By Dr Monique Hallee BScHK, ND. A commonly under-estimated component of our health, sleep, has great impact over our physical, emotional and mental well-being. The “best” parts of sleep are the deep sleep patterns known as stage 3 and 4. This time allows our body, and particularly our brain, to detox. Issues in health like mood, mental clarity and even fat gain can be associated with poor sleep.
Each person is different in the amount of time they need for sleep each night to feel rested the next day, but even if someone gets 8-9 hours per night, if they don’t reach deep sleep they will not feel rested in the morning. If sleeping is a problem for you, correcting the problem may help with health concerns you have.
Sometimes certain health concerns are the cause of poor sleep. There are some people who suffer from sleep apnea – a problem where one stops breathing while sleeping. This can be improved with a number of lifestyle modifications and use of a “Continuous positive airway pressure” or “CPAP” machine at night. Other causes for poor sleep may be waking in the night to urinate. If cutting back fluids in the evening doesn’t work, there may be something else happening that needs to be addressed, including prostate issues in men, which was reviewed in the last health article this month.
Some individuals have what is known as “sleep onset insomnia”, this means that they have trouble falling to sleep at night. Others have “sleep maintenance insomnia”, meaning they continually wake up during the night. In any case of insomnia, proper sleep hygiene is important and this includes the following:
– Avoid “screen” use about an hour before going to bed (i.e. no computers, TV’s, smart phones etc.)
– Keep a regular routine, meaning go to bed at the same time each night and wake the same time every morning, even if you don’t “have” to get up
– Make sure the area you sleep in is pitch-black dark and free of noise (you may need blinders for your eyes and plugs for your ears)
– No TVs/screens in the bedroom and don’t do work in the bedroom (this is a big problem for students, particularly college students living in dorms)
– Get exercise in your day, but avoid it right before bed, unless you know it will put you to sleep
– Avoid liquids a few hours before going to bed
– Some people may benefit from having a small protein snack before going to bed to prevent waking due to hunger
Beyond good sleep hygiene, there are specific tips that can help you nod off at night. Those may include various types of herbs or minerals, which can also be useful in staying asleep as well. There are other things to consider when trying to determine why you may not be having good sleep. Sometimes these causes are related to health conditions or to medications. If you improve your sleep hygiene and are still dealing with insomnia, contact a doctor is able to help figure out why sleep isn’t happening for you and which methods may work best to resolve it.
If you have questions about your own health that you would like answered contact Dr Hallee. If your question is a good article topic, it could be featured in a column!
For further information, see a health care provider for more tips on how to keep you and your family healthy or, if you have a specific question, use the comments box below or email Today Media to have it answered.
Dr Hallee is a naturopathic doctor who has a family practice, with expertise in women’s health. She has been around the world to learn various aspects of health care and is now located in Langley BC at Meditrine Naturopathic Medical Clinic.
Dr Hallee is a naturopathic doctor who has a family practice, with expertise in women’s health. She has been around the world to learn various aspects of health care and is now located in Langley BC at Meditrine Naturopathic Medical Clinic.