If you’re anything like the average person, you spend more continuous time in your bedroom than you do in any other home in your house.
That means that your bedroom has the ability to influence your health in subtle and not so subtle ways!
Restorative sleep is the foundational layer for good health. Without restorative sleep, your other efforts won’t reach their full impact potential.
Here are a few tips to promote high-quality sleep.
KEEP IT DARK
Light from charging electronics, street lights, or even the sun can prevent the hormonal shifts that allow for deep sleep.
Remove any devices that give off light. Use dark tape to cover the power indicator of any devices that can’t be removed from your room.
If you live where street lights are prevalent, or in a northern climate where sunrise comes before/sunset comes after, your natural sleep schedule; then use blackout curtains to ensure that light doesn’t prevent you from reaching deep sleep.
KEEP IT COOL
Our core body temperature must drop to reach all stages of sleep, maximizing restorative potential. It helps if the room is cool, but not too cold.
Many find it soothing to sleep with a weighted blanket, which may require a thermostat adjustment.
KEEP IT CLEAN
Many say that our external environment will influence our internal environment. This is probably more true for some than others, but wherever you fall on the spectrum, it’s worth experimenting with taking 5-10 minutes to ensure that your room is neat before you get into bed.
Put clothes away. Straighten up your dresser. Make any adjustments that will create a more relaxing environment.
TURN THEM OFF
Screens, that is!
For at least an hour before you get into bed, give your eyes a break. Avoid over-stimulating tv or movies. Don’t read on a back-lit device.
If you “must” use a device before bed, at the very least wear some blue-light filtering glasses to let your brain avoid the overstimulation.
As mentioned above, you spend more uninterrupted time in your bedroom than you do in any other room. That’s why air quality when you sleep is important.
I cannot recommend the use of a high quality air filter enough!
Indoor air polution is a real thing – we are surrounded by chemicals in our homes. A few examples include fragrances from detergents or fabric softeners, wall paint, carpet or flooring, the fire retardant chemicals on furniture. They’re everywhere!
A good air filter will reduce the incidence of those chemicals becoming incorporated into your tissues.
In my house, we have an EnviroKlenz air purifier in every bedroom. I make no commission by recommending this product, but I do recommend it often, so mention my name (or the Montana Association of Naturopathic Physicians) for a 20% discount.
For the best sleep, your bedroom should be reserved for the Ses… sleep and sex.
Reading; watching tv, movies, or videos; and scrolling through social media can all be done in other parts of your house.
This trains your brain and body to associate your bedroom with restorative activities.
Do your best not to medicate your sleep.
Sleep medications, including the over-the-counter ones like Benadryl and PM cold medicines, might make us think we’re sleeping; but they interfere with the body’s ability to enter the restorative phases of sleep. That’s why so many of them leave us feeling hung over in the morning.
Alcohol and THC have the same effect as sleep medications – they may render you unconscious, but unconscious does not equal asleep.
Without restorative sleep, our immune function gets compromised leaving you more at risk of getting sick. Additionally, lack of restorative sleep complicates weight! Studies show that as little as 1 hr less sleep than needed alters our hormones in ways that make us 1 – more hungry, 2 – less satisfied by the food we eat, AND 3 – more likely to store, rather than burn, what we consume. That’s three separate and compounding ways in which insufficient sleep leads to weight gain, and that’s a big deal!
If you’ve been using a “sleep agent,” it may take some time to wean yourself off, but it’s worth the effort.
A few things can help with sleep quality. Unlike THC, CBD can help sleep quality when used in the right amount. Take too much, and you’ll have insomnia. 5HTP and Melatonin can also help with sleep quality. In my private practice, I find better luck with 5HTP as Melatonin tends to leave some people feeling groggy in the morning.
**If you take an SSRI, consult your doctor before taking 5HTP and do not take more than 50mg.
SELECT YOUR MODULE
If you’re anything like the average person, you spend more continuous time in your bedroom than you do in any other home in your house.
That means that your bedroom has the ability to influence your health in subtle and not so subtle ways!
Restorative sleep is the foundational layer for good health. Without restorative sleep, your other efforts won’t reach their full impact potential.
Here are a few tips to promote high-quality sleep.
KEEP IT DARK
Light from charging electronics, street lights, or even the sun can prevent the hormonal shifts that allow for deep sleep.
Remove any devices that give off light. Use dark tape to cover the power indicator of any devices that can’t be removed from your room.
If you live where street lights are prevalent, or in a northern climate where sunrise comes before/sunset comes after, your natural sleep schedule; then use blackout curtains to ensure that light doesn’t prevent you from reaching deep sleep.
KEEP IT COOL
Our core body temperature must drop to reach all stages of sleep, maximizing restorative potential. It helps if the room is cool, but not too cold.
Many find it soothing to sleep with a weighted blanket, which may require a thermostat adjustment.
KEEP IT CLEAN
Many say that our external environment will influence our internal environment. This is probably more true for some than others, but wherever you fall on the spectrum, it’s worth experimenting with taking 5-10 minutes to ensure that your room is neat before you get into bed.
Put clothes away. Straighten up your dresser. Make any adjustments that will create a more relaxing environment.
TURN THEM OFF
Screens, that is!
For at least an hour before you get into bed, give your eyes a break. Avoid over-stimulating tv or movies. Don’t read on a back-lit device.
If you “must” use a device before bed, at the very least wear some blue-light filtering glasses to let your brain avoid the overstimulation.
As mentioned above, you spend more uninterrupted time in your bedroom than you do in any other room. That’s why air quality when you sleep is important.
I cannot recommend the use of a high quality air filter enough!
Indoor air polution is a real thing – we are surrounded by chemicals in our homes. A few examples include fragrances from detergents or fabric softeners, wall paint, carpet or flooring, the fire retardant chemicals on furniture. They’re everywhere!
A good air filter will reduce the incidence of those chemicals becoming incorporated into your tissues.
In my house, we have an EnviroKlenz air purifier in every bedroom. I make no commission by recommending this product, but I do recommend it often, so mention my name (or the Montana Association of Naturopathic Physicians) for a 20% discount.
Do your best not to medicate your sleep.
Sleep medications, including Benadryl and PM cold medicines, might make us think we’re sleeping; but they interfere with the body’s ability to enter the restorative phases of sleep. That’s why so many of them leave us feeling hung over in the morning.
If you’ve been using a “sleep agent,” it may take some time to wean yourself off, but it’s worth the effort.
** Alcohol has the same effect.
If you’re anything like the average person, you spend more continuous time in your bedroom than you do in any other home in your house.
That means that your bedroom has the ability to influence your health in subtle and not so subtle ways!
Restorative sleep is the foundational layer for good health. Without restorative sleep, your other efforts won’t reach their full impact potential.
Here are a few tips to promote high-quality sleep.
KEEP IT DARK
Light from charging electronics, street lights, or even the sun can prevent the hormonal shifts that allow for deep sleep.
Remove any devices that give off light. Use dark tape to cover the power indicator of any devices that can’t be removed from your room.
If you live where street lights are prevalent, or in a northern climate where sunrise comes before/sunset comes after, your natural sleep schedule; then use blackout curtains to ensure that light doesn’t prevent you from reaching deep sleep.
KEEP IT COOL
Our core body temperature must drop to reach all stages of sleep, maximizing restorative potential. It helps if the room is cool, but not too cold.
Many find it soothing to sleep with a weighted blanket, which may require a thermostat adjustment.
KEEP IT CLEAN
Many say that our external environment will influence our internal environment. This is probably more true for some than others, but wherever you fall on the spectrum, it’s worth experimenting with taking 5-10 minutes to ensure that your room is neat before you get into bed.
Put clothes away. Straighten up your dresser. Make any adjustments that will create a more relaxing environment.
TURN THEM OFF
Screens, that is!
For at least an hour before you get into bed, give your eyes a break. Avoid over-stimulating tv or movies. Don’t read on a back-lit device.
If you “must” use a device before bed, at the very least wear some blue-light filtering glasses to let your brain avoid the overstimulation.
As mentioned above, you spend more uninterrupted time in your bedroom than you do in any other room. That’s why air quality when you sleep is important.
I cannot recommend the use of a high quality air filter enough!
Indoor air polution is a real thing – we are surrounded by chemicals in our homes. A few examples include fragrances from detergents or fabric softeners, wall paint, carpet or flooring, the fire retardant chemicals on furniture. They’re everywhere!
A good air filter will reduce the incidence of those chemicals becoming incorporated into your tissues.
In my house, we have an EnviroKlenz air purifier in every bedroom. I make no commission by recommending this product, but I do recommend it often, so mention my name (or the Montana Association of Naturopathic Physicians) for a 20% discount.
Do your best not to medicate your sleep.
Sleep medications, including the over-the-counter ones like Benadryl and PM cold medicines, might make us think we’re sleeping; but they interfere with the body’s ability to enter the restorative phases of sleep. That’s why so many of them leave us feeling hung over in the morning.
Alcohol and THC have the same effect as sleep medications – they may render you unconscious, but unconscious does not equal asleep.
Without restorative sleep, our immune function gets compromised leaving you more at risk of getting sick. Additionally, lack of restorative sleep complicates weight! Studies show that as little as 1 hr less sleep than needed alters our hormones in ways that make us 1 – more hungry, 2 – less satisfied by the food we eat, AND 3 – more likely to store, rather than burn, what we consume. That’s three separate and compounding ways in which insufficient sleep leads to weight gain, and that’s a big deal!
If you’ve been using a “sleep agent,” it may take some time to wean yourself off, but it’s worth the effort.
A few things can help with sleep quality. Unlike THC, CBD can help sleep quality when used in the right amount. Take too much, and you’ll have insomnia. 5HTP and Melatonin can also help with sleep quality. In my private practice, I find better luck with 5HTP as Melatonin tends to leave some people feeling groggy in the morning.
**If you take an SSRI, consult your doctor before taking 5HTP and do not take more than 50mg.