The Importance of Being Rested

Being well rested is a necessity not a luxury when striving for optimal health.  As many of us know, it can be difficult to let go of the stresses of the day and relax the brain enough to fall asleep and then sleep through the night.  When sleeping problems become chronic or start to adversely affect your job performance or relationships, it is time to take a serious look at the cause of the problem and explore some possible treatments. 

A particularly simple reason why one may have difficulty initiating sleep could be their nutrition and/or eating schedule.  If you are someone who eats a meal or snack within an hour of attempting to sleep, you may be doing yourself more harm than good. Heartburn and indigestion/bloating are typical symptoms that can happen when eating dinner less than three hours before bedtime. If you are still having heartburn/acid reflux hours after eating, try an additional pysllium fiber supplement an hour before going to bed. In addition, consuming sugar (not just cookies, but alcohol and other high sugar consumptions) can alter blood sugar prior to bedtime and change your metabolism resulting in an excess of energy or a “crash” that leaves you snoozing on the couch and then having to return later to bed, thus disturbing the quality of sleep you experience.

There are so many good reasons to get a good night’s rest; positive attitude, more energy, better coping skills just to name a few. Of all the benefits, improved memory and attention may be at the top of the list. An inability to remember or focus clearly can impact various aspects of one’s life significantly. Recently, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania concluded that mice allowed to sleep after being trained remembered training far better than those deprived of sleep for several hours after receiving the instruction.  This is just more evidence against the “all-nighter” cramming prior to taking tests or giving presentations.  A separate study in Sleep Medicine Review found that people with sleep related breathing disorders, insomnia or narcolepsy all showed reduced performance in tasks measuring attention. The rate of decreased performance measured between 22% and 44% for these groups! 

Sleep Cycles

Sleep cycles are rarely taken into account, but are so important to quality sleep. You have probably been lucky to get a long night’s sleep but then wake up without the sense of refreshment you might have expected.  A sleep cycle is the time that it takes to go from falling asleep to returning to a conscious state. This time frame is typically 90-100 minutes. Though many of us do not always wake up every 90 minutes, it is advantageous to wake up and begin your day at one of these “breaks.”  The easiest way to accomplish this is to figure out what time you need to wake up and then subtract 90 minute blocks to find the time you should go to bed.  As usual, you might suspect that each individual’s sleep cycle will vary a bit, so it may take a few tries but this will give you the highest probability of hearing that alarm at the same time your brain is ready to awaken. This is a handy trick to starting your day with your “best foot forward” and your brain ready to go.

Sleep and Allergies

The topic of allergies and methods of managing allergies is too broad to go into depth here, but there are two related ideas worth mentioning.  First, be sure to frequently change your bedding and consider using hypo-allergenic covers for your mattress and pillow to protect you from dust and dust mites. Secondly, consider showering before bed. This will wash off all the dirt and allergens that accumulate on our hair, skin and clothes throughout the day. Humans are quite the allergen magnets as we go about our daily business and the last thing we need is to take all the dust, pollen, etc. to bed with us.

Sleep and the Nervous System

The central nervous system consists of your cerebral cortex, brainstem, cerebellum and spinal cord. Though our central nervous system (CNS) controls sleep, these control mechanisms are very complex and unfortunately no one area of the nervous system is responsible for a good night’s rest. Sleep is a constant interplay between neurologic areas as well as environmental factors (i.e. noise). The good news is that we can evaluate many of these neurologic areas and consequently evoke change through specific therapies that will have a good probability of improving sleep.

If you are suffering pain of any type or are in your last trimester of pregnancy, sleeping well can be a considerable challenge.  With pain, there is a cycle that must be broken. Pain can lead to sleeplessness and sleeplessness can increase the perception of pain. This is because the fatigued nervous system has a difficult time regulating sensory input. In other words, your brain cannot inhibit the pain signals from your body as well as a rested brain. Thus, patients that have pain or other unwanted sensory input that excites the brain may have difficulty sleeping. These patients need a chiropractic neurologist to evaluate their brain function and body pain to develop therapies that rehabilitate the patient’s specific difficulties, thus, allowing them to sleep better.

Sleep and the City  
It is rare to find a New Yorker whose sleep has not been disrupted by street noise or neighbors. Living in the city can pose some interesting challenges that way. Ear plugs are an option for extreme situations. Sound resistant windows are now available as well.  Surprisingly, the NYPD does respond to calls regarding chronic car alarms. Call your precinct office if you have an alarm that is keeping you awake.  Operation Silent Night was put into effect last year to help keep honking, loud cars and motorcycles and excessive nightclub noise in check. Calls can be made to the NYPD’s Quality of Life Hotline.

• TIPS for a Better Night’s Sleep
  ·  Avoid liquids 1 hour before bed
  ·  Avoid consumption of alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, exercise and food at least 2 hours prior to bedtime
  ·  Read your prescription details for any sleep related side effects
  ·  Exercise regularly but at least 3 hours before bed
  ·  Read, write and watch TV somewhere other than your bed 
  ·  Try your best to set your alarm so that it wakes you in between sleep cycles
  ·  Get up and go into another room when you can’t sleep; return to the bedroom when you feel drowsy
  ·  Breathe deeply in for 5 seconds (focus on your breathing) and spend 10 seconds exhaling
  ·  Add an evening fiber supplement to your diet if experiencing acid reflux, heartburn or indigestion
  ·  Create a relaxing atmosphere in the bedroom. Consider sound resistant windows, water fountain, relaxing music, ear plugs and/or darkening shades.
  ·  Shower prior to bedtime to remove allergens
  Utilize a supportive mattress and pillow for optimal sleeping posture

IN THE NEXT ISSUE
Dystonia
 Dystonia is a disorder of abnormal muscle tone that is misdiagnosed 90% of the time according to Care4Dystonia.org. Learn more about dystonia, from the subtle to the extreme, and how chiropractic neurology is an exciting therapeutic option.