By Dr. Cathy Sevcik, ND

How do you sleep? Do you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle your day?

Or, are you dying to crawl under your desk after lunch to catch a few z’s?

You probably know that adequate sleep is essential to health. Your body and brain do most of their repair work at night while you sleep. But sleep also helps you have the energy you need to be productive during the day – so it’s doubly important for you if you have a demanding job.

Our sleep-wake cycle (or circadian rhythm) is primarily set by two hormones: melatonin and cortisol. In response to darkness,  melatonin is released from the pineal gland and helps us sleep. During the day, cortisol is released from the adrenal glands and, among other things, regulates blood sugar which helps us be active and think clearly. Ideally, cortisol peaks around 8am and declines throughout the day.

If you want more energy during the day, look at these fives sleep sabotages:

1. You have sub-clinical inflammation that is stimulating your brain.
Have you ever noticed that when you are sick, it is often very difficult to sleep? That’s because the immune system is working and secreting inflammatory molecules called cytokines that circulate throughout the body, ultimately affecting the brain. Even when you are not sick, you may have inflammation, especially in the intestines where 70 per cent of your immune cells reside. Inflammation in the intestines is caused by poor dietary choices, excessive alcohol consumption, food intolerances and food sensitivities. Even when your digestion seems fine, there can be inflammation that is showing up in some other system, such as joint pain or headaches. If you have chronic pain anywhere, you should consider exploring food intolerances and sensitivities with a qualified health practitioner.

2. You have poor blood sugar regulation during the day.
How well you manage your blood sugar all day affects the quality of your sleep. Excessive blood sugar spikes during the day cause low blood sugar episodes at night – a common reason that people wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep. In addition to eating a low glycemic load diet all day, having a small protein snack before bed can alleviate this problem for certain people.

3. You don’t maintain a routine wake up time.
Your adrenals crave routine. Getting up around the same time every day is the most important factor in setting your circadian rhythm followed by eating and going to bed at the same or similar time.   Also, establish a bedtime routine that clearly signals your brain that you intend to go to bed.

4. You override the natural daily light/dark cycle.
Humans evolved in an environment where we had little control over light and dark, and so it governed our lives. Now, we manipulate our environment such that is can be artificially light whenever we want. This could be the single most sleep disruptive factor. You can still enjoy the benefits of modern life with a few tweaks that will help you sleep better:

• Go outside for at least 20 minutes each day – even if it’s not sunny and preferably in the morning.
• Approximately two hours before bed time, turn down the lights. If you enjoy watching tv or doing computer work, reduce the impact of the light by wearing amber tinted glasses, otherwise known as blue blockers. Or, there are apps available for your electronics that change the light to warmer hues so that your melatonin won’t be destroyed.
• While sleeping, your bedroom should be completely dark. Use blackout blinds or curtains and remove all lit screens. Even a clock radio can be too much light for light-sensitive individuals. Don’t turn on lights if you go to the bathroom at night—use dim night lights if necessary and remove tripping hazards.

5. You are under chronic intolerable stress and have adrenal fatigue.
If you have been under stress for a long period of time, your adrenals may be over or under-producing cortisol or surging too late in the day. Sleep onset insomnia can be caused by a cortisol surge in the latter part of the day, when cortisol should be low. Sleep maintenance insomnia (not being able to stay asleep) can be caused by too low cortisol overall – which interrupts all hormone function. Address stress. Consider meditation. Learn self-hypnosis and progressive relaxation. Eliminate sources of intolerable, toxic stress.

Good night!

Dr. Cathy Sevcik is a naturopathic doctor with Cornerstone Health Centre.

All information contained in this article is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is neither intended nor suited to be a replacement or substitute for professional medical treatment nor for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical question or condition.