Secrets for Better Sleep April 12, 2016

Sleep – it is something that we all need but can be so elusive.  Our last meeting featured Kristin Daley, Ph.D. of Southeast Psych.  She started her career working in sleep medicine, and has worked in sleep medicine while completing her masters and her doctorate. She is one of approximately 200 psychologists who have completed certification in behavioral sleep medicine, and is trained to work with sleep disorders across the age spectrum.  

Kristin spoke to us about all the factors to make sleep happen.  So many people struggle with sleep, it is something we do not consciously control, the harder you fight for it most likely the harder it is to come by.  With all of the new sleep tracking technology she is seeing more ‘FitBit induced insomnia’  The more you measure it the worse it gets.  

Did you know that all animals require being unconscious, and how long you sleep and when you sleep is all dependent upon where you are in the food chain?  Animals lower in the food chain are more nocturnal and animals higher in the food chain are night sleepers. 

Each person has their own ‘metabolism’ for sleep.  Sleep medicine professionals believe the average adult needs 7 hours of sleep but the national sleep foundation believes average adults need 7-8 hours.  Each person is different and there are some that only need 5 hours of sleep.  How do you determine how much you need – track how long you are sleeping over a 2 week period and determine the average.  You don’t have to get too detailed, you can just log what time you go to bed and what time you get out.

Our body works on a clock system – circadian rhythms and the brain waves while you sleep are a big symphony.  During the slow waves your brain is actually cleaning itself, this happens the first third of your sleep time.  This time is very important and the belief is this time period will help protect you from dementia. 

The middle third of the night your brain waves look like when your eyes are open and you are awake.  This is the time you dream and process emotions.

The final 3^rd during REM humans have a mechanism to keep us asleep, unlike a dog when they are in REM they look like they are chasing someone.  Our bodies know to turn this mechanism and REM off about 15 minutes prior to waking which is why it is so important to have a consistent wake time, so your body knows when to turn off REM. 

To be able to fall asleep your brain needs to know that it is okay to turn off and be unconscious.  You have to feel safe.  Other pieces of the sleep puzzle are:

• Dark room – light impacts sleep, use a flashlight if you have to get up to go to the restroom, NOT night lights. 
• Cool room
• You need 30 mins every day of unfiltered sunlight to produce serotonin as serotonin turns into melatonin, so if you lack in serotonin you will lack in melatonin
•  Do not use anything with a backlight 2 hours before bed – including your iphone, computer, tablets and newer Kindles.
• Read a paper book or an old fashion Kindle
• Short burst of cardio during the day will aide in sleeping due to the release of dopamine and reduce cortisol levels.  You need about 4-5 total minutes of heart pumping cardio – goes back to Caveman days when we encountered fight or flight every day. 
• If you are going to exercise at night do it about 2 hours before bed
• If you take a nap do it for NO longer than 30 mins, it draws away from your sleep at night
• Even teenagers need to go to bed and wake up about the same time everyday – you can allow them short naps but keeping them on schedule will only improve their ability to stay focused throughout the day

The ritual of getting ready for bed is as important as the checklist above.  Having the triggers that tell your brain it is time to go to bed.  The scent of your pillow, sound and touch are all pieces of the puzzle.  Using a white noise machine that has a constant fast repeating sound can enable you to fall asleep and stay asleep.  Doing the same things every night reinforce sleep. 

For those that wake up in the middle of night Kristin gave us these tips:

• Do not relocate – it will awaken your brain
• Do not turn on lights
•  Don’t check the time – move your alarm clock some place where you can’t see it (the light will also impact your sleep)

Your bed needs to be a nice place, some place you want to go to sleep so if you can fall asleep on the couch but when you move to the bed you are wide awake you need to examine your sleep arraignments and adjust.  

For many people the hardest part of going to sleep is turning the chatter off in your brain.  Kristin said that you must regularly listen to that chatter or you will not be able to turn the chatter off.  If you are always thinking of the things you need to do then make a list before bed, then your brain will feel like you have attended to it.  You have to train your brain that you are taking care of the chatter for it to turn off and allow you to go unconscious and be rejuvenated.