Sleep: Natural Strategies to Prevent Insomnia and Improve Sleep Quality

Why Is Sleep Important?

Getting enough restful sleep is one of the most critical aspects of your health. Not only can lack of quality sleep decrease productivity and overall well-being, it can also lead to many negative health consequences like an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke (1). Sleep is a process that helps your body with the repair of vital organ systems that are stressed throughout the day. It is an amazing process which allows the body perform optimally and getting enough quality sleep can help with so many things, here are just some of them: 

• Healthy Weight and Body Composition (2)

• Normal Growth and Development (1)

• Improved Immune Function (3)

• Brain Function (4)

• Healthy Aging (5)

• Improved Athletic Performance (6)

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

Each person is different and may require a different amount of sleep each night. We all know someone that has plenty of energy with only 4 hours of sleep, and we likely know someone that always seems to be tired no matter how much sleep they are getting. This person-to-person variation in sleep requirements is due to a number of factors including general health status, genetics, and even lifestyle choices like diet and exercise. Aside from these variations, the majority of people require a standard range of sleep for optimal function and to prevent disease. This table represents the recommended amount of sleep each night according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) (7):

How Can I Improve My Sleep?

If you always find yourself tired during the day the first thing to do is check the chart above to make sure you are getting the right amount of sleep and adjust your schedule accordingly. However, most of the time it is not that simple and tiredness may be caused by insomnia (not falling/staying asleep) or poor sleep quality and not enough time in deep sleep. Here are some strategies to help prevent insomnia and lead to a more high-quality and restful sleep:

1. Avoid Sleep Disrupting Substances:  Avoiding substances that may prevent you from falling asleep or disrupt normal sleep patterns like caffeine and alcohol for several hours before bedtime. Unsurprisingly, those who avoid caffeine have better sleep quality and less difficulty falling asleep (8).

2. Practice Good Sleep Hygiene: The process of "Sleep Hygiene" consisted of several steps which focus on the proper way to prepare for sleep. It is a simple process that may make a huge difference in the quality of sleep for some people. Examples of ways to improve sleep hygiene include the following: 

• Get out of bed within 15-20 minutes if not falling asleep and return when drowsy

• Avoid naps

• Go to bed and wake up around the same time every day

• Keep sleep environment clean and comfortable

3. Exercise Regularly: Regular exercise at least 4 times per week has been shown to improve sleep duration, sleep onset, and sleep quality (9). In order to give your mind and body a chance to calm down before bed, it may also help to schedule your exercise routine several hours before bed if possible. 

4. Relaxation Techniques: Relaxation techniques not only help with stress and anxiety, they can also be a good strategy to implement for sleeping problems. Mediation, yoga, and other relaxation techniques were shown to improve sleep patterns in people with long-term insomnia (10).

5. Avoid (Blue) Light Before Bed: This one could be grouped with sleep hygiene, but is so important and often not thought of that it deserves it's own paragraph. Blue light is a high energy type of light that is emitted from most TVs, laptops, cellphones, and other electronic devices. Since our sleep cycle is on an evolutionary natural clock (called the circadian rhythm) that is dictated by the amount of light we are looking at, any un-natural light can throw off this sleep clock and "trick" our body into thinking it should be awake. People commonly use their cellphones or watch TV directly up until bedtime and end up not being able to fall asleep because their body (and hormones) are tricked into thinking it's daytime. The elimination of any artificial light within the hour before bed is a great start to naturally help your body realize it is time to sleep and regulate your circadian rhythm. 

Tip: If you must use your cellphone up until bedtime, there is an option to decrease the blue light emitted from the device on most cellphones. For iPhone users a tutorial on how to turn on this "nightshift" feature can be found here.

In addition to these sleep strategies, there are A Few nutritional supplementS and natural remedies may help improve sleep. 

1. Melatonin Supplementation: Although somewhat controversial, melatonin is likely a much better option than some of the dangerous pharmaceutical drugs that are prescribed for sleep disorders. Contrary to what some may say, melatonin is currently thought to be very safe and is already naturally made inside the body to regulate your sleep cycle (11). Melatonin supplementation is known for improving sleep quality/duration and some studies have shown that the extended-release form can improve sleep quality in certain populations (12, 13, 14). Many people take melatonin only when needed in order to reset their sleep cycle after sleep deprivation or jet lag. Doses between 500mcg and 5mg are common for sleep cycle regulation. It is also important to note that melatonin is not dose-dependent and taking more will not help you fall asleep faster. 

2. Valerian Supplementation: This is an herb that has relaxing effects and is commonly used to calm anxiety and make it easier to fall asleep. Although the results are mixed, some studies also indicate that valerian may improve perceived sleep quality (15,16). For relaxation and sedation before bedtime, 450mg has been shown to be optimal while higher doses may cause drowsiness the next morning (17).

3. Acupuncture: Acupuncture can help with a wide variety of other conditions and insomnia is just another one to add to the list. There is a large amount of evidence that acupuncture can help improve sleep quality and reduce daytime sleepiness. (18, 19)

4. Aroma Therapy: Aroma therapy has become popular lately in the form of diffusing essential oils. The most common oil that is diffused for relaxation and sleep promotion is lavender. Although the diffusion of essential oils' most common evidence is anecdotal, there have been studies showing aroma therapy to have sleep-promoting abilities (20).

Insomnia is a very common condition and can become very detrimental to health and well-being. We all know that even occasional sleep difficulties can be difficult to deal with the next day. The good news is that there are plenty of natural strategies to improve sleep and wake up feeling fresh and well rested. These strategies may or may not be an instant fix, but implementing them can ensure that you are on the right track for a great night's sleep.