Lifestyle and Nutrition Hacks for Better Sleep
Why is sleep and recovery so important?
Throughout the day our body is working very hard. Aside from pumping blood and keeping us alive, our body is constantly working at staying balanced. Then also comes performance: from mental performance at work, school and social engagements, to physical sports or living a busy lifestyle. We all want to feel vibrant and fulfilled.
When we experience physical, emotional and even mental symptoms such as headaches/migraines, fatigue, mood fluctuations, digestive problems, IBS, depression, anxiety, irregular and painful PMS, insomnia or poor sleep and much more, it is our body’s way of alerting us that something isn’t working. We haven’t paid attention to our body/mind/spirit’s needs.
When this happens, we need to start slowing down. The more we can recover, the more quality performance we will have in life.
During sleep our body goes through a process of recovery. It does this through release of immunity cells called Cytokines that clear any toxins and other harmful by-products from the body. With time, lack of sleep reduces our recovery. This results in susceptibility to colds on the short run, while long term we could experience any of the previous symptoms chronically.
What can we do to improve our sleep?
We need 7-9h of good quality sleep. If you don’t already have a sleep hygiene routine, I would suggest you create that intention. Sleep hygiene is a routine that supports your sleep. There are many things that could be useful, here are a few:
Keep a similar sleep and rising time. This sets your circadian rhythms which play a part in your sleep and all metabolic processes in the body.
Your bedroom is sacred. That means your bed is reserved only for sleep and sex. In this way your mind creates that association which helps trigger the comfort feeling of sleep.
Avoid screen time 1-2 hours before bed.
Instead of screen time, do calming activities before bed: read a book, do light stretches, take a hot shower, drink a calming tea.
How can you support your sleep nutritionally?
Take Magnesium. When we experience stress, or lack good quality sleep our body uses more Magnesium than usual. We may not get enough through our diet. If you’ve tried many things and still experience low quality sleep, give Magnesium a try. Either in the form of citrate or glycinate are preferred for absorption. If you are unsure if you should take it, here is a breakdown of who and what it is for.
Use herbs to support your body to calm: camomile, valerian, lemon balm, passion flower, and hops may aid with relaxation. Brew a tea prior to bed as part of your sleep hygiene routine.
Remove processed foods and sugars from your diet. Those not only deprive you crucial nutrients that support recovery, they also result in fluctuation to your blood sugar levels. These impede recovery and increase inflammation.
Lower or remove consumption of alcohol. This doesn’t mean you won’t be able to have alcohol ever again, but until your sleep resets and your energy becomes stable it’s best to choose a different beverage when going out. Alcohol not only impedes sleep, but it prevents us from going into a deep sleep cycle.