Natural Solutions To A Good Night Sleep

By Dr. Justin Marchegiani

Roughly half of all Americans suffer from insomnia, and according to the National Center for Sleep Disorders,  around 15% of the population deals with chronic insomnia on a daily basis. What’s more, the WHO (World Health Organization) considers shift-work or sleep deprivation the only non-substance carcinogen known to man. That puts a lack of sleep in the same class as cigarettes, asbestos, and other known carcinogenic chemicals!

Sleep is vitally important to help repair the body physiologically as well as psychologically. Physiological repair, such as building muscles, bones, tendons, joints and ligaments etc., occurs between the hours of 10 PM and 2 AM. During this timeframe, HGH (human growth hormone) peaks. You can think of HGH as your anti-aging hormone, consider getting maximal sleep as gaining $2000-$3000 of anti-aging treatment per month for free!

After your body’s HGH peak comes the mental repair. Between the hours of 2 and 6 AM the body psychologically regenerates, and neurotransmitters and other neurochemicals that help with mental health are recycled and repaired.

Cortisol and it’s Circadian Rhythm

The accelerated health risks for poor sleep

Studies have associated numerous health risks with a lack of good sleep. These include:

Increased risk of diabetes

Accelerated aging

An increased risk of cancer

Decreased immune function

Obesity and excessive weight gain

Poor physical performance

Slow mental acuity

It’s estimated that over $100 billion is lost each year due to the loss of productivity that a lack of sleep causes. Lack of sleep is also the leading cause of 100,000 vehicle accidents per year and the associated 1,500 deaths.

The major underlying causes of sleep deprivation:

17% of all US employees are shift workers who stay up working during the night instead of sleeping. If I can urge you to make one decision as an investment in your health, the first thing would be finding a job that allows flexibility to sleep during normal sleep hours. The research is very clear, the increased risk of chronic degenerative diseases and lack of performance will cost you more in the long run financially and physically.

Chronic stressors can be a huge underlying cause of sleep problems. This includes relationship stress, caffeine, chronic illness, infections, blood sugar imbalances, family stress, and hormonal imbalances. One thing that all stress has in common- whether it’s internal stress or external stress- is the increase of cortisol and adrenaline.

Knocking your cortisol and adrenaline out of balance puts a great deal of stress on your adrenal glands. Your cortisol rhythm at night is intimately linked to your melatonin rhythm (melatonin is your night time/sleep hormone). The more you push your cortisol and adrenaline out of balance, the more your melatonin will also be negatively impacted – and so will your sleep.

Stimulants such as caffeine can prevent you from getting to sleep on time. Caffeine has a half-life of up to eight hours, so be sure to consume your coffee or caffeinated tea before 2 PM in order to give your body enough time to metabolize the caffeine before your bedtime.

Certain medications can also interfere with sleep: antidepressants, corticosteroids, allergy medication, and blood pressure medication to name a few. If you are currently taking medication and also have a sleep problem, please look up the possible side effects of the medication you are taking to see if sleep disturbances are a potential side effect.

Click here if you are having sleep difficulties.

Dr. Justin’s Top 7 Sleep Enhancing Tips

1. Exercise daily. Burst training and resistance training can make a significant impact on your sleep. The right kinds of exercise can increase human growth hormone, which has the ability to blunt potential cortisol spikes and to increase your body’s repair.
2. Pick relaxing teas, such as chamomile or sleepy tea, before bed. These types of teas contain particular amino acids, such as L-theanine, which help to increase certain neurotransmitters like GABA to help promote relaxation.
3. For certain individuals melatonin can be a great choice.  I recommend using a sublingual variety, which helps increase absorption as well as increasing activation time. However, melatonin may not be right for every single person. For some individuals, taking melatonin actually makes sleep issues worse! When this occurs there’s usually an underlying hormonal imbalance present.
4. Many of my menopausal female patients have hormonal imbalances that need to be addressed. Low progesterone is a common cause of sleep deprivation and insomnia. Progesterone has a relaxation effect that occurs by opening the GABA chloride channels in the brain, and can have an effect similar to taking a Xanax– without the side effects. Running a female hormone test can help evaluate this imbalance as well as provide the specific dosing information.
5. Buy a white noise machine or even download a white noise app- there are plenty available for free! White noise can be very helpful at blocking out ambient noise that could potentially wake you up throughout the night. If you opt for an app, please be sure to keep your phone in airplane mode while you’re sleeping (you should be doing this at night regardless). The EMF from your phone can disrupt your sleep and can even prevent you from getting into deeper phases of sleep!
6. Eating a little bit of protein and fat within two hours of your bedtime can help stabilize your blood sugar and prevent cortisol spikes during the night. The suggestion may go against conventional wisdom in regards to eating right before bed, but low blood sugar throughout the night will cause your cortisol to go up, and that cortisol spike can disrupt your sleep and cause you to wake up. A little bit of protein and fat before bed can make a big difference.
7. Give yourself at least one hour before bed to wind down. Turn off the TV, tablets, computers, phones, etc. and pick up a non-stimulating book instead. Engaging in meditation and prayer before bed can be very helpful as well. It doesn’t have to be complicated- a simple meditation is simply counting backwards from 10 to 0 with all of your attention focused on your breath, not the problems and stressors of yesterday or tomorrow. Engaging in prayer- especially focused on gratitude and all that you have to be thankful for in your life- can provide a natural neurotransmitter and hormonal boost that can set you up for a great night sleep!

To receive my full handout entitled “33 secrets to a good night sleep,” click here!

To help get your sleep and energy back on track click here!