Sleep: The 4th Pillar of Health
When I set out to write this article, I thought it prudent to do some research on the topic. Well, I bit off more than I could chew. There is an extreme plethora of information on sleep hygiene, sleep disorders, sleep tips, and studies focused on sleep. The challenge, therefore, was to decide on how to narrow the topic down and send a message that will be positive and impactful. Having said that, there are many resources and tons of info on the topic if you want to go further.
This is what I want to share on the topic:
Sleep is vital to our well-being. Our hearts, brains, minds and every organ and cell in between need to rest, detoxify, rejuvenate and reset; that is, sleep is essential to physiological and cognitive function. Studies link sleep deprivation and Cancer growth, automobile accidents, and cognitive decline amongst various other negative impacts. Sleep clears our brains of molecules associated with neurodegenerative changes. Skimping on a good night’s rest increases the odds of developing or dying from heart disease by 48% (nih.gov). Simply put, our physical and mental bodies function more optimally when we get sufficient sleep. Get it? You NEED to tend to your sleep hygiene! Amen!
Like many of you, I have had to learn some things the hard way.
When I was in nursing school and raising my 3 daughters on my own, I was in my early 30’s and operating on less than 4 hours of sleep every night and thought that this was admirable. I was wrong! Similarly, in the last 20 or more years, Americans have grown to attach success with extreme productivity, believing that the less sleep the better. I was drinking that kool-aid! This may be the reason that over 60% of adults use prescription or non-prescription medications or supplements to get to or stay asleep. This has led to an increase in overdose related to sleep medications, an increased incidence of addiction to sleep medications and a sleep market worth billions. The more that I delved into this aspect alone, sleep aids, the more heart wrenched I became.
Many of you are aware that I lost my middle daughter, Megan Siobahn, in 2014 due to an overdose of an OTC sleep aid while also having alcohol in her system. I believe, like many of us, that she was unable to sleep that night and just wanted a quick fix…pop a pill. I’ll never know the whole story and to say that it has been my deepest source of pain is to understate it. The misuse of OTC and prescription medications has caused many families an unimaginable degree of pain. Just because a medication is sold OTC does not assure safety. Please be cautious and mindful. Reevaluate your choices. Do your research.
Previously unbeknownst to me, most sleep aids are recommended for a limited time. Sleep aids (prescription or nonprescription) are not intended to be used daily for long periods of time. In fact the National Institute of Health has stated that daily use of sleep aids may be linked to an increased risk of mortality. Other studies cite that there may be an increased risk of developing dementia when sleep aids are used daily for long periods of time. This is all news to me and I hope that you will take this into consideration if you use any type of sleep aid. Here’s the thing, take the time to consider whatever you put in your body, especially if it’s paired with alcohol. We need to reassess how we treat this magnificent vessel that belongs to us.
Off the soapbox…
We ask so much of our bodies that we need to reward it with appropriate, rejuvenating sleep. Knowing that we spend one third of our lives in sleep, why not optimize that time? During sleep is when our liver, kidney and brain do the most detoxifying work. This is not to mention that our MINDS get a valuable breather when we sleep. And we deserve it! It helps with increasing efficient blood flow, it is memory-consolidating, and it improves our immune system. Think for a moment how you feel when you sleep well and how you feel when you don’t sleep very well or don’t get enough sleep. What is it worth to you?
When I lost Megan, it was the beginning of 4 years of insomnia. I had not known the word before. Every night, I struggled. When I began to try to integrate this grief into my life, I started researching the most successful tools for getting and staying asleep. Eventually, after trial and error, I found what works for me. If insomnia or any sleep disorder is something that you struggle with, I hope that you will too! Most importantly, take the time to reevaluate your sleep hygiene and consider whether or not you want to make it a priority.
As I start my career as a Health and Wellness Coach, I offer personal goal-setting around this sleep modification. Let me know if you need my support!
A few things that you may want to try:
Nadi shodhana (youtube this breathwork technique, one of my favorite & most effective remedies).
Sound machine (check out this one on Amazon).
Meditation (see Insight Timer or Calm app).
Yoga nidra/Restorative yoga (see Insight Timer or Gaia TV).
Utilize the 10-3-2-1 rule: no caffeine 10 hours before bed, no alcohol or food 3 hours before bed, no work 2 hours before bed and no screen time 1 hour before bed.
If you can’t fall asleep, the recommendation is to get up and do something and then try again.
Infuse lavender or frankincense oil (see Young Living Essential Oils).
Use sleep aids (prescription or non-prescription) for a few weeks at the most.
Assess your nutrition, vitamins and minerals to decide if something needs to be adjusted.
Try Lavender or chamomile tea before bed (try Yogi Tea).
Try Golden Milk, an Ayurvedic remedy (try Banyan Botanicals for recipe).
Consider an Ayurvedic recommendation of rising at sunrise and retiring at sunset, staying aligned with circadian rhythms.
NEVER take sleep aids within hours of taking alcohol (see The Truth About Alcohol, Netflix).
Look into Magnesi-Om, a magnesium and L-theanine supplement (by MoonJuice - my other favorite and most effective remedy).
