Why Quality Sleep is Essential for Your Health (and Natural Sleep Solutions)

Do you struggle to get a good night's rest?  Do you have difficulty falling asleep, or find yourself waking up repeatedly throughout the night?  Is it hard to get out of bed in the morning, because you feel tired and sluggish, instead of feeling refreshed and energized?
 
During the period when you're asleep, all the systems in your body undergo a process of rest, repair, and rejuvenation.  Optimal physical and mental health depends on adequate sleep and dreaming.  When you toss and turn all night long, you miss out on the restorative and protective aspects of sleep; both your physical and mental well-being are compromised as a result. 


The impact of poor sleep quality.

It doesn't take long before your body starts feeling the impact of poor quality sleep.  After just a few days, inadequate sleep leads to:

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• compromised immune function, greater susceptibility to illness
• difficulty concentrating and impaired memory function
• reduced capacity to manage stress effectively
• irritability, mood swings, personality changes
• increased risk for depression and anxiety
• increased appetite and weight gain

 
Beyond quantity, the actual quality of your sleep matters.  Adequate time spent in the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep state is important, as this is the stage of sleep where dreaming tends to occur.  About 25% of your total sleep time is REM sleep, much of this occurring towards the last half of the night.  Therefore, you need to get quality, uninterrupted sleep for the entire night.

In research experiments where study participants were deprived of the chance to dream by having their REM sleep interrupted, they developed bizarre behaviours and even experienced psychotic symptoms.
 

The problem with sleeping pills.
 
If you're struggling with sleep issues like chronic insomnia, sleeping pills might seem like a quick and easy solution to the problem.  But there are numerous risks involved with resorting to sleep medications, both prescription and over-the-counter medications. 

Prolonged drowsiness, memory problems, dizziness and headaches are just some of the side effects people experience when they take sleeping pills.  Sleeping pills can cause all kinds of problems when they interact with other medications.  There's also the risk of becoming dependent on the pills.   

Sleeping pills may seem like a reasonable solution to help you get a decent night's rest in the short term.  Ultimately, they fail to address the root cause of your sleep problems.

Investing the time to get to the root cause of your sleep issues is worth it.  Ideally, you want to resolve your sleep issues using natural methods that work with your body's biology.  Over the long term, a natural approach is far better than turning to sleep medications, which have the potential to become disruptive to your body over
 

Natural ways to improve the quality of your sleep.
 
Here are some natural ways to improve the quality of your sleep:

• go to bed and get up at roughly the same time every day; avoid departing from your routine too much on weekends
  
• don't go to bed with a busy or agitated mind; use a to-do list or journal to get things out of your head
  
• avoid alcohol late at night; despite its initial relaxing effect, it can lead to disturbed sleep
  
• wind down before bed with soothing activities like a warm bath or reading
• exercise during the day so your body is tired out by the time you go to bed

 
Your diet matters, as it can either support or detract from a good night's rest.  Be especially mindful of what you eat in the evening hours before going to bed:

• avoid eating right before bed, as going to bed on a full stomach makes it more difficult for your body to enter into a restful state
  
• bananas, peanut butter, whole grain bread or crackers, and milk all contain the amino acid tryptophan, which promotes sleep, so these are good options when you're looking for an evening snack.

• avoid bacon, cheese, ham, potatoes, sugar, tomatoes, and alcohol close to bedtime; these foods contain the compound tyramine, which increases the release of norepinephrine, a brain stimulant

 
If you've been struggling to consistently get quality sleep, start taking steps to turn things around.  You'll be amazed at how much better you feel physically and mentally when your body finally starts getting the quality, restorative rest it needs on a regular basis.

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