Insomnia and poor sleep is a problem I see every day in my practice.  This issue is becoming more and more common in society and good restful sleep is so important to our health, both mentally and physically.  

There are so many reasons why we are not getting good sleep nowadays and being aware of some of the things that we may be able to change may help us get on the path to more restful sleep.

Probably the most important is mind noise.  During our stressful days we are constantly multitasking and using machines that stimulate our brains with blue light, such as computers, TV's and smart phones.  Taking breaks throughout the day to slow down the mind can be helpful to maintain a balance in our nervous system.  Also, cutting out stimulating activities, especially anything that involves blue light at least 1-2 hours before bed time is key to slowing down the nervous system and getting out of that hyper-stimulated state.

What do I mean when I say balance of the nervous system?  Our central nervous system controls everything we do.  It has a stimulated side ( sympathetic nervous system) so that we can get stuff done, and it has a relaxed side (parasympathetic nervous system) so that we can rest and digest.  When we constantly push ourselves into overdrive our nervous system has a harder time getting back into that relaxed phase.  The more we practice good habits and take time to slow down and smell the roses, the more balanced our nervous system will be and therefore more easily switch into that relaxed state when we want it to at bedtime.

So what are some ways to practice calming of the nervous system?  Breathing exercises can be one of the most simple and effective ways to bring your nervous system quickly into a more relaxed state.  Breathing is one of the only physiologic actions that can be both controlled by the body (autonomic nervous system) and also can be controlled  voluntarily (somatic nervous system).  When you are in a stressed or hyper state your body automatically increases your breathing rate, along with other functions such as your heart rate.  Your breathing becomes more shallow.  By purposefully slowing and deepening your breath you can literally send a message directly to your central nervous system to slow down.  This will also slow down the messages controlling the rest of your organs as well, such as your heart rate.   By doing this regularly you can literally reset the tone of your autonomic nervous system.  You can do this anywhere, anytime and most people will not even notice you doing this.  The more you purposefully take deep breaths into your diaphragm, the more often you will help to slow down and balance your central nervous system.

If you don't know how to do breathing exercises there is a good technique I learned from Dr. Weil called the 4-7-8 breath.  You breathe in deep into your belly for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds and breathe out all the way for 8 seconds.  Repeat this a few times and you will feel your body calm down.  The more you do this the more calm you will feel and it will be much easier to get your mind into a restful state.  Other practices that help to balance the nervous system include, meditation, yoga and guided imagery.

Some other things to consider when trying to improve your sleep include eating a healthy diet low in sugar and caffeine.  Stimulants in your diet can make it difficult to get your mind into a restful state.  Regular exercise can be helpful but you want to avoid strenuous exercise at least 2 hours before bedtime.  Make sure you are not taking any medications that interfere with sleep.  As far as prescription sedatives, most of them actually give you a "false" sleep or put you into an induced hypnotic state rather than an actual sleep with good healthy REM cycles.  They may make you think you got sleep but your body and mind will not get the rest they need to function well.  Speaking of REM sleep, a good way to know if you are getting healthy sleep is to be dreaming.  A way to promote healthy dreaming is to wake slowly in the morning which may help to improve dream recall and use a dream journal.

Finally, make sure your bedroom is a sanctuary for sleep.  It should be stress free and work free.  Keep the room dark and cool and do not have a clock facing your bed.  Consider using a diffuser with relaxing essential oils such as lavender.

Sleep is so important to our health and we should be getting at least 8 hours every night.  Insomnia and poor sleep are signs of poor health so, hopefully these tips can help you get back to good health.