Sleep is essential. We spend around one third of our life with it. There is nothing that we spend more time – except of course breathing, but this shows just how far up the list of biological priorities sleep is. The problem is of course that we don’t notice sleep, because we’re unconscious while we life throw this omnipresent phase in your daily lives. Therefore it’s no wonder that we not only underestimate its effect on our well-being, but we dramatically underestimate its effect.

Sleep is the nightly clean-up

During sleep, our body rests and works through all the toxins we were affected during the day, the muscles relax from being used, and the same happens with our mind. Sleep is the big clean-up phase where everything is sorted and cleaned as much as you can say this about a biological entity. Should this not happen regularily and comprehensively as nature intended, the same happens to our bodies what also happens to your home or you town, when it isn’t sorted and cleaned on a regular base. It becomes dysfunctional to the point where it can’t be used anymore.

Nothing will help without good sleep

This is why all patients with disorders, which are not strictly functional and can be traced back to one single point of failure in the system, have to take a good look at their sleep. No matter what else they are suffering of during the day, they have to fix their sleep first and make sure they feel refreshed in the morning. If this is not the case, then no daytime remedy will work to reduce the suffering, because it will likely be washed away by the next night with poor sleep.

Could it be sleep apnea?

Luckily for most, achieving a good night’s sleep is neither a miracle, nor a matter of chance. There are many little things you can do and look for when it comes to your sleep behavior. The first and most toxic aspect to take care of is sleep apnea, which is snoring combined with suffocation. It can be caused by being overweight, lack of fitness, a bad sleep posture, or because of genetics. If you are snoring, you should definitely see your doctor and have it checked. Sleep apnea is outright life-threatening.

You need a stable sleep rhythm

Right after sleep apnea and even more common among patients who also suffer of poor sleep is a bad sleep rhythm. For a good night’s sleep, it is very important to go to bed and get up every day at the same time. The reason for this is that your body is adapted to the 24 hour rhythm, which means many of your inner-physiological processes have a cycle within the 24 hour period. Ignoring the timing of these cycles leads to problems, because body and mind are out of sync. Most relevant is here the level of the stress hormone cortisol, which is directly connected to poor sleep.

Reliably falling asleep and waking up

Patients suffering of disorders associated with SPD often aren’t able to either fall asleep, remain asleep, or wake up. In some very bad cases, all three problems apply. Falling asleep can be achieved with a good sleep environment and a relaxing bedtime routine one hour before sleep along with some manipulation of the body’s core temperature. Additionally, supplementing with magnesium can help, because it lowers the level of cortisol and is also the main trick to remain asleep. Finally, forcing yourself awake and out of bed can be achieved with these two simple tricks.

The day makes a good night

Besides actions and activities directly connected with sleep, it’s also important to avoid behavior during the day, which can prove to be hazardous for your sleep. Napping for instance should be limited to not more than 20 minutes and not happen in the 2nd half of your day. Equally, stimulants like caffeine which can remain in your system for hours should not be consumed too late and ideally be limited to the morning hours. Finally, eating too late and too much can harm your sleep as much as alcohol and other recreational drugs.

Improving sleep is a process

These tips are not all there is out there, but only the beginning. They just a simple framework for orientation for what is essential and must be done for better sleep. In the fewest cases improving sleep will show effects over night. For most patients with poor sleep it’s a gradual process with many little steps. It takes time and sometimes there are set-backs. Many therefore use a sleep tracker to see the difference in their sleep quality, which can be helpful. But even without tracker a dramatic difference in sleep quality will be noticeable. Feeling better during the day will then be almost unavoidable, irrespective all other health problems.