Getting consistent and restorative sleep is essential to optimal health and well-being, but how many of us prioritize it? Sleep is often one of the foundational pillars of leading a healthy life that gets off track and takes the back burner.
We live in a modern culture that is constantly asking us to be on the go and we are living out-of-sync with our natural biological rhythms.
Many of us women overextend ourselves to catch up on work, take care of the home and manage our kids’ schedules. Add to that a host of other responsibilities to juggle and it’s no wonder we forgo sleep to do everything we need to get done!
Unfortunately, inadequate and poor quality sleep will quickly hamper your efforts to staying healthy and energized.
Research has shown that lack of consistent and quality sleep can seriously compromise your health and increase the risk of many diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure, obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome (a cluster of conditions that raise your risk for heart disease and other health problems), depression and even early death (Shan Z et al., 2015; Itani et al., 2017; Cappuccio et al., 2011; Chasens et al., 2021; Makarem et al., 2021; Zuraikat et al., 2020).
Given these outcomes, how can we find balance in being grounded and healthy while also getting through our to-do list and handling all of our responsibilities? How can we awaken in the morning feeling refreshed, focused, and excited to move through our day?
Read more to find out! In this piece on sleep, I focus on the issues that are most often relevant to my clients: why sleep is critical for maintaining a healthy weight and for supporting a healthy immune system.
I also provide five practical solutions for shifting sleep habits for a healthier you.
If you are pressed for time, click here for the key takeaways by topic and check out the "bottom line" for each section:
Is lack of sleep sabotaging your weight loss efforts?
Numerous studies have linked limited and poor sleep quality to metabolic disorders, weight gain, and an increased risk of obesity (Sleep Foundation, 2020; Rodrigues GD et al., 2021; Mosavat et al., 2021).
Indeed, not getting enough sleep or getting poor-quality sleep adversely affects the hormones that help regulate appetite control, stress, growth, metabolism, and other functions in the body.
This includes two key hormones: ghrelin, which tells our body to "eat", and leptin which tells us to stop eating when we are full. When we are sleep deprived our bodies produce more ghrelin and less leptin (Taheri et al., 2004; Spiegel et al., 2004; Lin et al., 2020).
Insulin is another key hormone impacted by sleep disorders. Our cells become more resistant to insulin’s role, which is to deliver glucose into our cells to regulate blood sugar.
Insulin also promotes the release of leptin, so when we’re sleep deprived and our cells are not processing insulin as they should, our bodies make less leptin (that’s the one that tells us to stop eating).
One study (Donga et al., 2010), with a very small sample size, found that just one partial night’s sleep could create insulin resistance, paving the way for many health-related problems.
These hormonal shifts may explain why individuals who don’t get adequate sleep are more likely to gain weight over time.
A Nurses’ Health Study with over 68,000 women found an association between those who slept the least and had the greatest weight gain and highest BMI (Patel SR et al., 2006). A meta-analysis (Zhu et al., 2019) showed that less sleep resulted in an increase in the amount of calories consumed during the day.
In addition, several studies have also indicated that sleep deprivation affects food preferences with individuals more likely to choose calorie-dense foods (Greer et al., 2013; Cooper et al., 2018; Koren et al., 2016).
We all have experienced feeling sluggish because of lack of sleep and as a result reaching for foods (like sugar) that ultimately don’t serve us well. See my blog from August 2021 for more on tuning into and managing these cravings.
Bottom line: Lack of sleep compromises optimal hormone (ghrelin, leptin and insulin) function, thereby contributing to weight gain.
How quality sleep boosts immune function
Without sufficient or good quality sleep, your immune system does not function optimally, which can leave you more susceptible to illness. Scientific evidence shows that sleep has powerful effects on immune functioning (CDC, accessed September 2021).
During sleep, our bodies produce a protein called cytokine, which is critical in regulating immune system cells. These cells are active participants in the body’s immune response by targeting infection, inflammation and trauma.
As part of the adaptive immune response, our bodies also produce T-cells, which are white blood cells that play a vital role in our body’s immune response to an infectious illness. There is some evidence that these cells may function more effectively when we get good quality sleep (Dimitrov et al., 2019).
The immune system is charged with the task of recognizing and neutralizing pathogens and toxins. One of the ways that the immune system does this is through the body’s natural detoxification pathways, which are most active during sleep. Basically, at night, the body regenerates by turning on its natural cleansing cycle.
Dr. Judy Hinojosa from the Vitality Wellness Clinic explains the following:
"Light sleep is where the detox pathways become the most active. Our lymphatic system is one of our main mechanisms to remove waste out of the body. Think of our lymph in the fluid form. We have channels and organs that are part of the lymphatic system, the tonsils, the thymus, the spleen, and all our glands that help us clean out the immune system at night. The lymphatics are the waste dumping mechanism that allows for this fluid to move. And our lymphatic system is the most active at night, it’s actually 60% more active than in the daytime. So as the body goes to sleep, the immune system goes to work.”
Further, sleep is involved in many more functions of the immune system and I have only touched the tip of the iceberg.
Bottom line: Inconsistent and poor quality sleep leads to the impairment of immune functioning which is a significant factor contributing to a wide variety of disorders.
Five ways to hack your sleep
1. Stop consuming caffeine after noon and be mindful of quantity
One of the biggest disruptors to quality sleep is caffeine. Even if you are able to fall asleep easily, caffeine can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.
Did you know that caffeine has a half life of about 5 hours? If you drink 8 ounces of coffee at 8am, which is about 200mg of caffeine, at 1pm there is still about 100mg of caffeine in your body. Fifteen hours later, at 11pm, that’s still 25 mg of caffeine coursing through your body when you are trying to fall asleep.
Solution: Have a caffeine curfew! I recommend that you stop having caffeine prior to noon, at the latest and be mindful of the amount you are consuming.
If you need a boost, drink some green tea, which has 3 times less the amount of caffeine than coffee (and some wonderful antioxidants to boot!). Or try Teecino, a coffee replacement drink, which I really enjoy.
Although I miss the taste and smell of coffee (I now drink it on occasion as a treat, very early in the morning), I am thankful for getting quality sleep!
2. Get on a regular sleep schedule
Going to sleep and waking up at the same time each day creates a rhythm for your body and can help promote consistent and restorative sleep. It is essential to set a sleep schedule and to stick to it as much as possible, even if you’ve had a bad night of sleep. This helps to regulate your body’s sleep cycles and circadian rhythms.
3. Create a dark, quiet and cool sleep environment free of electronics and EMFs
Your bedroom should be dark, quiet, cool (around 65 degrees) and relaxing. Ideally, you should avoid all electronic devices: computers, cell phones, tablets and televisions should be turned off a minimum of one hour before going to bed.
The blue light emanating from these devices has been shown (Tahkamo et al., 2019) to interfere with our circadian rhythm by delaying the production of melatonin — a hormone that is responsible for regulating our sleep-wake cycles.
Studies (Lai et al., 2020; Park et al., 2019) also show that artificial light exposure at night can be a risk factor for obesity. Another reason to ditch the electronics and unplug any lights that remain on at night!
At a minimum, use blue light blocking glasses (see, for example, BLUblox) to combat the negative effects of light at night time.
Make sure you turn off Wi-Fi at night, put your phone (if it must remain in your room) on airplane mode and unplug all devices to reduce long-term exposure to EMFs, which have been linked to adverse health outcomes (see Environmental Health Trust for research evidence).
4. Incorporate winding down rituals and relaxation
Sleep is unfortunately not a light switch that we turn on and off. Rather, we need to prepare our bodies for sleep through winding down techniques and rituals.
* Clear your mind before going to bed by keeping a journal or notebook by your bedside. One obstacle to quality sleep is having a cluttered mind. I am pretty sure we have all at one time or another rehashed our to-do list at 3am or gone over a story line of something that worries us over and over again. Writing your concerns or ideas before bed creates a holding space for what you can address with a rested mind the next day.
* Do some light stretching or yoga before bed which can help your mind and body relax. Studies (Wang et al., 2020) show that yoga contributes to significant improvements in sleep.
* Use relaxation practices such as guided imagery, listening to soothing music, meditation or deep breathing. A free app that I like to use is Insight Timer. Aside from meditation and yoga, they have a rubric specifically for sleep which includes music, talks, classes etc…
* Take a shower or bath with epsom salts. Maybe even add a few drops of lavender oil to further calm your body.
* Have an herbal tea (but not so close to bedtime as a trip to the bathroom will awaken you in the middle of the night) such as lavender, chamomile or valerian. These teas help calm the nervous system and can assist you in achieving a relaxed state.
The key is to build consistency and create new habits so that your body understands that you are preparing for sleep. Start with one winding down ritual and then incorporate others as you see fit.
5. Eat dinner early
Meal timing may be just as important as what you eat (BBC 2019). According to Dhru Puhorit, our circadian rhythm is designed to digest, metabolize and absorb food most efficiently earlier in the day because cortisol and insulin sensitivity are highest in the morning.
Aim to have a bigger meal at lunch time and have a lighter meal at dinner while setting a cutoff time for eating and drinking alcohol (another big disruptor of sleep) — generally three hours before going to sleep.
Bottom line: Five tips to improve your sleep include: reducing caffeine, getting on a regular sleep schedule, creating a comfortable sleep environment, practicing winding down techniques and eating dinner three hours before going to bed.
Additional resources
Dr. Hyman’s Step by Step Sleep Protocol (Blog)
Dhru Purohit Sleep Protocol (Podcast)
Cindy Geyer: What’s Driving your Poor Sleep? (Podcast)
Bottom line: It may take you some time to figure out which techniques work best for you. Remember to be patient: new habits take practice and time. Ultimately, see what works best for you. Do YOU.
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