Sleep Help 😴 Holistic Approaches

Improve your mental health and wellbeing with these holistic approaches to getting a good night’s rest.

We live in a dysregulated world. The world values what we produce and achieve versus who we are and our connections to ourselves and our community. With an ongoing pandemic and daily stress, it’s no wonder that nearly one in five U.S. adults have a diagnosable mental health issue, and between 10% and 30% of adults struggle with insomnia and sleep.

Woman on bed at night for an article about sleep help.

Sleep and Mental Health

Living with a mental illness is difficult enough, let alone the sleep disturbances that often accompany these diagnoses. Mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric conditions can often cause insomnia.

It is easy to connect the dots between mental illnesses and sleep difficulty. When we improve sleep quality, we see improvement in our mental health and cognitive abilities. There is a strong relationship between your mental and emotional well-being and sleep patterns, and lack of sleep causes mental decline and mood dysregulation. Treating sleep disorders can help alleviate symptoms of psychiatric disorders.

Our bodies have natural biological rhythms that correlate to night and day. Our sleep is often affected when these rhythms get disrupted due to anxiety, depression, trauma, or other mental health disturbances. Disturbances in sleep can exacerbate mental health concerns, causing a vicious cycle of distress and sleeplessness.

Sleep Cycles and Mental Health

Circadian Rhythm

Our circadian rhythm is your brain’s mental clock based on a 24-hour sleep and wake cycle. Daily exposure to light and darkness affects our circadian rhythm. When light or darkness enters our eyes, it triggers the brain’s limbic system to produce the hormones cortisol or melatonin. Cortisol and melatonin have an inverse relationship, like the sun and the moon.

Disruptions in these chronobiological cycles can create problems sleeping, including insomnia, waking up in the middle of the night, or difficulty waking up in the morning. Light and dark irregularities cause rhythm disruptions, like working night shifts or experiencing jet lag. Anxiety, PTSD, depression, ADHD, and bipolar disorders can also cause upsets in these cycles. Normalizing your Circadian Rhythm can help create psychobiological balance and foster restful sleep.

Cortisol

The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that releases the hormone cortisol when light enters the eye triggering the body to be awake and alert. Ideally, cortisol levels peak in a healthy circadian cycle in the late morning, leading to alertness and cognitive sharpness. Low cortisol levels at night help promote relaxation and sleep.

Dysregulation in the cortisol cycle can result in insomnia and make it more challenging to wake up in the morning. Chronic stress and depression can cause cortisol levels to peak at night, making you feel awake instead of tired. Artificial light can also trigger cortisol levels at inappropriate times. The blue light from late-night television, video games, and mobile devices can trick the body into producing cortisol, making it more difficult to fall asleep.

Melatonin

Darkness tells the body that it is time for sleep by triggering the brain to produce the hormone melatonin. Bright lights in the evening inhibit the production of melatonin. As we age, our bodies produce less melatonin.

Help Sleep the Natural Way

Chrono-Nutrition

When you eat is just as important as what you eat. Chrono-Nutrition is an emerging study of how the timing and what you eat affect your circadian rhythms and sleep patterns. Learning how your body reacts to eating certain foods at certain times of the day can help you find balance in your sleep patterns.

Food and Sleep

What and when you eat affects energy distribution throughout the day and night. Eating a heavy meal right before bed can disrupt your sleep. However, going to bed hungry can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night when your blood sugar drops. If you have concerns about your blood sugar, talk to your doctor about testing for hypoglycemia. If you find yourself waking up after falling asleep, try eating a light protein or carb snack before bed to help regulate blood sugar. Some foods before bed can help you fall asleep naturally.

Foods that naturally produce melatonin:

Cherries and Goji Berries
Rice
Corn
Walnuts and Other Nuts
Ginger
Eggs

Stimulants and Sleep

Caffeine and other stimulants can also cause sleep concerns. Everyone has a different sensitivity to caffeine, and it may be beneficial to limit caffeine to only one in the morning hours. We tame coffee addiction by switching to half-decaf or milder stimulates. Replace energy drinks with healthier substitutions, like kombucha, green and black tea. Rhodiola (Rhodiola Rosea) supports focus and is a mild stimulant. You should avoid stimulants in the late afternoon and before bedtime.

Alcohol and Sleep

Many people drink alcohol to help induce sleep. Although it is a depressant, excessive drinking can make it harder to fall asleep and exacerbate conditions like sleep apnoea. Drinking alcohol also interferes with the effective use of many psychiatric medications. According to the Sleep Foundation, “Since alcohol can reduce REM sleep and cause sleep disruptions, people who drink before bed often experience insomnia symptoms and feel excessively sleepy the following day.” Drinking alcohol can disturb sleep, causing you to wake up to use the bathroom during the night. Researchers suggest not to drink any alcohol at least 4 hours before bedtime.

Light and Darkness Exposure

Unlike our ancestors, we live by artificial light during the nighttime hours, and our biological light and dark rhythms are can quickly become unbalanced. Understanding how light exposure or deprivation can contribute to sleep and mental health conditions puts you at an advantage to make deliberate choices in your exposure to light.

The moon over clouds in an article about getting better sleep.

Regulate Your Circadian Rhythm

To help your body regulate its circadian rhythm, expose yourself to morning sunlight before 10 AM to trigger serotonin. Serotonin is a hormone associated with calmness and a positive mood. Try and get an hour of daytime light exposure a day. If you live in a Northern climate, you are more prone to seasonal affective disorder due to shorter days in the winter. Light therapy or phototherapy uses natural sunlight or a lightbox to alleviate depression and sleep concerns. A lightbox 10,000 LUX can help boost your mood and regulate biological sleep patterns. People with bipolar disorder should know that lightboxes can trigger mania and start with just a few minutes a day. Also, those who wear sunglasses or blue-light-blocking glasses are not getting the benefits of light.

Promote melatonin and restful sleep by limiting light exposure in the evening and before bed. Many of us like to stay up watching Netflix or on our devices. However, the type of light emitted from these devices suppresses the body’s release of melatonin. We recommend blue-light-blocking glasses an hour before bedtime to help prevent insomnia. It can also help to sleep in complete darkness. Many appliances like cable boxes and humidifiers have lights that can be distracting. Eliminate all excess lights by putting electoral tape over appliance lights and unplugging nightlights to sleep in total darkness. Wearing a sleep mask or utilizing blackout curtains is another way to control the light that may be interfering with sleep.

Sleep Shop

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Blue Light Blocking Glasses

Sleep Mask

Lightbox

Herbs that Help Sleep

Cultures have used herbal medicines for centuries as a natural remedy for sleep issues. Although they are not as potent as many over-the-counter or prescription medications, they are often more gentle and have fewer side effects. It is essential to talk to a functional doctor when deciding to use herbal medicine, as it can interfere with other medications you are taking or trigger allergies. Always tell your doctor that you are using or planning on using herbal medicines. Please consult with a functional doctor, registered herbalist, or acupuncturist when considering taking new herbs, as this article can’t cover all aspects of these methods fully.

Passionflower

Passionflower is a breathtaking flower known to calm anxiety and provide GABA support. “It’s possibly safe when taken as a tea for seven nights, or as a medicine for up to 8 weeks.”

Valerian

Valerian is a natural sedative that helps promote sleep decrease anxiety and stress. It is available as a pill, liquid tincture, or tea. “Taking valerian root extract 300-600 mg by mouth daily seems to improve sleep quality. Continuous use for up to 4 weeks might be needed before an effect is noticeable.”

Hops

Hops are commonly associated with brewing beer, but it also has a calming effect on the body. Not only has it been used to treat restlessness but also menopause. Hops are not recommended if you are already taking estrogen. It’s not intended for long-term use but has “been used safely in doses of up to 300 mg daily for up to 3 months.”

German Chamomile

German Chamomile is a well-known herb that promotes relaxation. Typically drank as tea, but is available in pill form or can be used on the skin. Caution is advised for some who have an allergy to ragweed because they might also have an allergy to chamomile. It may also act like estrogen and interfere with oral contraception or other estrogen medications.

Cannabidiol Oil

Cannabidiol Oil (CBD) is legal in most states and is different from psychoactive THC marijuana. Some strains of marijuana can inhibit sleep and are still illegal in many states. Unlike marijuana, CDB does not make you high. CBD is being studied to treat PTSD, anxiety, and pain which often interfere with sleep.

Vitamins and Supplements that Help Sleep

Many have turned to natural methods to reset their circadian rhythm and help insomnia. You should use caution when taking vitamins, minerals, and supplements. Consult with a functional doctor before taking any new supplements to avoid conflicts with existing conditions, allergies, or medications. Many of these methods are not recommended for long-term use.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 nutrient that is needed for your body to function normally. B12 can come in different forms. Methylcobalamin or hydroxocobalamin (not cyanocobalamin synthetic) are the recommended forms with a dosage of 1 gram a day. Foods that contain Vitamin B12 are beef, chicken, liver, eggs, fish, and dairy. A doctor can also test your levels of B12 to make sure you are not deficient. Too much B12 over long periods can cause organ damage.

Lithium Orotate

Lithium Orotate is a natural element that helps balance the circadian rhythm. Not to be confused with the medication Lithium Carbonate that treats the symptoms of Bipolar disorder. Natural mood stabilization and relaxation can be supported by using lithium baths found in natural hot springs. Natural Lithium supplemented dosage of 5 to 20 mg is suggested.

Magnesium Glycinate

Magnesium is another natural element used for relaxation and balance. It can be taken orally as Magnesium Glycinate to help sleep and decrease stress. Dosage varies on age and gender. Many also find comfort and relaxation in taking Epsom salt baths before bed. This is an excellent remedy for children and teens. It can also be used as a topical lotion. Foods naturally high in magnesium are seaweed, bananas, and fish.

GABA

GABA is a neurotransmitter produced by the brain that promotes the relaxation of the body’s central nervous system. The GABA precursors are methods for encouraging the body to produce GABA. Lactium is a natural milk biopeptide that helps reduce anxiety and help sleep. Bioidentical oral progesterone is also used for anxiety and sleep for premenopausal women. A prescription from a doctor is needed.