Sleepless No More: Natural Remedies for Insomnia That Actually Work Part 2

🛌 Sleepless No More: Natural Remedies for Insomnia That Actually Work Part 2

Are you having a nightly battle with insomnia; the inability to gain a good night’s sleep? 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to sleep all the way through the night without waking up so you could wake refreshed and ready for the day?

In part 1 we considered gaining peace of mind as step number one. Once your mind is at ease, but you are still not sleeping, what do you do? In this blog we are going to consider some lifestyle tips to improve sleep quality and restfulness. These evidence-based natural remedies can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up feeling refreshed. In the next blog we will consider herbal remedies to further aid you in achieving a good night’s rest.

🌙 Your path to restful sleep starts here—with your lifestyle habits.

Sleep is just as important as diet and exercise when it comes to decreasing the risk of chronic disease and managing weight.

Individuals who sleep six hours or less are twice as likely to develop diabetes, Alzheimer’s, obesity or other chronic diseases as those who sleep seven and a half to eight and a half hours each night on a regular basis. Just three consecutive nights of inadequate sleep can elevate a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes to roughly the same equivalent as gaining 20-30 pounds, according to a study conducted at the University of Chicago.

What are some possible signs, symptoms, and results of sleep deprivation?

• Reduced metabolism rate making it harder to lose weight

• Fatigue and altered sympathetic nervous system (stress control center) and hormone levels (insulin, growth hormones, appetite hormones, melatonin, inflammatory responses, etc.)

• Trouble staying awake when you sit down

• Problems with concentrating and solving problems

• Grouchy or mood swings

• Headaches

• Lowered immune system

• Depression

• Poor healing or recovery from illness or injury

• Decreased motivation to exercise or engage in healthy behaviors (just surviving the day)

• Insulin resistance

• Increased risk of high blood pressure

• Increased risk of diabetes

• Increased risk of being overweight or obese

• Increased risk of cardiovascular disease

• Increased risk of auto-immune flare up with physical and psychological discomfort

• Decreased quality of life

But we are a busy, “get ‘er done” society. We do not have time to sleep…

What is the solution?

Just as we plan appointments throughout our day, making a nightly date with your bed, including blocking off time for a preparatory nightly routine before bed can help you get better ZZZs.

What are some lifestyle tips to ensure you receive a good night’s rest?

• Diet: Follow a healthy diet with lots of fiber and high-water content foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes) making it easier for the body to relax. Eat your last meal at least 3 hours before bedtime and keep it low in protein (protein is stimulating, preparing us for work, not sleeping). Avoid dairy and high fat foods to reduce restless leg syndrome. Avoid snacking which prolongs digestion and increases risk of poor gut flora or microbiome.

• Hydration: Stay Hydrated. Water is our best hydrating fluid. Try to drink at least 4-8 ounces every hour during most waking hours for a total of five to ten cups of water a day. Skip the caffeine. Caffeine in the morning can still interfere with sleep in the evening. Use your coffee time to drink some water or non-caffeinated herbal tea, etc. and meditate on the “Water of Life” and “Living Water” (John 4:10-26; Isaiah 55; John 7:37-38; Revelation 21:1-7; 22:17) and see how much energy you gain from your study.

• Outdoor life and Exercise: Exercise daily in direct sunshine preferably in the morning. Spend time in nature, this helps clear the mind and is relaxing. Try to get sunlight in the morning (just after sunrise), early afternoon and evening (just before sunset). 

• Create a comfy environment to sleep and go to bed early: Avoid burning “the midnight oil”. The hours before midnight are twice as beneficial as those after midnight. The liver does a nightly detox around 10 pm each night if digestion is done and we are asleep. Therefore, if you are fighting inflammation or chronic disease, try to get to bed as early as possible. Think of the night as the beginning of the day. Start your day with preparing for sleep and sleeping! (It is interesting to note that this is how God created our days, evening and then the morning. See Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). Create a mindset and environment that helps you get adequate rest. During your designated sleep hours create a disruption-free environment: Maybe it is time for your dog or cat to have its own bed…Keep your home and especially your sleeping room clean and free from clutter. Minimize noise and light and keep your room comfortably cool. Buy and hang blackout curtains over your windows. Darkness stimulates melatonin, a relaxing hormone and powerful antioxidant, to help you get to sleep, stay asleep and wake happy. Push the head of the bed all the way against the wall to reduce bed movement and disturbance. Have a wind down time; Engage in calming activities such as reading spiritual material (Psalm 4:8; 127:2; Proverbs 3:24-26; Ecclesiastes 5:12; Jeremiah 31:25-26; Mattew 11:28-30; 1 Peter 5:7) or listening to soothing music for 15-30 minutes before retiring. Also a season of prayer has been shown to have a calming effect. Turn off your TV, tablet, phone, and other electronics at least 1-2 hours before bed (flashing lights, like a TV or internet show with quick changing of scenes, stimulate the brain to stay away) or at least put electronics on night mode changing the light from blue to orange/red. Go to bed and get out of bed at the same time everyday. It’s ideal to wake naturally. If you use an alarm clock to wake up, try going to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual and continue to push the time back 15 minutes each night until you wake just before your alarm.

How much sleep we need will vary among individuals and our sleep requirements change as we age. The National Sleep Foundation suggests school-age children need 10-11 hours of sleep daily, teens 8.5-9.5 hours and for most adults a minimum of 7 hours, but less than 9 hours, of sleep is optimal. Shorter or longer sleep durations for adults are associated with higher HbA1c levels (the average blood glucose level over the past 2-3 months), and higher rate of depression and disease complications.

What about napping? 

To keep naps from interfering with night sleep, limit adult nap time to no more than 30-40 minutes and at least 6 hours before bedtime.

Stay tuned, in our next blog we will share some helpful herbs and other helpful tips to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.

Sweet Dreams,

Dana West, RD

Abundant Health and Wellness Center

14558 US-412

Huntsville, AR 72740

“Reversing Inflammation and Chronic Degenerative Disease IS POSSIBLE.” 

Dana West, RDN, LD, ACLMDIP

Dana holds a bachelors in Dietetics and is board certified in Lifestyle Medicine, with emphasis in human nutrition, physiology and nutrition education. She is registered with the Commission of Dietetic Registration and is licensed with the state of AR. Dana has a passion for helping people embrace health and conquer disease.

She is the co-founder and president of Abundant Health Wellness Center and the creator of the Start a New YOU!® Program. And is the author of three books:

1. Kick-Start to a New YOU: a 10-day Cleanse.

2. Start a New YOU!® Cookbook: low allergy and anti-inflammatory cookbook with a 2-week menu with all the recipes.

3. Start a New YOU!® Reflections: A health devotional highlighting the Ten Essentials for Health™ that she covers in the Start a New YOU!® Program to reverse inflammation and chronic disease.