The Top 5 Natural Sleep Aid Tips

Americans are always on the go and can’t seem to cram everything that they want to do every day into just 24 hours. The result is that Americans cut into their hours of sleep to complete their daily schedules. You may have heard of “Robbing Peter to pay Paul”. This game plan can have dire consequences.

Americans sleep less today than they did decades ago. In 1942, 59% of Americans were getting at least eight hours of sleep per night, in 2013 that percentage dropped to 34%!

Five or less hours of sleep per night is considered by many doctors to be a health risk. In 1942, just 3% of Americans slept five or less hours per night, in 2013 that number increased to 14%!

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has cited insufficient sleep as a public health epidemic linked to increased motor vehicle crashes, industrial disasters and mental errors. The CDC also linked sleep insufficiency to hypertension, diabetes, depression, obesity, cancer, reduced productivity, increased mortality and a reduced quality of life.

Are you in denial over the Importance of healthy sleep?

A survey by the Better Sleep Council revealed half of Americans say they don’t get enough sleep, but less than half of them take any specific action to help them sleep better.

45% of men believe the myth that it’s possible to train yourself to need less sleep. Further, many seemed reluctant to acknowledge the extreme health risks of insufficient sleep. Less than 30% of adults strongly agreed that lack of sleep contributes to memory loss, heart disease, strokes and diabetes.

Many Americans combat their sleepiness with coffee or other caffeinated beverages as a way to get through the day, which can create adrenal burnout and a host of other physical and psychological problems.

Disruptions to sleep can also:

1. Prevent your brain cells from shrinking by about 60%, as they should during sleep, which allows for more efficient toxic waste removal.

2. Reduce important hormone levels, including melatonin. Melatonin inhibits the proliferation of a wide range of cancer cell types.

3. Decrease levels of your fat-regulating hormone leptin while, increasing the hunger hormone ghrelin. The resulting increase in hunger and appetite can easily lead to overeating and weight gain.

4. Increase the activity in genes associated with inflammation, immune excitability, diabetes, cancer risk and stress.

5. Increase the probability for pain in adults over 50.

Top 5 Natural Sleep Strategies:

1. Darkness in Your Bedroom, Bright Light During the Day - Ever since the advent of the light bulb, people have become increasingly “darkness deficient” at night, while simultaneously getting too little light during the day, courtesy of working indoors. The brightness of the light matters, because your pineal gland produces melatonin roughly in approximation to the contrast of bright sun exposure in the day and complete darkness at night. If you are in relative darkness all day long, the pineal gland can’t appreciate the difference and will not optimize your melatonin production. This can have rather significant ramifications for your health and sleep.

2. Nap Wisely - Regularly napping during the day, particularly for longer periods, may disrupt your circadian rhythm, which is the 24-hour cycle also known as your internal body clock. There is some evidence that short naps may actually be beneficial. The “ideal” nap time for adults appears to be around 20 minutes.

3. Aim for Eight Hours of Sleep - Most adults really need about eight hours of actual sleep every night. Try to go to bed early enough to leave at least eight hours before you need to get up.

4. Exercise - One of the benefits of getting regular exercise is better sleep at night. This appears to be true regardless of the time of day that you exercise.

5. Get the Temperature Right - When you sleep, your body’s internal temperature actually drops to its lowest level, generally about four hours after you fall asleep. Scientists believe a cooler bedroom may therefore be most conducive to sleep, since it mimics your body’s natural temperature drop.

Additional Tips:

1. Avoid watching TV or using your computer in the evening, for at least an hour or so before going to bed.

2. Try to minimize nighttime electric lights. Even dim ones from clock radios, etc., can disrupt melatonin production. If you need a source of light for navigation at night, use a low-wattage yellow, orange or red light bulb . A Himalayan salt lamp with a dimmer switch is an ideal choice. Sleep in complete darkness, or as close to it as possible.

3. Make sure you get BRIGHT sun exposure regularly, especially in the morning if you can.

4. Avoid using loud alarm clocks, which can be very disruptive. Being jolted awake each morning can be very stressful, especially if you are in a deep sleep cycle. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, you should wake up naturally, without an alarm. If you need an alarm, get one that slowly increases its volume.

5. Maintain a regular sleep schedule. Getting to bed the same time and getting up the same time every day, will stabilize your circadian rhythms.

6. Establish a bedtime routine. This could include meditation, prayer, deep breathing or using aromatherapy.

7. Be mindful of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in your bedroom. EMFs can disrupt your pineal gland and its melatonin production and may have other negative biological effects as well. A gauss meter can be purchased to measure EMF levels in various areas of your home. Ideally, you should turn off any wireless router while you are sleeping, since you don’t need the Internet on when you are asleep.

Read More