Sleep is such an underestimated part of our overall health and wellbeing. We often don’t recognize how subtle sleep changes or chronic sleep patterns can affect so many aspects of our day to day. Disruptions can affect our ability to regulate our mood, manage everyday demands, maintain our motivation and focus, and even connect with others.
Mainstream sleep advice will focus on sleep hygiene (e.g., reduced caffeine, no screens before bed, etc...). These intuitive solutions don't really dive into the mechanisms creating your sleep difficulties. This article shifts the focus to the three main sleep systems at play to prepare your body for sleep. You can take advantage of these systems to fall asleep quicker, stay asleep, and wake up feeling more restful.
Sleep System #1: Circadian rhythm (Body Clock)
The first is the Circadian rhythm system or the “Body Clock” which controls when you feel sleepy and when you feel alert. Cues in your day-to-day routine alert your body clock. In the morning, getting out of bed and having breakfast can set your clock. At night, your routine to prepare for bed might signal that it’s time for sleep. You can take advantage of this system to improve your sleep by having a regular sleep and waking time. Our body will get used to this schedule and learn to wind down or become alert when we need it to because the body clock will be aligned and consistent. For shift workers this can be difficult to accomplish, although setting a schedule for sleep that is as close to a natural schedule as possible can be helpful. We can help look at your shift schedule and problem solve what an ideal schedule may look like.
When your body clock is constantly shifting (e.g., you have varied and shifting wake and sleep times), your body is constantly feeling jet lag effects but without the fun of travelling!
BOTTOM LINE: Try to maintain a regular and optimally timed sleep opportunity (i.e., time to bed and time out of bed).
Sleep System #2: Homeostatic system (Sleep Driver)
The second system is the Homeostatic system or the “Sleep Driver”. This system refers to our body’s awareness of whether we are building a need for sleep for when bedtime arrives. Your sleep driver can vary day-to-day based on our energy and hormonal changes. But overall, the general message is: Are you doing the right things throughout the day to encourage your body to want to sleep at night?
If we are able to increase this sleep drive while we are awake, we will likely have an easier time to fall asleep and a more restful sleep. Sounds complicated but think of your body's need for sleep like a balloon that inflates throughout the day. The longer you stay awake and the more energy you use, the more the balloon fills up with air. This pressure inside the balloon is like the sleep driver: your body’s growing need to rest.
When you finally hit the hay, the balloon slowly deflates as you sleep, releasing the built-up pressure. Getting a sleep duration and quality that matches your needs will result in the balloon emptying to its fullest.
But if you don't sleep well or long enough (Note: Longer is not always better), the balloon doesn't fully deflate, and you start the next day with it a partially filled balloon, meaning you’ll feel sleepy sooner.
When you have a nap during the day, you prematurely release air and there is not enough sleep drive to sleep at night. You go to bed with a slightly inflated balloon.
Essentially, your body is always balancing this “balloon” system, trying to keep the pressure at an optimal level to ensure you’re alert when you need to be and are able to sleep when it’s time to rest.
BOTTOM LINE: We must build a strong drive for sleep by being alert and active during waking hours to promote good sleep. Naps may interfere with this system.
Sleep System #3: Arousal system (Activation).
Finally, there is the Arousal or “Activation” System which kicks in when you are required to respond to something in the environment. If we sense danger or our mind is anxious, it can cause this activation system to make us feel extra alert and override the other two sleep-promoting systems discussed above. How does this relate to sleep? Do you ever have the experience of feeling sleepy, preparing for bed, BUT the moment you put your head on the pillow, your mind kicks into overdrive? Your body has learned over time to associate being in bed with responding to danger, creating a bed-anxiety association.
To avoid activating this system, we must learn to calm our minds and create a comfortable sleeping environment. With busy schedules and high amounts of stimulation this can be difficult, but creating a bedtime routine and using mindfulness to control our thoughts can help calm this system when it is time to rest. It is also important to avoid associating your bed with being aroused. If lying in bed signals to your brain to start thinking, it is possible to retrain that association by getting out of bed and returning only when you feel sleepy again. It is important to establish your bed as a place to sleep.
BOTTOM LINE: A quiet mind and a comfortable sleep environment are key to settling our arousal system to promote good sleep. The bed is only for sleep and sex, not for arousal.
To learn more about these systems and to apply them to your specific sleep difficulties or shift schedule, please contact us for simple and evidence-based solutions to your sleep difficulties.
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