Over the years I treated sleep as something that was necessary, but never a priority. Now, I see this as the most important part of my day. I’ve been crafting this practice with the addition of different tools, and I feel the puzzle is coming together in a harmonious fashion. Why is sleep important? From a basic level, sleep allows for our repair and recovery mechanisms to support our mental and physical health, and overall quality of life. While this involves many aspects of our hormonal system, balancing melatonin and cortisol are key for the circadian rhythm. Similarly, disruption in sleep can lead a breakdown in regulation of other hormones like testosterone, growth hormone and insulin. I’m sure all of us have experienced staying up later than anticipated and feeling the effects the next morning with the brain and body moving at a slower pace.
My personal sleep deterioration began during my intern year of residency when a month of nights, and 24 hour shifts every other week were par for the course. The result…mental fogginess and poor recovery from exercise. In other words, this was not what I needed from my body at the time or ever really.
Over the next years I put different pieces together. An important step was setting a regular bedtime. Yes, this varies a bit on the weekend, but overall, I shoot to have the lights out and head on the pillow by 10 PM. Around the same time, I started incorporating the use of blue-blocking glasses (Uvex are $10 on Amazon). Theses red/orange glasses are NECESSARY for those who have any screens or lights on past sunset. Blue light inhibits the release of melatonin from the pineal gland, thus interrupting the circadian rhythm. These were game changers for me, as instead of 15+ minutes of lying in bed, I was falling asleep in minutes. I ran with these tools for a while, but when I moved back to Cincinnati next to cell phone towers, things changed again.
Around this time, I started reading more about sleep and items that should be evaluated. I did an at home sleep study that didn’t indicate sleep apnea but showed some episodes of lower oxygen saturation. So, what else did I need to think about? Dry mouth had been a factor as an adult when I woke up in the morning, so that’s when I discovered the idea of mouth taping. If you experience this, try the simple process; it may take a few weeks to get used to, but totally worth it (Simply Breathe and Somnifix).
As the time in my condo progressed, I started noticing that I would wake up several times in the middle of the night, and while I fell back asleep easily, it was an unusual pattern for me. Per usual, I started to go down weird paths, and came across the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from the many technologies we “depend on” these days. So, after some investigation I decided to invest in my sleep again. This time was to lessen the effect of EMFs by painting the walls of my bedroom with a graphite paint and using specialized curtains to block my windows. I wasn’t able to make this situation perfect, but my sleep quality improved once again.
The final change that brought life to a new level was making an uncomfortable decision. In January 2020, I saw the opportunity to make a change in my work schedule, and so I went for it. Now this can be very challenging for most work situations, but at some point, you have to decide whether your health or the bottom-line is more important. I was the typical wake-up early to exercise and then get to work person. When work starts at 7 or 8 AM and you have a commute, something has to give. Sleep was that something for nearly two decades, and I believe this was a driving factor in cortisol dysregulation and unnecessary stress, so the decision came. Now I rise when my body chooses, which is anywhere between 6-7 AM, so my work schedule had to accommodate this.
Sleep, and life in general, is a journey, and I made the decision to enjoy it along the way. What I can say is that I haven’t felt this good or had this much energy for a decade. It took some time to get sleep in an amazing place, but hopefully you can take some of these tips to make your journey towards optimized health a great one.
Tips for Optimizing Sleep
| Temperature | Everyone is unique, cooler is usually better. Think about items like a ChiliPAD if partner prefers a different temperature. |
| Light | Make it black, get black-out curtains in your bedroom.Use True Dark Dots to cover other lights from electronics, smoke detectors, etc.Buy blue-light blocking glasses if using electronics or lights are on beyond sunset (Uvex on amazon ~ $10). |
| Timing | Set a regular bedtime – get your circadian rhythm in order (7-9 hours for most adults). |
| Anatomy | If you wake up with a dry mouth or know you’re a mouth breather trial mouth taping (Simply Breathe or Somnifix).Sleep Apnea – if you have struggled with sleep, snoring or chronic fatigue get a sleep study (you can do these at home with results that provide good insight). |
| Electromagnetic fields | While controversial, there is no denying that we are bioelectric beings. To ignore the potential for EMFs affecting health, is to ignore sound and logical science. |
| Life Demand/Stress | Choose health, choose to live. Frequently we allow societal norms to dictate our lives, break free from the expectations and create the life you desire. |
Elemental Health 