Ep. 5 The Rhythm of Life

The Sleep & Health Podcast

In this episode, the key focus is around cycles of sleeping and living!
We talk about:
o How you can work with body/your physiology to get better quality sleep.

o We’ll look at the Your body clock – or CR & how we align that and work with the natural cycles of our brain and body.

o For eg. - What actually works when it comes to increasing deep sleep?

In the second part of the episode we look at some of the root causes of why there is so much sleep disruption & ill health in our society and how we are living.
Sleep Requirement
The first step for anyone looking to improve their sleep is to establish how much sleep they require. You can look at this per nigh and over the course of a week. Zoom out when it comes to sleep and see how many 90-minute sleep cycles you need over 7-10 days.
How do I know if I'm getting enough?
Don't use how you feel when you wake up as a barometer and this can vary greatly and many people feel tired and groggy upon waking. See how you feel after 30-60 minutes and see how the energy levels are through the day. Are you experiencing daytime sleepiness? Do you feel like you could easily fall asleep and have low energy? Then you probably need more sleep!
How can I get more deep sleep?
Youi are all fascinated with deep sleep but light sleep is equally important and critical for brain health. What does the scientific literature say? A few simple key activities will improve your deep sleep:

1. Regular exercise -60 minutes at 60% intensity at least 3 times per week.
2. Lots of light exposure during the day- this will hold you deeper sleep for longer
3. Deep breathing exercises in the evening help deactivate and appears to improve deep sleep
4. Supplements which have been shown to have an impact are amino acids like L-Theanine, Vitamin D.

Here are the studies relating to this:

• Chan V, Lo K. Efficacy of dietary supplements on improving sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Postgrad Med J. 2022 Apr;98(1158):285-293. doi: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-139319. Epub 2021 Jan 13. PMID: 33441476.
• Park I, Díaz J, Matsumoto S, Iwayama K, Nabekura Y, Ogata H, Kayaba M, Aoyagi A, Yajima K, Satoh M, Tokuyama K, Vogt KE. Exercise improves the quality of slow-wave sleep by increasing slow-wave stability. Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 24;11(1):4410. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-83817-6. PMID: 33627708; PMCID: PMC7904822.
• Wams EJ, Woelders T, Marring I, van Rosmalen L, Beersma DGM, Gordijn MCM, Hut RA. Linking Light Exposure and Subsequent Sleep: A Field Polysomnography Study in Humans. Sleep. 2017 Dec 1;40(12):zsx165. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsx165. PMID: 29040758; PMCID: PMC5806586.

Why have we become so dysregulated?

The Body - We are not using our body for its intended purpose! We should be moving more, pushing, pulling using our muscles every day. Get into action! Sleep pressure is the chemical adenosine and this is a by-product of energy expenditure. So if we exercise we have more sleep pressure.
The Signalling Systems
We have completely overstimulated our nervous system. We need to find activities that calm us. Stop mistaking scrolling and comfort for relaxation.
The Mind
In western culture we have the untrained mind. You are the only one who can retrain the mind. Set boundaries, commit to a 6 week course of relaxation every night, you can retrain your mind.
Set clear boundaries and stick to htem, get the body into action and the mind will follow. Have a great day and a lovely night.