How to Finally Get Some Rejuvenating Sleep!
Watch Arbor Health co-founders, Dr. Zendi Moldenhauer and Amber Ratcliffe discuss simple things you can do at home to get some quality sleep without medications.
If you are struggling to get quality sleep, request a free 20-minute consultation to see if Functional Medicine might be right for you. A clinical coordinator will reach out to you to find a time to connect.
Why sleep is important & why you need to make it a priority
- Rest restores your body and heals your brain – more than 700 genes are activated while you sleep
- Your brain actually allows more lymph around it while you are sleeping to heal it
Circadian Rhythm - Cortisol - Melatonin
- Cortisol and melatonin have an inverse relationship – cortisol should be high in morning and low at night
- Rest restorative sleep window is 9am-9pm
- Low progesterone makes them sleepless and irritable, stress steals progesterone
Good sleep actually starts first thing in the morning
- Regular get up time
- Have a ritual – make your bed, get dressed – leave your bedroom
- Chronotherapy – get natural light
- Exercise
During the day
- Eat regularly to keep blood sugar stable, eat protein with a digestive enzyme to have the building blocks for serotonin and melatonin
- Drink more water – half your body weight in ounces – so 150 lb person would drink 75 oz of water per day
- Avoid caffeine – it blocks adenosine which tells you to go to sleep
- Avoid alcohol – it makes you sleepy initially because it suppresses neurotransmitters but wears off and makes you wake up or have restless sleep
Keeping ANTS at bay – Automatic Negative Thoughts – Retraining your brain
- Limit your media consumption
- Mindset - Flip the paradigm technique (see notes from Reducing Anxiety Live Stream)
- Use grounding techniques
- Emotional processing
- Journaling – get your feelings down on paper
- Dealing with Nightmares – write them down with an alternate ending
- Gratitude – journaling on what went right during the day and what you are thankful for sets the stage for a calm mind
- Neurofeedback – retrains your brain and can help with anxiety and insomnia (and many more conditions)
Sleep hygiene
- Setting up your bedroom
- Cool room, warm bed
- White noise or music – a small fan can work
- Heavy covers
- Pets – can be disruptive
- Warm Epsom salt bath with lavender (magnesium soaks in through skin)
- Warm your feet
- Go to bed at a regular time
- No screens for at least an hour before bed – use blue light filtering glasses
- No gadgets in room
- Don’t eat right before bed (if you struggle with waking in the middle of the night, eat a small protein snack before bed – no carbs)
- EMF’s and sleep – check out documentary Resonance: Beings of Frequency
- Sleep Apnea – get tested if you snore. It can cause a deficiency in iron and cause other serious health issues.
- Sleep vacations – to the guest room
- Ear plugs/face masks
Shutting off your mind so you can fall sleep (or get back to sleep)
- Sleep stories (Calm or Headspace)
- Reading – something boring or enjoyable/no news or topics that are intense
- Breathing techniques and progressive muscle relaxation
- Making up a story in your mind
- Make your to do list on paper, or put thoughts down on paper if you can’t stop thinking
- If you are struggling with a problem, write down a clear question for your mind to work on overnight
Supplements
We know that shopping for supplements can be overwhelming. There are so many brands, and types, and dosages - it can be hard to know what to do - so you do nothing. Sound familiar?
To make it easy for you, we took the guess work out of it - check out our supplements to help you get more sleep naturally.
- During the day – Stress and Adrenal Support
- Magnesium Glycinate - 200-600 mg (Pure), Magnesium Threonate 144mg also called Neuromag (Life Extension)
- L-Theanine 100-200mg
- B3 (Flush Free Niacin) 500mg
- B6 50-100mg
- Melatonin – short or long acting 1-3mg (max 5mg)
- Herbs – skullcap, kava, valerian, hops, chamomile, lavender, lemon balm – Best Rest Formula (Pure)
- Nutrients to lower cortisol - phosphatidyl serine
- Amino acids – GABA, 5-HTP, Tryptophan
- Essential oils (lavender) – Vibrant Blue Parasympathetic, Vibrant Blue Circadian Rhythm - we have these at Arbor Health
- Tea – Holy Basil for Adrenal Support, Chamomile
- Benadryl – If you suffer form allergies it can serve two purposes – clear you up and make you drowsy
Summary
- Prioritize sleep
- Sleep is part of your daily cycle from start to finish
- Manage stress and retrain your mind throughout the day
- Have good sleep hygiene
- Support your body with supplements, herbs and essential oils
If you are struggling to get quality sleep, request a free 20-minute consultation to see if Functional Medicine might be right for you. A clinical coordinator will reach out to you to find a time to connect.