Sleep is integral to our health. There are endless studies that show lack of sleep takes years off our lives.
When we sleep, we repair, heal, detox, grow and rejuvenate our entire body.
The good news: Sleep issues can be resolved.
It’s estimated that about 25% of Americans deal with insomnia each year. The good news is that about 75% of those people are able to solve their sleep issues and sleep normally again in the future.
On top of anxiety, sleepless nights are another huge reason women come to see me. Unfortunately, we have normalized poor sleep and we expect it at some point.
In conventional medicine, there are medications such as Trazadone for sleep that you can take if you get desperate enough. However, they come with risks and side effects on top of your body becoming reliant on them and several of them make you feel drowsy the following day.
There are several reasons I find that women have trouble sleeping.
Stress
I believe the primary reasons women lay in their beds at night either having trouble falling asleep or trouble staying asleep is due to one of or combination of stress, overwhelm, anxiety and/or burn out.
When we have lots of stress in our life, cortisol and adrenaline (your stress hormones) are produced and they make your body heightened and not calm, so it’s really difficult to stay asleep.
Stress also leads to dysfunctions in the normal diurnal cortisol curve which means that your cortisol levels vary throughout the day based on your circadian rhythm.
For example, in the morning, your cortisol levels should spike within 30 minutes of waking so you have energy and some pep in your step to start your day. Cortisol levels continue to fall very slowly throughout the day so you’re tired at night and ready for a restful night’s sleep.
From another perspective, when you have too much on your mind during the day, that carries over to night time.
Traveling/Work Schedules
Our body works on a circadian rhythm which means that you have an internal clock that regulates your sleep-wake cycles. It is actually programmed to be in accordance with the sunlight/nighttime schedule in nature too. If you are traveling multiple time zones or have a work schedule where you work “off” hours, this is going to throw that rhythm off and it can be difficult to get sleep.
Poor Sleep Habits
This is actually the first place I start with my patients when they tell me they are having trouble sleeping. Due to our intricate physiology with stress hormones and our circadian rhythm, we need to make sure we are using our environment to set us up for good quality sleep. Using blue light devices such as phones tablets, computers and TV’s prior to bed makes our body produce less melatonin (our sleep hormone). Also doing stimulating activities before bed, taking naps, and being uncomfortable creates a less-than-optimal sleep environment.
Eating Too Much Too Close To Bedtime
A bedtime snack is okay, but avoid eating too much or foods that are high in sugar and fat. When you lay down, you might be physically uncomfortable, get heartburn/indigestion or experience a sharp drop in blood sugar which can cause the wake-ups in the middle of the night.
Some people also experience feeling sleepy after eating due to blood sugar regulation issues as well or eating too many carbohydrates without adequate protein to balance out the insulin response.
Caffeine/Stimulants
People underestimate the time it takes for caffeine to leave their system. The half-life of caffeine is 8 hours, so you want to skip your afternoon latte if you have trouble sleeping. I have a phrase that I use with my patients called – caffeinate responsibly – meaning that you should limit yourself to 1 cup of coffee in the morning hours, especially if you’re struggling with adrenal fatigue, anxiety or restless sleep.
Medications & Supplements
Make sure you’re taking supplements at appropriate times depending on what they are. If you’re taking prescription medication, there are specific types, such as thyroid medicine, antidepressants, steroids, and high blood pressure medicine, that can affect sleep.
Medical Conditions
Sleep apnea is a condition where you stop breathing periodically throughout the night. If you snore or suspect you have this issue, follow these lifestyle tips, but I strongly recommend talking to your doctor about it and doing a sleep study to see if that’s the root cause.
Hormonal Shifts for Women
When you have low progesterone, women experience more restless sleep in between ovulation and the start of their period.
Other hormonal shifts can affect sleep quality. Low estrogen generally occurs as a woman heads into menopause. Young women can have low estrogen too from lifestyle factors like as over-exercise and under-eating. Hot flashes and night sweats can make sleep miserable so addressing the hormonal imbalance is key.
Insomnia can also occur during pregnancy with all the high levels of hormones occurring, but in this case, it can also be a stress-related issue.
For more information on hormones, check out my Complete Guide to Balancing Hormones.
Solutions for a Better Night’s Rest
There are many ways to help fall asleep. We always want to get to the root cause of why you’re having trouble sleeping though. In general, I believe that everyone needs proper sleep hygiene to induce productive sleep especially as we age.
Here are tips and tricks to improve your sleep hygiene starting tonight:
Set up a bedtime routine to wind down
If you have kids, you know there is one thing in common with all sleep training books and that is to make sure you have a routine before bed that is consistent each night. As adults, we get bogged down with finishing up chores and things that didn’t get done that day and then expect to go lay down and fall asleep for 8 hours. This is unrealistic for most people. Set up a routine that makes you feel like you’re winding down from the day, soothing your nervous system and telling your body that it’s almost bedtime.
Avoid blue light for 60 minutes prior to bedtime
Blue light originates from the many screens we constantly stare at. This will help your body to produce good amounts of melatonin naturally.
Room Temperature
Make sure your room’s temperature is cool enough. Research shows that your bedtime should be between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit for the best sleep.
Get comfortable
Go down the checklist to make sure you’re actually comfortable:
- Bed
- Sheets
- Pillows
- Blankets/comforters
- Night Attire
- Humidity levels
- Temperature
- Noise level – some people like a little white noise
- Pitch black room
- Air circulation
Foods That Help You Sleep
In general, we want to make sure we’re eating adequate protein amounts. The ideal amount for a woman is between 0.7g – 1.0g/lb. of body weight. Most women undereat protein and it’s the building block of our body.
On top of building our body, it helps to keep the insulin response regulated when we eat carbohydrates. If you’re waking up from 1-3 am, you need to make sure your blood sugar levels are regulated first.
Second, for that issue would be to work on healing your adrenal glands and the cortisol response (stress) with adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha and other calming herbs.
Here are other foods that have properties in them to make you sleepy:
- Turkey
- Tart cherry juice
- Almonds
- Bananas
- Kiwi
Tea for Sleep
One of my favorite rituals for my bedtime routine is to drink a hot cup of tea. There are many great herbal tea blends that help promote calm, relaxation and sleep. I drink Traditional Medicinals Nighty Night with Valerian tea (link) when I feel wound up and I want to relax.
Herbs like chamomile, licorice root, rose hips, valerian, cardamom, and cinnamon bark promote restful sleep.
Essential Oils for Sleep
Essential oil enthusiasts promote their oils for sleep religiously. You can take some internally (although talk to your trusted source on which ones and how first), use them topically or diffuse them for aromatherapy.
Popular Sleep Essential Oils :
- Lavender
- Chamomile
- Valerian
- Bergamot
- Clary Sage
- Sweet Marjoram
Supplements
I used to suffer from insomnia nightly. I would wake up from about 1-3 am and just lay there looking at the ceiling. I would deep breathe, count to myself, turn on meditation apps, relaxing music and eventually, get frustrated.
Once I addressed underlying adrenal issues and lower cortisol levels at night, I was sleeping soundly again.
Supplements have helped me ensure a good night’s sleep. I use these same supplements with my patients as well and once we get the entire plan together, they do great within a couple of weeks!
Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral that is involved in hundreds of chemical reactions in our body and is necessary for the adrenal glands to function optimally and for sleep, muscle tension, and anxiety.
The best magnesium for sleep is magnesium glycinate. Magnesium citrate is the form that is in most supplements you see and it can help you feel calm. With that said, it’s not as absorbable in your body as magnesium glycinate.
Magnesium citrate to help with constipation.
Often with my patients, I use a magnesium supplement called Integrative Therapeutics TriMag link because it contains 3 different types of magnesium.
Phosphatidylserine
If you need to lower your cortisol levels at night, phosphatidylserine is one of my favorites. I generally use it in conjunction with other herbs and supplements such as l-theanine, GABA, 5-HTP, valerian, lemon balm, and ashwagandha, but this depends on what the patient needs.
Frequently, I use a formula called Designs for Health Neurocalm a lot which is a combination of all these things. It’s a professional product for authorized sellers only, so if you would like to purchase, you can use this link.
I also really like the herbal formula Gaia Herbs Sleep Thru. It’s a similar combination and works well for a lot of people.
You do need to give these supplements some time to see optimal benefits.
As with all supplements, please make sure that it doesn’t interact with anything you’re taking or any other medical conditions. Consult with your doctor or set up an appointment with me to discuss further.
Melatonin for Sleep
I want to talk about melatonin a bit.
A lot of people believe that since melatonin is a natural sleep aid, it’s the best sleep aid. I personally don’t use melatonin for longer than about 10 days to completely reset a patient’s circadian rhythm (possibly after travel/work).
When on melatonin long-term, our body adapts to our taking it and naturally produces less of its own. We want our system to naturally go to sleep so melatonin supplements should be seen as a reset and not a habitual action.
This means that you have to keep increasing your dosage and your body becomes reliant on it.
Sleep as a Priority
There are so many natural sleep remedies and lifestyle approaches that can work wonders for healthy sleep. We know how much better we feel if we get adequate amounts of quality sleep. It works wonders in how we even view the world if we are well-rested.
I hope this page shared some ideas with you on how to get sleep and how to make yourself fall asleep quicker and easier than you’ve been doing in the past.
Sleep is critical to our growth physically and mentally. Take control of yours today.
