps to manage stress, combat anxiety and is a remedy for chronic insomnia sufferers. Be mindful of the timing, though. Exercising too close to bedtime can have negative impacts on your sleep.
Bonus tip! Caffeine, caffeine, caffeine. It may sound like a good idea at 4pm, but trust us, it’s not. This harmful cycle of being sleep deprived and then consuming too much caffeine will only persist until you are able to get your sleep hygiene under control. Try to limit caffeine intake to the first half of your day.
Photobiomodulation helps fight insomnia
Light therapy has been extensively studied for a myriad of pain-related and inflammatory disorders. The regenerative health benefits of light therapy are seemingly endless, but one key benefit that is often overlooked is the impact that light therapy can have on sleep! Light plays a critical role in our sleep cycles. This is due to something called the circadian clock, and this clock interprets light as a signal of whether to be asleep or awake.
Light therapy; more specifically, red light therapy, has been shown to improve sleep by increasing melatonin production in the body. Like with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), light therapy has the ability to facilitate the regulation of the body’s sleep/wake cycle, which can combat insomnia and other sleep disorders. Below is a short summary of some of the research regarding Photobiomodulation and sleep.
This study from Brazil found that not only did red light therapy decrease the number of migraine headaches in participants, but it also was the only treatment that improved patients’ sleep disorders.
This study analyzed patients’ electrical brain activity before, during, and after red light therapy therapy. They concluded that red light therapy could be especially conducive to falling asleep for people with sleeping disorders.
This study demonstrated that participants with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) had significantly decreased episodes of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and improved sleep with red light therapy.
This study in elite female basketball players found red light therapy to be a non-pharmacologic and noninvasive therapy for treating sleep disorders.
This study examined patients’ electrical brain activity, and concluded that light therapy was especially effective at helping people with sleep disorders fall asleep.
how cryotherapy helps you sleep better
Another incredible, non-pharmacologic tool to utilize for a better night’s sleep is Whole Body Cryotherapy. That’s right—just 3.5 minutes of Whole Body Cryo can lead to your most restful night! In fact, an overwhelming majority of our members state that their first noticeable improvement is a great night’s sleep! This happens because of a few key reasons:
If the cause of your insomnia is pain related, Whole Body Cryotherapy will take care of that! Just over three minutes of full body exposure to sub-zero temperatures will trigger a release of pain-fighting endorphins throughout your body. This calms down inflammation and pain, and these effects can last through the night!
If the cause of your sleepless nights has more to do with anxiety and restlessness, Whole Body Cryotherapy can take care of that, too! During your session, your body goes into fight or flight mode. This reaction triggers your body to release endorphins that leads to feelings of relaxation and wellbeing. This endorphin production can promote optimal sleep/wake cycles.
If your insomnia is due to stress, look no further! Whole Body Cryotherapy combats stress by regulating cortisol levels. Higher levels of cortisol can be detrimental to the body's systems, and can wreak havoc on your sleep schedule. By helping to regulate stress in the body, Whole Body Cryotherapy can help promote a great night’s sleep.
This study demonstrated that the use of Whole Body Cryotherapy after training in the evening improves subjective and objective sleep quality in physically active subjects. Researchers found that which may be due to greater pain relief and improved parasympathetic nervous activity during the sleep/wake cycle period.