Sleep Hygiene: Tips From Your Dietician

For many Americans, we take sleep for granted. Catching your Zzz’s is just as important to your health as eating healthy, drinking lots of water, and including exercise. And one in three adults does not get an adequate amount of sleep daily. In fact, in the past 60 years, our culture has gone from averaging 7.9 hours of sleep per night to only 6.8 hours per night. Good quality sleep is necessary for the body to perform “clean up duties” at the end of your “Awake hours shift.” During this time, your body focuses on heart and blood vessel repair, regulating hormones such as Ghrelin and Leptin (which regulate sensation of hunger), insulin levels, and keep the immune system functioning efficiently. As a registered dietician in Perry County, sleep hygiene is something we focus on to ensure that you are remaining healthy and best taking care of your body.

Sleep deficiency can cause problems with learning, focusing, and reacting. You may have trouble making decisions, solving problems, remembering things, managing your emotions and behavior, and coping with change. You may take longer to finish tasks, have a slower reaction time, and make more mistakes. Inadequate sleep raises risks for developing heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and stroke. There unfortunately are health conditions that can prevent the body from getting adequate sleep. About half of sleep issues are related to depression, anxiety, and/or psychological stress. Other disordered sleep patterns can be a symptom of sleep apnea and up to 90 % of cases are undiagnosed.

New studies are now finding that disordered sleep patterns are associated with lower quality of diet choices – higher intakes of sugar sweetened beverages, lower intake of fruits and nuts, therefore now contributing to an imbalance in our gut microbiota. These changes also increase the risk for obesity, higher inflammation, and cardiovascular risks. 

Nutritional deficiencies have also been found to contribute to disordered sleep patterns. Deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, Vitamin D, Omega 3 Fatty acids, and/or Vitamin A all have links to inadequate sleep. Focusing on including a wide variety of leafy greens, whole grains, fatty fish, nuts, and seeds would ensure adequate amounts of all those nutrients be in the diet. 

It is recommended for adults to get between 7-8 hours of sleep per night. For some this can seem like a lofty goal, especially if a person is struggling to sleep 4-5 hours a night. Setting ourselves up for a more restful sleep can help the body sleep better. 

1. Avoid alcohol and caffeine before bedtime. Alcohol may help some initially to fall asleep, but it affects the body’s ability to enter REM and deep sleep, preventing the body from getting restful sleep. Caffeine remains active for approximately 12 hours in the body. Again, one may be able to fall asleep shortly after drinking a cup of coffee, but the effects of caffeine may prevent the body from entering deep sleep. Aside from these concerns, both caffeine and alcohol have a diuretic effect on the body, so it stimulates urine production. In turn, you may be woken up more often just to use the rest room. 

2. Avoid eating large amounts for about 2 hours before bedtime. Trying to digest large amounts of food can be disruptive to sleep. Also, eating meals too close to bedtime is also associated with symptoms of reflux and heartburn which in turn can disrupt sleep. 

3. Avoid blue light stimulation for 2 hours prior to bed. Blue light, high-energy wavelengths of light, which can be found in sunlight, suppresses the body’s melatonin production. This is normally beneficial during the day to help us to stay more alert and aware. That said, prolonged nighttime exposure to blue light from electronic devices like television, cell phones, tablets, computers, etc., can throw the body’s circadian rhythm off. 

4. Have a set bedtime daily – regardless of weekday or weekend. Limit the difference to no more than about an hour. Staying up late and sleeping in late on weekends can disrupt your body’s circadian rhythm. 

Are you interested in learning more about how sleep hygiene can affect your overall health and how diet can affect your sleep? Everything with your body is interconnected, meaning small changes can have large impacts on how you feel overall. As a registered dietician serving Perry County, Sara at Deimler Chiropractic is proud to help you find small, sustainable changes that will have an astounding impact. Call Deimler Chiropractic today at (717) 567-3158 to schedule an appointment with our registered dietician!