Healthy Sleep Hygiene
Here's How to Fix Hormonal Sleep Issues and Improve Sleep Quality in 3 Steps.
Sleep deprivation, especially insomnia, causes serious health issues for millions who need lasting solutions.
The Significance of Sleep Quality for Health and Well-Being
Would you like to sleep like a baby but cannot achieve this beautiful desire? Do you sometimes wake up in the middle of the night for no reason and find it difficult to sleep?
You are not alone.
Sadly, millions of people suffer from sleep deprivation and disorders such as sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, REM sleep behavior disorder, insomnia, and the opposite condition, narcolepsy. In addition, they gain belly fat due to the elevated stress hormone (cortisol).
As a former member of the sleep-deprived group, I have compassion. However, I am grateful that I no longer belong to the group.
I’m optimistic about the possibility of resolving these issues with simple lifestyle habits that I briefly describe in this article based on my experience and extensive literature review.
However, some people might need medical intervention due to underlying health conditions.
Sleep is a non-negotiable human need and critical for our physical and mental health and overall well-being. Every human being needs an adequate amount of sleep to survive and thrive.
Many books and research papers document the importance of sleep quality. Most of them mention the hormonal implications on sleep quality and sleep disorders.
As sleep disorders are comprehensive, I only focus on the hormonal aspect giving three practical tips to improve sleep quality. Our hormones, neurotransmitters, and molecules play a significant role in sleep, metabolism, and behavior.
Hormones, neurotransmitters, and some molecules affect the circadian rhythm, which is essential for sleeping and waking up.
Light and darkness are the natural factors affecting circadian rhythm and consist of numerous clock genes. Like numerous biological rhythms, circadian rhythms helped us evolve.
This scientific paper highlights that “circadian disruption, typically induced by shift work, may negatively impact health due to impaired glucose and lipid homeostasis, reversed melatonin and cortisol rhythms, and loss of clock gene rhythmicity.”
In addition to various master hormones such as melatonin, cortisol, and insulin, sex hormones for men and women like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone affect our sleep quality.
Since I aim to make this a practical piece, I cannot go into more detail about these hormones. Nevertheless, I plan to post a compressive literature review from my reading list to inform my readers.
However, I’d like to highlight two facts from my findings on sex hormones. For example, testosterone reaches its highest during REM sleep.
In addition, estrogen plays a role in the metabolism of the critical mineral magnesium. Moreover, cortisol plays the opposite position to melatonin.
Blood sugar and insulin spikes also affect sleep quality. In addition to many scientific articles, this paper examined the association between poor glycemic control, impaired sleep quality, and increased arterial thickening in type II diabetic patients.
The chemical compound with many functions in the cells acting as a neurotransmitter, histamine, also affect our sleep quality.
As pointed out in this scientific paper:
“Strong and consistent evidence suggests that histamine, acting via H₁ and H₃ receptors, has a pivotal role in regulating sleep-wakefulness. Administration of histamine or H₁ receptor agonists induces wakefulness, whereas administration of H₁ receptor antagonists promotes sleep.”
In addition to hormones and neurotransmitters, I’d like to highlight one critical metabolic molecule we need to be aware of to form sleep homeostasis and maintain sleep cycles. It is called adenosine.
In a nutshell, this molecule signals the body to fall asleep, considering the cells don’t have enough energy.
The more adenosine accumulates in the brain during the day, the sleepier we feel at night. Caffeine is a massive risk in preventing sleep because it acts as an adenosine receptor antagonist.
Therefore, we feel energetic when we consume caffeine, which is great during the day but terrible at night, leading to insomnia and sleep deprivation.
A Summary of My Debilitating Insomnia Experience
Since I suffered from sleep deprivation and insomnia in my younger years, I see it as a duty of call to share my experience and sustainable solution that I developed through experimentation and support from sleep specialists.
After sleepless nights, I used to feel awful at work, and sometimes life lost its meaning, causing an unbearable feeling of anhedonia.
The most significant adverse effect of my sleep deprivation was chronic stress affecting elevated cortisol levels and causing excess fat gain, especially in the abdominal area.
Therefore, I touch on the significance of sleep quality in every fat loss and healthy weight management article. More importantly, as I pointed out in this article, we forget the fat loss unless we beat the cortisol monster.
I would like to mention three big mistakes I used to make. They were excessive stimulators like caffeine, reliance on sleep aids, exercising, and consuming food before bedtime.
The essential point was lacking a sleep regime. I read many books and hundreds of articles about improving sleep. Most of them also highlight the common mistakes I made.
The first one was excessive caffeine consumption, as it used to stay in the body for more than eight hours, reducing the calming effects of adenosine. I used to go to the gym and take pre-workout formulas, including caffeine and several other stimulants.
As a result, I was exhausted after a heavy workout, but it was impossible to fall asleep due to the hormonal effects of intense workouts and stimulants in the bloodstream.
The second one was reliance on sleep supplements and medication. The first time my family physician prescribed me a two-week sleep medicine, I did not follow her advice and continued for over a month. Sadly, my body got addicted, so I couldn’t fall asleep without medication. The withdrawal symptoms were unbearable.
The third one was consuming food before going into bed. Interestingly, when I stopped eating at least four hours before bedtime, my sleep quality significantly improved, and my visceral fat led to obesity decreased. This undesirable situation is also documented in detail in the body of knowledge.
For example, the review section of this paper points out:
“Sleep debt in humans may increase obesity risk. According to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, the mean sleep duration of American adults was six hours 40 minutes in 2008 compared with eight hours 30 minutes in 1960. Cross-sectional studies demonstrate a positive correlation between sleep deprivation and obesity risk. Several prospective studies provide strong evidence for a causal relationship between sleep deficit and obesity.”
I monitor my sleep quality diligently via a specialized smartwatch giving me granular data, especially for the amount of deep sleep, rem sleep, and light sleep. All phases of sleep are essential for various reasons.
For example, if my quality sleep score is under %80, I feel lower energy and a bad mood. And if it is over 90%, I feel lively, more energetic, and optimistic.
I also wrote an article about the experience of a friend who had insomnia for several years in this story titled: How a 37 Years Old Female Body Builder Cured Her Insomnia. Here are the three proven tips from my experience, observations, and literature reviews.
1 — Stop working out at night.
Exercise is essential and beneficial for our health. However, as exercise induces stress, it can make a significant hormonal response in the body.
Stress hormones such as cortisol can increase during and after exercise. As mentioned in this article, cortisol and melatonin have opposite effects on sleep.
Therefore, we need more melatonin and less cortisol for the body to get restorative sleep. I will elaborate on these in the next two items.
2 — Stop consuming food and stimulating drinks at least four hours before bedtime.
Like exercise, nutrition is also essential for our health. However, the digestive process also creates stress in the body consuming significant energy.
When undigested food is in the stomach, having a night of restorative sleep can be tough.
As advised by a sleep specialist, my sleep quality significantly increased when I stopped eating four hours before bedtime.
Besides related to eating, when I stopped stimulant drinks, especially with caffeine and tyrosine, at least 8 hours at bedtime, my sleep quality improved.
Interestingly alcohol does not stimulate the brain, making numbing effects, but unfortunately, it interferes with sleep quality.
So, sleep specialists also recommend not using alcohol for relaxation before bedtime.
Nicotine also stimulates the brain. Therefore, sleep specialists advise stopping some to improve sleep quality.
3 — Slow down with mindfulness practices.
Meditation was a nifty tool for fixing my sleep issues, reducing stress and anxiety, and improving my overall physical and mental health.
Mindful eating, exercise, and work in flow state were the best contributors to improving my sleep quality. Paradoxically, when I slowed down, I produced more.
With just ten minutes of meditation an hour before bedtime, I have significantly improved my sleep quality by reducing stress and increasing sleep-inducing hormones.
Meditation can change brain chemistry and balance it for better health. Some people cannot meditate, but they can still use mindfulness practices such as relaxing the body with effective breathing methods. Listening to soft music is also an effective mindfulness practice.
Having a hot bath with Epsom salts has been one of the best slowing-down exercises for me. In addition, getting magnesium through the skin can be excellent for inducing stress and having a night of restorative sleep.
In addition, three minutes of cold and hot water mixed shower before bedtime helped me reset my circadian rhythm.
Conclusions and Takeaways
As millions of people suffer from sleep deprivation, especially insomnia causing severe health issues, it is crucial to find sustainable solutions.
Moreover, a sustainable sleep regime is essential for healthy metabolism and overall well-being.
Understanding the role of master hormones like melatonin and cortisol and critical molecules like adenosine and histamine affecting circadian rhythm is crucial to designing a well-functioning sleep regime.
Our lifestyle choices and habits are pivotal in maintaining a quality sleep regime.
I’d like to share the essential items from my regime that I developed through experimentation, as documented in a chapter of my health-hacks book, support from sleep specialists, and an extensive literature review.
1 — I prevented my eyes from blue lights, especially from electronic devices at night.
2 — I had three to five minutes of mixed and cold showers. I also tried a 15 minutes hot bath with Epsom salts an hour before bedtime
3 — I ensured my bedroom was cool, around 18 Celsius degrees.
4 — I had a darkroom during the sleep period. I also tried eye-musk preventing unexpected lights during the night.
5 — I used noise cancellation earplugs as some noise entered my bedroom.
6 — I increased magnesium intake as advised by a doctor.
7 — I used an air cleaning machine and Himalayan salt lamps in the bedroom.
8 — I exposed my eyes to sunlight briefly in the morning.
9 — When I walk ten thousands of steps during the day, I sleep better.
10 — Walking on grass or beach sand significantly improved my sleep.
I’d like to add a critical piece of information I learned during the sleepless nights. If I could not fall asleep in 20 minutes, I got up and performed sleep-inducing activities such as mindfulness practices as recommended by Cognitive Behavioural Therapists specializing in sleep quality.
For example, listening to soft music and reading non-interesting paperback books helped me feel sleepy again.
Herbal supplements and tranquilizing teas work for some people. But unfortunately, they did not work for me. The only supplement that helped me initially was metabolized form of tryptophan called 5HTP, increasing serotonin quickly. However, I don’t use it anymore as my customized diet has plenty of tryptophan.
If I need to choose a supplement at night, it would be taurine. Nevertheless, magnesium is my go-to mineral for sleep quality, especially in glycinate form.
Therefore, I keep highlighting the importance of magnesium for metabolic health and sleep quality. Solving sleep issues with lifestyle choices produced a sustainable physical and mental health outcome for me.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a happy and healthy life.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
Petechiae, ALS, Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Thyroid Disorders, Anemia, Dysautonomia, cardiac output, and urinary track disorders.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients.
Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
As part of my creative non-fiction writing goals, I’d like to share a few stories that might warm our hearts with a bit of humor into weighty topics.
Sample Humorous Stories
Finally, After Burning Her House, Georgia Found Enlightenment
Hilarious Tips to Prevent Brain Atrophy and Keep the Gray Matter Giggling
8 Psychological Points I Had to Unlearn and Relearn the Opposite
Based on my writing experience and observations, I documented findings and strategies that might help you amplify your voice, engage your audience, and achieve your desired outcomes in your writing journey.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on cellular, mitochondrial, metabolic, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
You might join my six publications on Medium as a writer by sending a request via this link. 23K writers contribute to my publications. You might find more information about my professional background.
As a writer, blogger, content developer, and reader, you might join Medium, Vocal Media, NewsBreak, Medium Writing Superstars, Writing Paychecks, WordPress, Cliqly, and Thinkers360 with my referral links. These affiliate links will not cost you extra to join the services.
