Circadian rhythms and how to sleep better.
Whilst walking with a close friend recently in Richmond Park (socially distanced of course), he hardly ever sleeps through a night. In fact, he said that he wakes up about six to seven times per night. How is it possible to function as a rational human being with such terrible sleep deprivation? (perhaps that explains a lot about this friend!!).
We had a similar experience when my daughter was very small (she’s grown up now). She would wake up in the night crying for a drink, which we would give her, seven or eight times per night! Exhaustion soon set in, and my wife and I were barely functional. I got so bad at one point that I remember thinking to myself whilst in the bath in the morning that if I just closed my eyes for a few minutes, I would be OK. An hour later, I woke in a cold bath.
When we finally got to the stage where we couldn’t take any more, we decided to let her cry (I think we just didn’t have the energy to wake up). Then, a miracle, after two nights, she slept right through, and so did we!
As a result of our attention, it seemed that she had got into a cycle of behaviour, which meant that we all had to suffer. Once that cycle was broken, we were all in a much better place. She was happier during the day, and we became human again. Sometimes we create the behaviour we try to avoid.
Lack of sleep.
A good night’s sleep is as essential for wellbeing as healthy nutrition and exercise. Good quality sleep is undoubtedly the best performance enhancer for both body and mind.
Nowadays, the quality and quantity of our sleep have declined due to work stress and distractions (more about these later).
Poor sleep has been shown to deplete creativity and mental function, add to weight gain and reduce psychological and physical performance. Lack of sleep has been associated with the development of chronic conditions which may reduce life expectancy. Obesity, Diabetes, and heart disease are negatively affected by sleep deprivation. Add to that stress, and you have the formula for on-going health problems.
When I was a student, I used to work at the local theatre over the Christmas period to “strike” the existing show and “Get In” the seasonal pantomime. We would start work at 11PM on a Wednesday, work through the night, the whole of the next day, get two hours sleep and then assist with the technical and the dress rehearsals. A few hours sleep and working (usually followed by a HUGE full English Breakfast at the café next door) and working on the first matinee performance.
We almost ceased to function during that period of complete sleep deprivation, tempers flare, and accidents happened. However, at 18-21 years old, we had plenty of resources to call on. Also, we absolutely loved the job, the excitement and the sense of camaraderie. It also helped to pay for the whole of my subsistence during the next year.
Sleep deprivation has an immediate, adverse effect on the production of certain hormones which bind you into a spiral of poor sleep and anxiety about that lack. You need to break the cycle and find ways to allow a better night rest. Let look first at what sleep is and does and then look at ways to help you break the cycle and work with your natural body clock, the Circadian rhythm.
What is sleep?
Sleep is a state of unconsciousness that we all need. We lose contact with “reality” temporarily every night for some hours. Unconscious doesn’t mean not working. Our brains are working whilst we sleep.
We spend roughly a third of our lives asleep. That’s about twenty-five to thirty years sleeping in an average lifetime.
Sleep is regulated by our circadian rhythms, our body clocks, which respond to light and darkness cues to keep your body and mind in a state of homeostasis. Dimming light ramps up the production of Melatonin which regulates sleep. It is switched off again when it senses light.
Sleep is also the time when the brain works on re-ordering and collating short-term to long-term memories.
The four stages of sleep.
There are 4 main stages of a sleep cycle (some say 5, but we’ll stick to 4 here). Each cycle lasts between 90-120 minutes, and we cycle through these three to four times per night. Thus, the complete process of cycles is between six hours and eight hours.
Stages One and Two.
In these cycles of light sleep, the heart rate drops, breathing becomes slower, our body temperature falls, and our muscles twitch. There is no rapid eye movement (REM).
Stage Three.
Stage three is deep sleep. During this phase, our brain delta waves slow down, we produce growth hormones to service our muscles and bones, which allows the body to repair itself. This is an important stage for neurogenesis, the production of new brain cells. New cells are produced and used or discarded as required by the conditions they meet and the usefulness of their purpose.
Stage Four.
Stage four is also a deep sleep cycle. This is the REM cycle, where we dream. The body also creates chemicals that temporarily paralysed the body so that we don’t act out our dreams. Our brains are highly active during this phase, and the eyes can be seen to be moving behind the closed eyelids.
Whilst there is a lot of research into what exactly happens during each phase, there is still so much more that isn’t known. We know that these stages and phases are vital for a healthy, longer life.
How to get a better night’s sleep. What we can do to help ourselves.
What can we do to help us get a better and more refreshing night’s sleep? Let’s look at some of the evidence-based tips for a better night’s sleep.
1. Increase your exposure to bright, natural light during the day.
Our bodies have a natural body clock called the Circadian Rhythm. It regulates the timely production of hormones for staying awake and going to sleep. Natural light from the sun during the daytime improves your energy and helps with your sleep quality and duration.
Better exposure to natural daylight in a study on people suffering from insomnia showed that better exposure to natural light improved their sleep quality and reduced the amount of time it took them to fall asleep. Similarly, a study in adults found that two hours of good natural light exposure increase the amount of sleep by two hours.
It would be worth investing in daylight lamps when working indoors.
I would be curious to know if this is connected to our vitamin D intake (this has been touted around a lot lately for resistance to COVID19). Perhaps one of my readers may be able to find some research on this.
Interestingly, in studies of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers found that if they regulated the light levels in their homes, throughout the day and the night, that residents got a better night’s sleep and as a result had less incidence of falling and less incident of anger and frustration.
2. Reduce exposure to blue light, particularly in the evening.
Whilst exposure to blue light frequencies has beneficial effects during the day, it’s not advised to expose yourself to blue light in the evenings.
Blue light, which exists in our smartphones and computer screens, is the main culprit in emitting this frequency. The light tricks our brain, and body into thinking it should be awake.
You can help to avoid this exposure by not looking at your phone, iPad or computer before you go to bed. (there are other excellent reasons not to look at your phone in the night, including reducing stress).
You can also get screen covers that reduce the blue light frequency or wear glasses that reduce the amount of blue light that gets to your eyes.
Stop watching TV at least two hours before you go to bed (that’s a tough call).
3. Reduce caffeine intake, particularly in the evening.
In moderation, caffeine has been shown to have benefits, by increasing focus and energy, if consumed late in the day it will prevent your body from relaxing and stimulate your nervous system. The simple advice is; don’t consume any caffeine at least six hours before you go to bed. Caffeine remains in the body for at least six to eight hours.
Go decaffeinated or drink herbal teas such as camomile.
4. Avoid big meals before you go to bed.
Eating late can cause inflammation and impairs your blood/sugar regulation and melatonin release. Don’t eat a full meal just before going to bed, it will disrupt hormones production.
In one study, a high carb meal four hours before sleeping helped people get to sleep. In another study, a low carb diet improved sleep.
If you must eat before you go to bed, eat protein-rich foods rather than fatty or carb-loaded foods.
5. Reduce long daytime naps.
It has been shown that short power-naps can have very beneficial results in restoring energy and creativity. However, it has also been established that long afternoon naps will negatively affect your good night’s sleep, it can confuse your body clock. Short naps are the secret here.
6. Go to bed and wake up at regular times.
Routine helps your body to manage its expectations. It also helps work with your circadian rhythms. Consistency with sleep and waking times can help long-term sleep quality. It also helps with the production of Melatonin.
If you wake with your alarm and press the snooze button and wake again in the middle of a sleep cycle (90-120 minutes), you may feel sluggish the whole day as a result. Sleep needs to complete entire cycles to be satisfying. This also explains why sometimes when you wake in the middle of the night but feel good (temporarily anyway). You have woken at the end of a cycle but will need more sleep later.
The best solution is to go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time every day.
7. Take Melatonin and/or other supplements.
Melatonin is the primary sleep hormone. If you are lacking Melatonin, then you are unlikely to be able to sleep well. I would suggest that you take professional medical advice before taking any supplements.
Many supplements can induce relaxation.
· Ginkgo biloba.
· Glycine.
· Valerian root.
· Magnesium
· L-theanine
· Lavender
If you try these, only try one-at-a-time and please take professional advice from your pharmacist or doctor.
8. Reduce Alcohol.
Alcohol increases sleep apnea, snoring and disrupted sleep patterns. It also interferes with the production of Melatonin and therefore your circadian rhythm. Alcohol has also been shown to decrease night-time growth hormones.
You should avoid alcohol before going to bed.
9. Get your bedroom environment in the right place.
We are highly influenced by our environment and, without doubt, this can affect our sleep.
Ensure that the temperature of your bedroom is somewhere around 70 F, 20 C. Blackout windows with curtains or blinds, Reduce (if possible) outside noise.
Don’t take your phone into your bedroom and definitely don’t look at it before you go to sleep, in the night or first thing in the morning.
Make sure your bed and pillows are comfortable. There is a reason we often sleep well I hotels, the bed is usually very high quality (and someone has made up the bed with fresh, clean sheets.
10. Relaxing before you go to sleep.
There are many ways you could relax before sleeping. A warm shower or bath is one highly effective method. Another might be to try meditation or simply being quiet with your thoughts at the end of the day.
A useful way of getting rid of stress is to keep a journal where you write down the things on your mind and thereby get them “out” of your mind and onto paper. Personally, I’m a big fan of journaling in any form.
11. Don’t exercise before you go to bed.
I’m a big fan of exercise and staying fit and healthy. Exercise is the magic bullet! However, there is a time and a place for everything. Exercising before you go to bed will boost your metabolism and pump your heart-rate. That sort of excited state is not suitable for sleeping.
Stretching and massage, however, are the perfect way to wind down and relax. Reducing tension, calming your body and calming your mind.
I will try to persuade my friend to take these tips on board and report back with the results. For him, I think, it’s a case of breaking the cycle and finding ways that fit into his lifestyle.