How to Finally Get Some Rejuvenating Sleep!

Watch Arbor Health co-founders, Dr. Zendi Moldenhauer and Amber Ratcliffe discuss simple things you can do at home to get some quality sleep without medications.

If this resonates with you, request a free 20-minute consultation to see if Functional Medicine might be right for you.

Why sleep is important & why you need to make it a priority

• Rest restores your body and heals your brain – more than 700 genes are activated while you sleep
• Your brain actually allows more lymph around it while you are sleeping to heal it

Circadian Rhythm - Cortisol - Melatonin

• Cortisol and melatonin have an inverse relationship – cortisol should be high in morning and low at night
• Rest restorative sleep window is 9am-9pm
• Low progesterone makes them sleepless and irritable, stress steals progesterone

Good sleep actually starts first thing in the morning

• Regular get up time
• Have a ritual – make your bed, get dressed – leave your bedroom
• Chronotherapy – get natural light
• Exercise

During the day

• Eat regularly to keep blood sugar stable, eat protein with a digestive enzyme to have the building blocks for serotonin and melatonin
• Drink more water – half your body weight in ounces – so 150 lb person would drink 75 oz of water per day
• Avoid caffeine – it blocks adenosine which tells you to go to sleep
• Avoid alcohol – it makes you sleepy initially because it suppresses neurotransmitters but wears off and makes you wake up or have restless sleep

Keeping ANTS at bay – Automatic Negative Thoughts – Retraining your brain

• Limit your media consumption
• Mindset - Flip the paradigm technique (see notes from Reducing Anxiety Live Stream)
• Use grounding techniques
  • Tapping
  • Heart math
  • Apps like Calm & Headspace
  • Meditations on-line – Bani Aello offers sessions on FaceBook
  • Yoga online – Yoga Love of Honeoye Falls
• Emotional processing
  • Journaling – get your feelings down on paper
  • Dealing with Nightmares – write them down with an alternate ending
• Gratitude – journaling on what went right during the day and what you are thankful for sets the stage for a calm mind
• Neurofeedback – retrains your brain and can help with anxiety and insomnia (and many more conditions)

Sleep hygiene

• Setting up your bedroom
  • Cool room, warm bed
  • White noise or music – a small fan can work
  • Heavy covers
  • Pets – can be disruptive
  • Warm Epsom salt bath with lavender (magnesium soaks in through skin)
  • Warm your feet
• Go to bed at a regular time
• No screens for at least an hour before bed – use blue light filtering glasses
• No gadgets in room
• Don’t eat right before bed (if you struggle with waking in the middle of the night, eat a small protein snack before bed – no carbs)
• EMF’s and sleep – check out documentary Resonance: Beings of Frequency
• Sleep Apnea – get tested if you snore. It can cause a deficiency in iron and cause other serious health issues.
• Sleep vacations – to the guest room
• Ear plugs/face masks

Shutting off your mind so you can fall sleep (or get back to sleep)

• Sleep stories (Calm or Headspace)
• Reading – something boring or enjoyable/no news or topics that are intense
• Breathing techniques and progressive muscle relaxation
• Making up a story in your mind
• Make your to do list on paper, or put thoughts down on paper if you can’t stop thinking
• If you are struggling with a problem, write down a clear question for your mind to work on overnight

Supplements

We know that shopping for supplements can be overwhelming. There are so many brands, and types, and dosages - it can be hard to know what to do - so you do nothing. Sound familiar?

To make it easy for you, we took the guess work out of it - check out our supplements to help you get more sleep naturally.

• During the day – Stress and Adrenal Support
• Magnesium Glycinate - 200-600 mg (Pure), Magnesium Threonate 144mg also called Neuromag (Life Extension)
• L-Theanine 100-200mg 
• B3 (Flush Free Niacin) 500mg
• B6 50-100mg
• Melatonin – short or long acting 1-3mg (max 5mg)
• Herbs – skullcap, kava, valerian, hops, chamomile, lavender, lemon balm – Best Rest Formula (Pure)
• Nutrients to lower cortisol - phosphatidyl serine
• Amino acids – GABA, 5-HTP, Tryptophan
• Essential oils (lavender) – Vibrant Blue Parasympathetic, Vibrant Blue Circadian Rhythm - we have these at Arbor Health
• Tea – Holy Basil for Adrenal Support, Chamomile
• Benadryl – If you suffer form allergies it can serve two purposes – clear you up and make you drowsy

Summary

• Prioritize sleep
• Sleep is part of your daily cycle from start to finish
• Manage stress and retrain your mind throughout the day
• Have good sleep hygiene
• Support your body with supplements, herbs and essential oils

If this resonates with you, request a free 20-minute consultation to see if Functional Medicine might be right for you.

This Website has been created to provide information about functional health care services and is for general informational purposes regarding functional health care that should never be construed as medical advice for any person, including patients of the Practice. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.