My Top 5 Reasons Why Sleep is Important for Holistic Health

Hi Adventurers!

Squeaking in at the very end of the month this time to talk a bit more about sleep…yay! I mentioned last month that sleep was one of the 3 most important things I learned in becoming a health coach, and this month I’m going to talk about why sleep is such an important part of your holistic health. And maybe throw in some helpful hints along the way.

1)      Sleep is detox time – while we sleep, our body cleans and regenerates itself. Bad gunk gets cleaned out, new cells get generated. Our body is too busy with things that need to happen while we’re awake to do these things well then, so at night, they really ramp up.

2)      Muscle building – sleep is prime time for muscles to build and internalize all that hard work you did while you’re awake. You produce more human growth hormone while you sleep, leading to more muscle when you’re awake!

3)      Brain health – not only do we feel more alert after a good night sleep, but people who consistently get 7-8 hours of sleep most nights throughout their lives have a lower occurrence of Alzheimer’s and dementia. While we sleep, plaque gets cleaned out of our neural pathways in the brain – a build-up of plaque is common in people with memory disorders.

4)      Sticking with your circadian rhythm can decrease leaky gut and improve your microbiome – people who have regular sleep schedules at night when its dark out (as opposed to staying up til 12 am, 1 am, 2 am…) have less problems with leaky gut and an increase of the good bacteria in your intestines that keep you healthy and decrease inflammation (among other things…).

5)      Sleep keeps your heart healthy – plaque buildups in your arteries? Yep, sleep is when those get cleaned out too…its not just in the brain.

I could go on and on…but these are my favorites!

Sleep isn’t easy for everyone…so check out some tips below.

  • · Turn off those screens 1 hr before bed – the blue light in computers, phones and T.V.s messes with your circadian rhythm, making you think its more daylight than it is. Give your brain and eyes a break to help you sleep sooner. Can’t do an hour? Try half an hour.

  • Adults should aim for 7-8 hours a night - not quite there? Start small…try going to bed even just 15 minutes earlier each night. If you do that all week, that’s almost 2 hours more sleep in a week.

  • ·Lavender or chamomile essential oil – put in a diffuser in your room for some calming aroma

  • Practice the regular rhythms of sleep -- go to bed and wake up at the same time each day

  • Get regular exposure to daylight for at least 20 minutes daily. The light from the sun enters your eyes and triggers your brain to release specific chemicals and hormones like melatonin that are vital to healthy sleep, mood, and aging

  • Eat no later than two hours before bed -- eating a heavy meal prior to bed will lead to a bad night's sleep and will impede the body’s overnight detoxification process. Trust me on this one. I’ve done a lot of eating pizza at 11 pm in my life and always sleep terribly afterwards.

  • Write your worries down. If you have trouble sleeping because 9 million things are running around in your brain, write down the things that are causing you anxiety and make plans for what you might have to do the next day to reduce your worry. It will free up your mind and energy to move into deep and restful sleep

  • Warm your middle with a hot water bottle, which raises your core temperature and helps trigger the proper chemistry for sleep

  • Try a weighted blanket

  • Take relaxing minerals such as magnesium and calcium

  • Count to 5 as you breathe in and then again when you breathe out. Try to focus on just the breathing. If your mind wanders, bring it back to the counting. There are also lots of free meditation aps that have sleep meditations (I like Insight Timer)

  • Drink a cup of Sleepytime Tea – this is my favorite for when I can’t sleep! Lots of brands have different blends that promote sleep. But be careful…if you drink it in bed, you might fall asleep holding your mug. Yep, guilty of that one. Spilled it all over my blankets and mattress.

That’s all for now folks – sleep well!

Emily Stieber