Expert Tips On How To Improve Sleep Quality

We're back with another installment of our Wellness Wisdom Series!

In this video, Rebecca, a Certified Nutritional Practitioner and manager of our Lindsay store, and Jonathan, our Marketing Assistant, discuss all things SLEEP!

They dive into not only the importance of sleep but the importance on good sleep quality and hygiene. There are also some great recommendations for exercises like non-sleep deep rest or yoga nidra. It's our longest video yet and chock-full of great information.

We have a full transcript of the video below

Wellness Wisdom Episode 4: Sleep

Jonathan:  Hi, I'm Jonathan Tessier, and we're back here with another one of our Health Tips series with our nutritionist, Rebecca. How are you doing today, Rebecca?

Rebecca:  I'm good. How are you this morning?

Jonathan:  I'm good. So today we're going to be talking about sleep. So let me ask you — how was your sleep last night?

Rebecca:  It was a little bit shorter. We had an early meeting this morning, so I’m feeling the effects of that, but pretty good overall. How about you?

Jonathan:  I had really good sleep, you know. I slept through a good amount of time, and then the dogs upstairs woke me up. You can’t control that. But let’s talk a little more about sleep — why is it so important?

Rebecca:  Sleep is important for just about everything your body does. In our fast-paced world, we tend to spend a lot of time in fight-or-flight mode, and sometimes sleep is what takes the back burner. Hopefully, what we can talk about today empowers you to really take control and use sleep as an act of ultimate self-care.

Sleep impacts your immune system, your memory, productivity, and motivation. After a poor night’s sleep, you might notice your memory isn’t as sharp, or you’re not as productive or motivated. For me, my blood sugar tends to get a little off when I’ve had less sleep — and that’s an interesting one.

You’ve got two main hunger hormones: leptin and ghrelin. I think of ghrelin as “growl” — it’s the hormone that tells us we’re hungry. Leptin tells us we’re full and satisfied. When we don’t get enough sleep, ghrelin increases (making us hungrier), while leptin decreases (so we don’t feel as full).

I definitely notice that when I haven’t had enough sleep — I crave more carbs and sugar, and I can’t go as long between meals.

Yes, absolutely. Or you’re just trying to function through the day, and you can’t. It really does happen.

So sleep is important for our appetite and diet, but also for our memory and immune system. That’s huge this time of year. When we’re sleeping, the body is cleaning up and repairing different areas — especially the immune system. It looks for anything that’s off and works to clean it up and support us.

Another thing affected by lack of sleep is cortisol, one of our major stress hormones. It rises when we don’t get enough rest. Those who consistently fail to get proper sleep are at greater risk for chronic diseases.

It really is the ultimate act of self-care to take great care of your sleep and have good sleep hygiene, which we’ll talk about more in a bit.

Jonathan:  We all sleep every night, but we might not get enough. So how much should people be getting?

Rebecca:  The research says about seven to nine hours a night. You have to play with what works for you. They say women need a little more sleep than men, so that’s something to consider. Everyone’s different, but seven to nine hours is a good guide for adults. Teens need more, and of course, children need even more than that. I always try to aim for around eight hours.

Jonathan:  So what are some common myths about sleep that people believe?

Rebecca:  “More is better” is a big one — and that’s not true. It’s a common myth across Western culture that if some is good, more must be better. But too much sleep can increase certain risks as well.

Another myth is that alcohol or marijuana help you sleep — that’s a big misconception. While both of those things can help you get to sleep more easily, they actually impact your sleep cycles, most notably your REM sleep. So you're not getting that really deep restorative sleep. So, you know, like I said, yeah, well, it might help you fall asleep and make you a little more drowsy in the long term. It's really disrupting those sleep cycles.

Jonathan:  Absolutely. Yeah. There's been times where I've gotten hours of sleep and I get up and I'm all wonky and everything. So that makes sense.

Rebecca:  Yeah.

Jonathan:  So does it help to take a nap in the middle of the day?

Rebecca:  Certainly. Yeah. I think that that could almost go in the myth column, too, as I think some people think naps are maybe not so great and good. I know it's not so great an idea, but naps are a great, great option. You know, like I said, we spend a lot of our time in fight or flight, so any rest that we can get is going to be helpful.

One of my favorite people to go to when I’m learning more about sleep, his name is Matthew Walker. He's a researcher and he suggests about a short nap. So that sounds really short, or if you're not doing that, you almost want to make sure you're getting a full sleep cycle. Otherwise, you might wake up kind of groggy and no better than you were before. I know that's usually the case for me if I’m having a nap — it does more harm than good for me. But yeah, a short nap is a great option.

The other thing you can do is called non-sleep deep rest. So you can look that up — it's almost like a meditation you can walk through. You're not necessarily sleeping, but you're having this deep restorative rest, kind of like a body scan. Yoga nidra is something that can be looked into. So if you know you're not a napper but you need some rest during the day, yoga nidra or non-sleep deep rest is a great thing to look into.

Jonathan:  This is something that I struggle with — is it OK to watch TV as you're going to sleep?

Rebecca:  So it's not ideal. Yeah, that would be my answer. What is our circadian rhythm that we want to support? Light is a major factor of that. So, you know, if you think of when we were living in villages before electricity, it was easier for our circadian rhythm to flow with the sun.

That's what's disrupted when we're exposing ourselves to a lot of light in the evening or late at night — via TV or lots of lights in the bedroom and that kind of thing. So ideally no, because of the light. But there are blue-light-blocking glasses you can use, and maybe it just means that half an hour before bed you’re reading a book or listening to a podcast instead.

Jonathan:  So can your diet impact your sleep quality?

Rebecca:  Absolutely. What comes to mind first is the timing of your meals. You’re really healing while you're sleeping, and ideally, we're supporting that by having all our food digested before bed. Ideally, your last meal is a few hours before bed so it's fully digested by the time you sleep.

There are also foods that can be helpful for better sleep. Tart cherry juice, for example, releases more melatonin — the hormone that tells us it’s time for sleeping. Adding foods like that can help. On the other side, not enough sleep can impact your blood sugar and how much success you're set up for the next day.

Jonathan:  So what are some products that can help people having trouble getting to sleep?

Rebecca:  Absolutely. There are a lot of different approaches you can take with supplements to help yourself sleep. The first one is magnesium bisglycinate from AOR Health. What’s great about this magnesium is it’s bisglycinate — that means it’s attached to glycine, which is an amino acid for relaxation. It helps with overall relaxation and muscle relaxation.

Another is L-theanine — I’m a big fan of this one. After magnesium, it’s my go-to when someone’s having trouble with sleep, especially with a racing mind. L-theanine really helps calm and focus the mind so you can get to sleep. Slow-release versions are great because they continue working through the night.

Another product is a mix of L-theanine, 5-HTP, and melatonin. The L-theanine and 5-HTP work on calming the mind, and melatonin tells your brain it’s time to sleep.

There’s also Pascoflair, which is a herbal remedy made from passionflower. Passionflower is calming and can be taken as a tincture or capsule. Valerian is another great herb — a bit more potent than passionflower.

Of course, melatonin itself is one of the most popular supplements for sleep. Some people start with one or three milligrams — too much can cause vivid dreams or grogginess. There are also slow-release versions that help you both fall asleep and stay asleep.

Ultimately, it’s about reflecting on what the problem is — are you having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? How was your diet today? Did you have caffeine too late? Ideally, you stop drinking coffee around noon because it can affect your sleep quality, even if you fall asleep fine. It just might affect how deep that sleep is.

Jonathan:  So it sounds like sleep quality is very important to your health and your mental health and your physical health. And if you have any trouble sleeping, we have many  supplements here at Joanna's Place that 3 you can use to help you aid in your sleep, or you can talk to one of our nutritionists who will give you some  great advice on sleep quality and all that stuff. So we'll be back with another video soon. But for now, thank you.

Rebecca: Have a good Sleep!