Sleep: more important than you realise

Remember grandma suggesting you get your beauty sleep before midnight, well science has proved her right again! Sound refreshing sleep is essential for many important reasons. We heal, grow, repair, build, restock and process at night time. One of the essential ingredients of a good sleep is sleeping at the right time to get the full benefit of growth hormone, the major player in many of these night time functions. 80% of our growth hormone is released between 9pm and 1 am, so if you are still up watching telly you are missing out! You must also be in the deepest stage of sleep known as delta (the activity of the brain creates a frequency called delta). We know about the alpha brainwave which we produce when we meditate or are in a quiet receptive state, in delta our immune system is at its most active, our hormones testosterone and oestrogen are produced, growth hormone is released and our liver is working hard detoxifying. Babies spend a lot of their sleeping time in delta, but as we age we spend less and less time in delta and so produce less growth hormone and don’t heal, this is what actually makes us age!

So how can we get a better nights sleep and wake bright and motivated in the morning? To begin create a routine and get up and retire around the same time every day. Ideally we should eat between 5 and 7 pm, procreate between 7 and 9 pm and sleep between 9pm and 5 am. We all need a minimum of 8 hours good sleep, even if you think you can cope with less you are developing a chronic sleep debt. Sleep is like a bank account, when you sleep 8 hours the balance remains at zero, when you miss out on sleep, you draw out of the account. The more overdrawn you are the more likely you are to be heading towards chronic inflammation and disease. They have discovered that just about 80% of all known conditions are related to sleep deprivation. If you gather a sleep debt of 2 hours per night for a week blood test results will show you have the early stages of diabetes. Conditions associated with sleep deprivation include: depression, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, memory loss, poor immunity, stroke and heart attack, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome to name a few. If you have trouble feeling sleepy at the right time, slowly adjust your bed time by 15 minutes every night and follow these guidelines:

1. avoid watching tv in bed,
2. don’t drink caffeine after noon,
3. eat a light evening meal with some protein and veges but not heavy on the carbs and fats, keep your blood sugars balanced during the day by eating low Glyceamic index meals every 3-4 hours,
4. avoid tyramine foods such as bananas, pizza, chocolate, pickled salami, caviar, beans, avocado, fermented dairy and soy products, cheese, sour cream, beer, wine, and MSG.
5. Avoid smoking or drinking in the evening,
6. and exercise is best done in the morning or 4 hours before bed.
7. Try a cup of low caffeine green tea with a teaspoon of honey or a warm bath to help you sleep. 
8. If your partner snores sleep in another room and get them nose breathing.

Sleep well

The information presented on this site is presented as a information guide and reference only, and is not intended as a substitute for competent advice and guidance by a qualified practitioner.

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