The Importance Of Sleep

How is your sleep?

Sleep is so crucial and definitely your body’s number one area of restoration and detoxification. Sleeping at least 7 hours a night will promote optimal health and well-being. 

Sleeping soundly through the night is the goal, but unfortunately, it can be difficult for so many people.

Is sleep an issue for you?

Lack Of Sleep Can Lead to…

  • Diabetes      

  • High blood pressure      

  • Heart disease      

  • Stroke      

  • Mental distress      

  • Irritability depression    

  • Decreased lack of resilience to stress      

  • Decreased motor performance

  • Reduced memory and recall    

  • Weight gain  

Factors That Will Negatively Influence Sleep

  • Electro-magnetic fields      

  • Glowing lights in your bedroom/coming through your window   

  • TV on at bedtime      

  • Pain     

  • Snoring      

  • Breathing issues      

  • Alcohol      

  • Blood sugar issues      

  • Noise    

  •  Stress      

  • Going to sleep late      

  • Fasting      

  • Caffeine      

  • Exercising too close to bedtime 

Factors to Help You Sleep Better

  • Flux (free downloadable software that manages the light from computers)  

  • Very dark room      

  • Comfortable pillows     

  • Improving blood sugar       

What’s Cortisol got to do with it?

In the morning, you produce more cortisol or adrenaline to get you up.  Visualize a ski slope. Think of cortisol (your get up and go energy) at its peak first thing in the morning. Cortisol gradually decreases (down the slope) as the day goes on, and is at its lowest by 10:15 pm when it’s time to go to sleep. Falling asleep when cortisol starts to rise again (which is around 10:30 pm for most people) your energy starts to increase, making falling asleep more difficult. 

If you find that you’re waking up between the hours of 2 – 4 am, your blood sugar is most likely dropping in the middle of the night. This causes your body to wake you up because your body is out of balance, out of homeostasis. Your body will release cortisol to wake you up in order to get the body back into balance. 

To avoid this, try having a “meat pill” to balance your blood sugar and help keep you asleep through the night.

A “meat pill” consists of eating small bit of protein and healthy fat just 10 minutes before bed (a slice of turkey, a small piece of salmon, maybe a spoonful of nut butter on a rice cracker). Ideally, we aren’t eating before bed but, if you’re having blood sugar issues at night, this is considered to be a healing protocol just for a short time to help with blood sugar. Getting blood sugar balanced throughout your day will be key.

Rebecca Bakofsky