A good night’s sleep is just as important as your exercise & diet routine.  Research shows that poor sleep has immediate negative effects on your hormones, exercise performance & brain function.  It can also cause weight gain & increase disease risk in both adults & children.

In contrast, good sleep can help you eat less, exercise better and improve your overall health!  In our world of full schedules and constant commitments, both sleep quality & quantity has declined.  In fact, many people regularly get poor sleep.  If you want to optimize your health and reach your nutrition goals, then getting a solid night of sleep is one of the most important things you can do.

Here are some evidence-based tips we have put together to help you create a space to relax and consistently get a great night of sleep!

Avoid Alcohol, Caffeine & Sugar – especially before bed.

These overstimulate the nervous system causing an imbalance in the liver, which will disrupt your sleep.  Caffeine can stay elevated in your blood for 6-8 hours.  As such, drinking large amounts of coffee after 3-4 pm is not recommended.  If you do crave a cup of coffee in the late afternoon or evening, stick with decaffeinated coffee.

Alcohol is known to cause or increase the symptoms of sleep apnea, snoring, and disrupted sleep patterns.  It also alters nighttime melatonin production, which plays a key role in your body’s circadian rhythm.

Sugars (& carbohydrates), especially at night, can cause a blood sugar spike and crash that will lead to difficulty falling asleep or lead to waking in the middle of the night when blood sugar levels drop.

Try and get these foods in your dinner:

• Healthy fats – such as coconut oil, organic & pasture-raised meats, eggs, avocado & butter all help provide your body with the necessary building blocks to manufacture sleep hormones.
• High Antioxidant Foods – also important for hormone production and removal of toxins that can impede sleep.  Focus on vegetables, high nutrient fruits & herbal teas.
• Quality Proteins – Your evening meal should include proteins, vegetables, and healthy fats. Eating enough protein at dinner will help the body prepare to move into the sleep cycle.

Create a Pre-Bedtime Relaxing Routine

It’s important to try and calm your mind before sleep.

One way to do this is to practice mindfulness meditation in bed. Focus only on your breath and inhale & exhale deeply, relinquishing any unpleasant or worrying thoughts.

A gentle stretching routine to unwind and relax your muscles can be helpful as well. 

A relaxing bath or shower is another popular way to sleep better. In one study, a hot bath 90 minutes before bed improved sleep quality and helped people get more deep sleep.  If you don’t want to take a full bath at night, simply bathing your feet in hot water can help you relax and improve sleep.

Enjoy the Natural Rhythms of Daylight & Dark Night

Your body has a natural time-keeping clock known as your circadian rhythm.  It affects your brain, body & hormones, helping you stay awake and telling your body when its time for sleep.  Natural sunlight or bright light during the day helps keep your circadian rhythm healthy.  This improves daytime energy, as well as nighttime sleep quality and duration.

Exposure to light during the day is beneficial, but nighttime light exposure has the opposite effect.  This is due to its impact on your circadian rhythm, tricking your brain into thinking it is still daytime.  This reduces hormones like melatonin, which help you relax and get deep sleep.  Blue light – which electronic devices like smartphones and computers emit large amounts – is the worst in this regard.

Try to remove any electronics in your room that have bright lights. Stop watching TV and turn off any bright lights two hours before heading to bed or try using blue-light blocking glasses in the evening. Try to minimize external noise in the bedroom – a white noise generator is great for this.

Stick to a Regular Sleep Schedule

Going to bed and waking up at the same time consistently, keeps our bodies in harmony.  Try and get to sleep between 9 – 11 pm. 

Use Your Bed for Sleeping Only

Your bed should be associated with sleeping – not working, eating, or watching TV.  If you wake up during the night, skip turning on your laptop or TV and do something like meditating or reading until you feel sleepy again.

Get Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to treat insomnia in China.  There, it is one of the first treatments given to a patient to improve the quality of their sleep. Learn more about how acupuncture improves sleep here.