8 hours of sleep? Professor Daniel Lieberman, suggests here that 7 hours is more the norm.
Valerian might help with sleep, but studies have been inconsistent.
Research has shown that maintaining sufficient levels of Vitamin B3 (niacin) will help with sleep via prostaglandin. Here are dietary sources of niacin.
Vitamin B5 deficiency is rare, but may include symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia, depression, irritability, vomiting, stomach pains, burning feet, and upper respiratory infections.
A lack of Vitamin B6 has been linked to symptoms of insomnia and depression. Vitamin B6 aids in the production of the hormones serotonin and melatonin, both of which are important to sound, restful sleep, and also to mood.
Two weeks of cyanocobalamin supplementation (3mg/day) resulted in the expected increase in serum vitamin B12 levels in healthy adults but did not influence their sleep wake activity.
The hazards of sleep deprivation
This is what chronic insufficient sleep does to you. A new study shows that sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality are associated with a decreased desire to help others. There’s a link between poor sleep and certain negative health outcomes(opens in new tab) — type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and depression, to name just a few.
Sleep deprivation alters the structure of DNA inside immune cells and increases the number of immune cells, which causes them to overreact and spark inflammation. Catching up on sleep does not reverse this effect. Consistently losing an hour and a half of sleep a night potentially increases the risk.
Sleep loss can trigger viral loneliness.
Poor sleep quality, including too much or too little sleep, daytime sleepiness, and snoring, may be associated with an increased risk of developing glaucoma, a condition that causes irreversible vision loss.
Chronic insomnia prevents proper disposal of toxins in the brain. Deep sleep is especially good for taking out the trash. Deep sleep is when the glymphatic system most effectively removes waste. This study of 62 older, cognitively healthy adults showed that individuals with brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s performed better on memory function tests as they got more deep sleep. The lowest incident risk of cognitive disorders was found at the sleep duration of 7-8 h per day.
REM sleep is when memories are cemented into the neural architecture of the brain.
During sleep, relevant connections are further strengthened, and irrelevant ones weakened. In case of sleep deprivation, this weakening of irrelevant connections does not take place. Cortical excitability remains increased, which leads to impaired signal transmission. New, external stimuli and information can therefore only be processed poorly or not at all and learning becomes more difficult.
When you are in deep sleep: Your neurons will go quiet. A few seconds later, blood will flow out of your head. Then, a watery liquid called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) will flow in, washing through your brain in rhythmic, pulsing waves. Cerebral spinal fluid surrounds blood vessels during sleep to remove waste from the brain. Thus, deep sleep may help prevent amyloid buildup.
Older people with insomnia are at greater risk of developing memory decline and long-term cognitive impairment such as dementia. Sleeplessness accelerates the spread through the brain of toxic clumps of tau - a harbinger of brain damage and decisive step along the path to dementia. IGF-1 may help one cope with sleep deprivation.
Even one night of poor deep sleep → a 10 percent increase in amyloid-β levels.
When young, healthy men were deprived of just one night of sleep, they had higher levels of tau — a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease. Sleep deprivation for as little as one night ↑ amyloid beta levels 30%, ↑ tau levels 50%.
When we don’t sleep well or often enough, we function poorly. Sleep is when memories are consolidated. A person’s ability to think and operate effectively can be evident if sleep is disrupted for even one night. As we fall asleep, our brain experiences a pattern of brain waves known as “spine spindles,” which, according to the Sleep Foundation, are not fully understood, but are thought to “play a role in learning and integrating new memories”.
Alcohol is a terrible sleep aid
This study of 21 participants composed of healthy 18-21-year-old social drinkers who had consumed less than seven standard drinks per week during the previous 30 days showed an increase in frontal alpha power. According to the researchers, this suggested a disruption of the normal properties of NREM slow wave sleep.
This study of 93 healthy adults in their 20s (59 women and 34 men) who were college students or recent college graduates showed that alcohol disrupted sleep more in women than in men. Women’s total sleep time was reduced by 19 minutes, sleep efficiency decreased by 4%, and there was a 15-minute increase in the time they spent awake during the night after drinking alcohol, compared to the placebo.
150 adults (age 19–89 years) were followed for 60+ days as part of an intensive experience sampling study wherein participants provided daily reports of their alcohol use, sleep duration, and sleep quality. A significant, negative within-person association was observed between sleep quality and alcohol use. Sleep quality was lower on nights following alcohol use.
This study of 10 healthy, male university students with a mean age of 21.6 years showed that alcohol suppresses the high-frequency power during sleep in a dosage-dependent manner. Although the first half of sleep after alcohol intake looked good on the EEG, the result of the assessment regarding the autonomic nerve system shows that drinking leads to insomnia rather than good sleep.
This study of 24 participants (12 female, 12 male), healthy 18- to 21-year-old social drinkers who had consumed less than seven standard drinks per week during the previous 30 days showed that alcohol increased Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) delta power during NREM. However, there was a simultaneous increase in frontal alpha power, which is thought to reflect disturbed sleep.
Even one or two drinks can directly impact sleep quality. The more someone drinks, the more significant the impact.
Benzodiazepine sleeping pills are a cognitive hazard. Benzodiazepine sleeping pills may cause depression.
Professor Matthew Walker suggests a worry journal, then goes on to explain the hazards of sleeping pills.
Ashwagandha has been tested in mice. It may work via triethylene glycol. Ashwagandha may also work via stress reduction. Dr. Brad Stanfield futher pointed out the stress and sleep benefits of ashwagandha in this video. Chronic stress can mess up the circadian oscillation.
In magnesium deficiency, chronic insomnia is one of the main, central symptoms. A high magnesium, low aluminum diet has been found to be associated with deeper, less interrupted sleep. These two minerals should be taken together for best results: calcium and magnesium.
Calorie restriction slows the age-related decline in plasma melatonin levels.
Caffeine is not your friend at bed time.
Caffeine can interfere with sleep 8-10 hours later.
Delaying caffeine intake by an hour or two in the morning may minimize the afternoon crash and also minimize the caffeine one might want in the afternoon.
Caffeine has a half-life of 6 hours, a quart-life of 12 hours. That cup of coffee at noon is still circulating at 25% at midnight. One cup of coffee any time of day may result in increased physical activity (good) but also less sleep (bad).
Marijuana is not your friend at bed time.
The brain is most active during REM sleep and most dreaming is thought to occur during this stage. Numerous studies have shown that using marijuana before bed reduces REM sleep. Researchers believe this is why marijuana users report fewer dreams. In fact, studies show that marijuana lengthens the time the brain spends in deep sleep, which leads to less REM sleep.
Fifteen milligrams THC appears to be sedative, while 15 mg CBD appears to have alerting properties as it increased awake activity during sleep and counteracted the residual sedative activity of 15 mg THC.
Insomnia and greater sleep latency are associated with using higher CBD cannabis.
Cannabis’s effect on sleep may differ depending on whether you have depression or anxiety. In order words, if you have depression, cannabis may help you sleep – but if you don’t, cannabis may hurt.
The acute effects of cannabis use on sleep appear to be a disruption to the sleep cycle reflecting a reduction in time spent in slow wave sleep and an increase in time spent in random eye movement sleep.
(−)δ 9 THC was found to significantly decrease the time it takes to fall asleep in physically healthy insomniacs. Once asleep, interruptions of sleep were not significantly altered over the whole night. The (−)δ 9 THC tended to be associated with some decrease in awakenings in the first half of the night. The most significant side effect was a “hangover” phenomenon, or continued “high” the next day, with some residual of temporal disorganization. It increased in intensity and duration with increase in dosage. Constantly using cannabis for sleep can lead to cannabis use disorder.
Chamomile can help one fall asleep, and may have other healthful properties.
Traditionally, chamomile preparations such as tea and essential oil aromatherapy have been used to treat insomnia and to induce sedation (calming effects). Chamomile is widely regarded as a mild tranquillizer and sleep-inducer. Sedative effects may be due to the flavonoid, apigenin that binds to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain (68). Studies in preclinical models have shown anticonvulsant and CNS depressant effects respectively.
Oral administration of chamomile extract had sedative properties in sleep quality of 77 hospitalized elderly patients in nursing homes.
A 2016 study(opens in new tab) of new mothers found that volunteers who drank chamomile tea every day for two weeks slept better and tended to have fewer symptoms of depression than subjects who didn’t drink the tea.
A robust, high amplitude circadian oscillation/rhythm
Circadian rhythm disorders are problems with your circadian rhythm, the “internal body clock” that keeps your biological processes in step. Your normal circadian rhythm is set by the cycle of light and dark over 24 hours. It plays a key role in things like when you sleep and when you wake. Patterns of brain waves, hormone production, cell regrowth, and other activities are linked to this cycle. Compelling evidence supports of a link among circadian rhythms, sleep and metabolism, which suggests a role for mitochondria. These organelles play a significant role in energy metabolism via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and several mitochondrial enzymes display circadian oscillations.
Either disruption of the endogenous circadian control mechanism or misalignment between internal circadian rhythms with the 24-hour outside environment would result in circadian rhythm disorders with adverse consequences in sleep and many other aspects of human health, including metabolism dysfunction, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular abnormalities, gastrointestinal and genitourinary dysfunctions10, 11.
Coping with shift work.
Circadian rhythm of hormones is extinguished during prolonged physical stress, sleep and energy deficiency in young men.
Laughter helped nursing home residents.
This study of 22 healthy children (8.9 ± 2.2 years old) and 20 adults (41.7 ± 4.4 years old) showed that subjective sleepiness in children exposed to bluish light was significantly lower than that in children exposed to reddish light. In children, blue‐enriched LED lighting has a greater impact on melatonin suppression and it inhibits the increase in sleepiness during night. Light with a low color temperature is recommended at night, particularly for children’s sleep and circadian rhythm.
Just walking into a supermarket or pharmacy late in the evening will expose one to 10,000 lux within 10-15 minutes, decreasing one’s endogenous melatonin, making it difficult to sleep a short time later. A mere two-hour exposure to blue light in the evening can inhibit melatonin release, with the strongest suppression occurring at shorter wavelengths. Of course, the best way to avoid this negative impact of blue light is to limit screen exposure close to bedtime, but when such exposure is unavoidable, melatonin supplementation may help to counteract the harmful effects on sleep.
Melatonin may help normalize circadian rhythms. Consider temporarily taking melatonin (see below) two hours before bed time. Here is WebMD on melatonin.
A strong circadian oscillation works via a lower skin temperature when it is time for bed.
Here is instructions for resetting the circadian clock.
People with circadian rhythm disorders may have the following problems:
- Falling asleep
- Staying asleep
- Waking up too early and not being able to go back to sleep
- Getting sleep but not feeling refreshed by it
- Feeling alert during the day
Things that can cause circadian rhythm disorders include:
- Shift work
- Pregnancy
- Time zone changes
- Medications
- Changes in routine, such as staying up late or sleeping in
- Health conditions including Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease
- Mental health disorders
- Menopause
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
The systemic influence of circadian rhythms on tissue homeostasis, sleep regulation, and behavior is well established; with direct links to aging. Older adults may especially benefit from a circadian-friendly lifestyle.
It has long been known that bright light, late in the day can interfere with sleep. This is due to a disturbance in one’s circadian rhythm, when the body is fooled into thinking is it day instead of night. Bright light is a zeitgeber (giver of time). Electronic back-lit devices like cell phones, tablets, readers, and computers emit short-wavelength enriched light, also known as blue light. Fluorescent and LED lights4 also emit blue light, which has been shown to reduce or delay the natural production of melatonin in the evening and decrease feelings of sleepiness. Blue light can also reduce the quality of sleep and the amount of time you spend in slow-wave and rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, two stages of the sleep cycle that are vital for cognitive functioning. This may reduce next morning alertness. Blue light from LEDs is stronger that from OLEDs. Glasses or clip-ons that filter blue light (make everything a shade of amber) in the evening can help with sleep. There are other options for nighttime computer users. The aged eye may be opaque to blue light.
Light from above is most likely to shut down endogenous melatonin production. Dr. Roger Seheult explains why in this short video.
Food intake also affect the circadian rhythm. Dr. Satchin Panda explains his discovery of how food timing drive the circadian rhythm. As Dr. Panda explained in this video, light timing affect the brain’s rhythm, while food timing affect the rhythms in the rest of the body. Both should be in sync for optimum health.
Dr. Satchidananda Panda explains here that timing of food intake may even overcome light’s influence on circadian rhythm. Temporal time-restricted feeding (more than light timing) may help keep the circadian rhythm strong. Foods that trigger insulin spike late in the day are most likely to disrupt the circadian oscillation. A high-fat diet can disrupt the circadian oscillation. No late evening snacking!
Vigorously exercising too late in the day, or caffeine too late in the day can also shift the circadian oscillation.
This double blind, clinical trial on 89 subjects (44 in intervention group and 45 people in placebo group) showed that a 50,000-unit vitamin D supplement, one in a fortnight for 8 weeks improves sleep quality, reduces sleep latency, raises sleep duration and improved subjective sleep quality in people of 20-50 year-old with sleep disorder.
Exercise
Exercise may counteract the negative effects of poor sleep. A 2022 study found that being physically active for at least 25 minutes a day can erase the risk of early death associated with too much sleep or trouble falling asleep. And a 2021 study found that lower levels of physical activity may exacerbate the impact of poor sleep on early death, heart disease, and cancer. The latest such study, from China, suggests that higher volumes of exercise can virtually eliminate the risk of early death associated with sleeping too little or too long.
Exercise makes one less likely to wake up to pee. Cutting salt also may help. Some say that kegel (pelvic floor) exercise may help.
Exploding head syndrome is not worth worrying about.
A high–fat (fast food) diet may interfere with sleep. Eat more fiber, less saturated fat and less sugar.
Dr. Jin W. Sung tells us, in this video, that sleep deprivation induces neuroinflammation and impairment of learning and memory. Sleep disturbance promotes microglial (immune cells of the brain) activation and results in anxiety and learning impairment. Both hypoglycemia (via cortisol) will disrupt sleep in the middle of the night. Insulin resistance/high blood sugar will cause frequent urination during the night. Blood sugar problems is probably the biggest cause of insomnia.
Omega-3 fatty acids may improve sleep. Low levels of omega-3 fatty acids are associated with sleep problems in children and obstructive sleep apnea in adults. Low levels of DHA are also linked to lower levels of the hormone melatonin, which helps you fall asleep. Studies in both children and adults reveal that supplementing with omega-3 increases the length and quality of sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea can result in a loss of cognitive function.
Gratitude is associated with greater well-being. That sentiment and those benefits can be cultivated. Those who recorded things that had made them grateful had an improved sense of well-being, slept better and more, felt a greater sense of optimism and connectedness to others.
Gut health is important for sleep
Good bacteria in the gut might help avoid sleep disorders. Short-chain fatty acids (acetate, propionate and butyrate) show effects on several neural functions, such as enhancing sleep (10), suppressing the activity of orexigenic neurons that express neuropeptide Y in the hypothalamus (89), and modulating the signaling triggered by the ghrelin receptor (129), contributing to circadian rhythm and appetite control. See this blog post on gut health.
Scientists investigating the relationship between sleep and the microbiome are finding that the microbial ecosystem may affect sleep and sleep-related physiological functions in a number of different ways: shifting circadian rhythms, altering the body’s sleep-wake cycle, affecting hormones that regulate sleep and wakefulness. Waking up once nightly at least four times a month was significantly associated with pain, nausea, dysphagia, diarrhea, loose stools, urgency and a feeling of anal blockage. Trouble falling asleep was significantly associated with rectal urgency. Associations were independent of gender, age, lifestyle factors and BMI. Changing which microbes are in the gut by altering diet has the potential to help those who have trouble sleeping.
Thriving healthy gut bacteria is linked to better sleep. Bad gut bacteria is linked to poor sleep. Microbes produce sleep-regulating hormones. Poor sleep could be a symptom of irritable bowel syndrome. Diets heavy on sugars, fatty- and highly-processed foods can alter the make-up of your gut microbiome, reducing the abundance of beneficial microorganisms, and interfere with deep slow-wave sleep. Limiting these foods, and replacing them with whole, unprocessed nutrient-rich foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, can help restore and protect the beneficial bacteria in your gut. A diet rich in whole fruits and vegetables is the foundation of healthy living, and healthy sleep. The single greatest predictor of a healthy gut is a diversity of plants in one’s diet. This blog post on gut health may help.
Insomnia symptoms were associated with an increased risk for stroke, according to a population-cohort study using data from the Health and Retirement Study. Chronic conditions such as metabolic/cardiovascular diseases or depression may affect sleep, they are known to increase the risk of stroke, and insomnia is commonly reported by patients suffering from these.
Magnesium plays a key role in the bodily function that regulates sleep. Insomnia is one of the symptoms of magnesium deficiency. A double-blind randomized clinical trial conducted in 46 elderly subjects showed that supplementation of magnesium appears to improve subjective measures of insomnia such as sleep efficiency, sleep time and sleep onset latency, early morning awakening, and likewise, insomnia objective measures such as concentration of serum renin, melatonin, and serum cortisol, in elderly people.
Endogenous nocturnal melatonin production has been estimated to be about 10–80 µg per night, the daytime production being significantly less. The metabolism of melatonin is rapid, and its half-life in humans varies between 10 and 60 min following exogenous administration.
Melatonin, endogenous or administered, also shuts down the pancreas, so insulin is suppressed. This is another reason not to eat starchy or sugary meals close to bed time.
From WebMD: Melatonin can affect your body temperature and lower nighttime blood pressure if you have hypertension.
Melatonin dosing has been increasing over the decades from 1 mg to as high a 5 mg, with little research to support this.
Melatonin doesn’t mix well with certain medications, including:
- Anticonvulsants
- Birth control drugs
- Blood thinners
- Blood pressure drugs
- Central nervous system depressants
- Diabetes medications
- Diazepam (Valium, Valtoco)
- Drugs that lower your seizure threshold
- Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
- Immunosuppressants
Using a weighted blanket at bedtime may boost the body’s production of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin. Such a blanket may be too warm for many. A heavy (buckwheat-filled) pillow held to ones belly might function similarly.
Restless leg syndrome (RLS)
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a condition that causes an uncontrollable urge to move the legs, usually because of an uncomfortable sensation. It typically happens in the evening or nighttime hours when you’re sitting or lying down. Moving eases the unpleasant feeling temporarily.
Magnesium may help with restless leg syndrome.
Melatonin exerts an inhibitory effect on central dopamine secretion suggest that melatonin might be implicated in the worsening of RLS symptoms in the evening and during the night. This effect of melatonin is dose-dependent. So, try reducing the dose of melatonin.
RLS may be associated with iron deficiency. A patient’s iron stores may be deficient without significant anemia. Recent studies have shown that decreased iron stores (indicated by serum ferritin levels below 50 ng per mL [50 μg per L] can exacerbate RLS symptoms.11,12 Those who benefit from supplemental iron might try a tiny bit of iron, along with a bit of vitamin C, shortly (as in minutes) before bed.
The Sleep Foundation additionally suggests zinc, vitamin D, and folate.
Sleep apnea should be suspected if one awakens frequently in the night.
Sleep disorders may be associated with primary mitochondrial diseases. Mitochondrial oxidative stress may determine the need for sleep. Calorie restriction, protein restriction, and methionine restriction lowers mitochondrial oxidative stress.
Minimize sugar and refined carbs. A low fiber and high saturated fat and sugar intake is associated with lighter, less restorative sleep with more arousals. Significantly less slow-wave sleep (S.W.S.) was found after consuming a high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet.
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