Sleep Obstacles # 1 – Stress
Probably an obvious one for most of you. But yet, still very important to mention.
MELATONIN is a key hormone in regulating sleep. It has many vital roles in the body which we can dive into later. For now -> the main one I want to point out is it acts as a signal to the body of what time to fall asleep.
Ideally, production of melatonin begins in the evening, peaks during the middle of the night and falls to low levels in the morning. This daily bio-rhythm has an inverse relationship to another important hormone - CORTISOL. When cortisol is high, our melatonin is low.
Why is this important? 🤷♀️
Cortisol is an essential steroid hormone made in the adrenal glands. One of its important functions is helping the body adapt to STRESS. It is key in getting us started for the day. 💪
Cortisol levels are supposed to spike in the morning and then start to tail-off as the day progresses. However, for many people it continues to remain high throughout the day. Maybe due to anxious thoughts, anticipatory stress, racing from one thing-to-another, trauma, high stimulant intake (like caffeinated beverages or cigarettes), chronic infections, allergies, sleep apnea and/or irregular blood sugar levels amongst many others! 🤯
And remember when cortisol remains high, it inhibits our production of melatonin. And as such, our bodies are not receiving a strong signal for deep, restorative sleep.
So how do you help ensure this doesn’t happen? 🤔
Managing stress is key. I have found different techniques seem to help different people. Moderate exercise in the day is great. Meditation is fantastic in helping lower anticipatory stress. Not over-scheduling your day. Counselling. Immune support. Watching your diet – limiting stimulants and alcohol and ensuring your blood sugar remains stable throughout the day. More to come on this later.
Still finding it difficult? There are many amazing herbs and key nutrients that can be very effective in helping manage stress and lower cortisol. Tailoring diet can also be very beneficial. Especially when it comes to sleep. If you would like to know more just message me.
More to follow soon on how to stamp out other obstacles that might be in the way of you getting that good nights sleep!