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Dr. Mercola
February 16 2008
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How to Achieve Deep, Uninterrupted Sleep

sleep, restAmericans now get about 25 percent less sleep than they did a century ago. This isn’t just a matter of fatigue, it causes serious damage to your body.

Sleep deprivation can alter your levels of thyroid and stress hormones, which play a part in everything from your memory and immune system to your heart and metabolism. Over time, lack of sleep can lead to:
  • Weight gain
  • Depression
  • High blood sugar levels and an increased risk of diabetes
  • Brain damage
Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to get the sleep your body craves. Here are 10 to start with (and the link below has 14 more):

1. Sprinkle just-washed sheets and pillowcases with lavender water, and then iron them before making your bed. The scent is proven to promote relaxation.

2. Hide your clock, so that its glow won’t disturb you and make sure there is no light coming from other sources including your windows as this will seriously impair your body’s ability to produce melatonin.

3. Choose the right pillow -- neck pillows, which resemble a rectangle with a depression in the middle, can enhance the quality of your sleep and reduce neck pain.

4. Paint your bedroom sage green, or another soothing color, which will provide a visual reminder of sleep.

5. Move your bed away from outside walls, which will help cut down on noise.

6. Kick your dog or cat out of your bedroom -- studies have shown that they snore!

7. Take a hot bath 90 to 120 minutes before bedtime; it increases your core body temperature, and when it abruptly drops when you get out of the bath, it signals your body that you are ready for sleep.

8. Keep a notepad at your bedside -- if you wake in the middle of the night with your mind going, you can transfer your to-do list to the page and return to sleep unworried.

9. Put heavier curtains over your windows -- even the barely noticeable light from streetlights, a full moon, or your neighbor‘s house can interfere with the circadian rhythm changes you need to fall asleep.

10. Eat a handful of walnuts before bed -- they’re a good source of tryptophan, a sleep-enhancing amino acid.


Dr. Mercola Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Before the invention of the light bulb, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. Nowadays, a National Sleep Foundation (NSF) poll found that Americans sleep just under 7 hours per night, on average, during the week and about 7.5 hours on the weekends.

While I don’t believe there is a hard-and-fast rule as to how long you must sleep, it is crucial that you do get enough, and this means listening to your body.

Unfortunately, sleep problems -- such as waking up too early, not being able to fall asleep or not being able to stay asleep -- are at near epidemic levels. One NSF poll found that more than half of the adults they surveyed experienced one or more of these symptoms.

Why is Sleep so Important?

Of course, you know instinctively that sleep is essential just by the way you feel when you don’t get enough of it. But sleep is very complex, and sleep deprivation can impact your body in a number of ways:
  • It can make you fat: People who sleep less than seven hours a night tend to have a higher body mass index (BMI) than people who sleep more. This could be because sleep deprivation alters metabolism. Leptin, the hormone that signals satiety, falls while ghrelin, which signals hunger, rises -- and this boosts your appetite.
  • It may increase your risk of cancer: How well you sleep can seriously alter the balance of hormones in your body. This can then disrupt your sleep/wake cycle, also called your circadian rhythm. A disrupted circadian rhythm may influence cancer progression through shifts in hormones like melatonin, which your brain makes during sleep.
What Makes Sleeping so Difficult?

There is no one answer to this question, but there are some common factors that can easily disturb your night’s rest:
  • Racing thoughts: Your worries can easily keep you awake if you don’t know how to overcome them (for this I highly recommend using the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to release your negative emotions).
  • TV, computers and video games: Not only do these electronic items make it more difficult to fall asleep, but they also keep you from getting high-quality sleep if you fall asleep with them on. In fact, many teens are now getting “junk sleep” for this very reason (but, of course, teens are not the only ones falling asleep with the TV or computer on).
How to Get a Sound Night’s Sleep

The Reader’s Digest article above has some excellent sleep tips that are worth trying out, and I have also compiled my top 33 Secrets for a Good Night’s Sleep.

If you have trouble sleeping, please take a few minutes to read through this list, as it has emotional, physical and practical solutions to help you overcome your sleepless nights.
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Community Comments ( 92 )
 		Comment on this Article
  
  
wassily
 [ Joined on 04/07 ] [ Posted on January 29, 2008 ]
9 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
Although I love sleeping, I'm not convinced by this eight hours accepted requirement.  Before the industrial revolution, the seasons and traditional work guided our sleeping hours, and before that, when we were hunter-gatherers, I've read that our sleep was punctuated by periods of alertness against being eaten alive by some sabre-toothed beast or wolf.  I do think that this 8 hours solid sleep is man made because of the major shift in Western society to organised/factory labour.  But I don't think I'm going to test my theory as to what our 'natural' sleep should be - Iike my 8 hours too much ;-)
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Maj_203
 [ Joined on 03/07 ]  [ Posted on January 29, 2008]
2 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Eight hours of sleep is actually not enough for me. My body prefers nine. I'm not really quite sure why, but I sleep in batches of three hours. My naps are three hours long, I can survive on six hours of sleep; I do best on nine. If I get only eight (or seven), I'm a wreck.

Our bodies are so mysterious...

:)
Mercola
  
Pat Ormsby
 [ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on February 16, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola

I've heard that we have a nocturnal cyclic pattern of about 1.5 hours, proceeding into very deep sleep and then coming out briefly, and if you are pressed for time, it is best to aim for a multiple of that, i.e., 3 hours, 4.5 hours, etc.  In the winter I like to sleep 9 hours, and in the summer, 7.5, though if I'm busy I do fine with 6.
  
  
wrloyd12x
 [ Joined on 01/08 ] [ Posted on January 29, 2008 ]
9 Points        
   
 
Novice User
Rub magnesium oil on the bottom of the feet before going to bed at least 20 mintues  before.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Reesacat
 [ Joined on 01/07 ]  [ Posted on January 29, 2008]
5 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
wrloyd12x, I have some and I will try that tonight and see how it goes!
Thank you for the idea.
Mercola
  
Reesacat
 [ Joined on 01/07 ]  [ Posted on January 30, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Slept better last night.  Will try it again tonight.
Mercola
  
virtue
 [ Joined on 09/07 ]  [ Posted on February 16, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Where do you buy magnesium oil? I have tried on the internet and in the health stores and no one seems to know what I am talking about!
Mercola
  
Reesacat
 [ Joined on 01/07 ]  [ Posted on February 18, 2008]
       
   
Savvy User
  Mercola

I get my magnesium oil from:

www.globallight.net/Magnesium_30.html
  
  
shaneperrone
 [ Joined on 11/07 ] [ Posted on January 29, 2008 ]
9 Points        
   
 
Apprentice User
i put cardboard to hide the glow of my alarm clock, one thing i finds that helps a lot to go to bed quicker is to take a lot of deep breathes in and out the nose (it was in my yoga book as a relaxation part added into stretches) and to find the best sleep posture for you. I for one sleep best on my back pretty much straight up and down like a log.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Reesacat
 [ Joined on 01/07 ]  [ Posted on January 29, 2008]
11 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Shaneperrone, that is a great idea!  Thank you-it is simple, easy to do, and will make a big change with very little effort.

I have been reading your posts and have been very impressed with your dedication to natural health.  You are going to be a wonderful Naturopath!

I come from a medical family and it is hard to go outside mainstream medicine.  Setting a good example by practicing what you advocate is a good way to help introduce new ways of thinking.  Keep up the good work!
Mercola
  
SpartyOn
 [ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on January 29, 2008]
5 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
In addition to breathing, I visualize going into a house, dressed in comfortable clothes, into an all white bedroom with a very soft and comfortable bed, and no distractions.  (always the same visual)  I am usually asleep before I even finish going through the motions.
Mercola
  
Maj_203
 [ Joined on 03/07 ]  [ Posted on January 29, 2008]
2 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Shane Perrone said: i put cardboard to hide the glow of my alarm clock

The day I started covering my alarm clock was the day that I fell asleep without trouble. Not only did the glow bother me, but I would get anxious if I wasn't asleep by a certain time, so I'd stay awake looking at the stupid clock and thinking, "Panic! I'm not asleep yet! Oh, no!"

When I visit family and friends, I consistently cover their clocks, too. It's raised a few eyebrows, but I don't care so long as I sleep well.

:-)
Mercola
  
shaneperrone
 [ Joined on 11/07 ]  [ Posted on January 30, 2008]
6 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
Reesacat

Thanks for the kind words :) I agree with you on actions do speak louder than words (especially when you are the only one without a cold all season and offer advice that conventional medicine hasn't touched on)

SpartyOn

That is a good tip, i have spoken over the internet to some people who can meditate so well they fall asleep on a dime, the mind is powerful :D I should try techniques and see how well i can mentally relax quickly.

Maj

I know so many people like that! I have done that in a past too once in a while. It was kinda annoying trying to tell yourself "ok, i'm going to fall asleep in 10 minutes so i can get my x amount of hours" then the time would pass and it would just make you groan. Before you know it, an hour could easily slip by rolling around in bed.
Mercola
  
Reesacat
 [ Joined on 01/07 ]  [ Posted on January 30, 2008]
3 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Shaneperrone, have you looked at EFT to help fall asleep?  It is an acupressure tapping technique on meridians to correct glitches in your energy flow.

Dr. Mercola has some excellent articles, and the home website is:
  www.emofree.com

As an RN, I wish I would have had this tool for my patients.  I am thinking it would be useful for you as you continue your studies.
Mercola
  
Phantom O' Banjo
 [ Joined on 09/06 ]  [ Posted on January 30, 2008]
3 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Since I am working on correcting my vision palming and the big swing help me sleep.
  
  
Katie B
 [ Joined on 01/08 ] [ Posted on January 29, 2008 ]
8 Points        
   
 
Novice User
Since my work schedule has changed (I now have to go in at eight in the morning versus four in the afternoon), I have put on weight because I am not an early morning person (I do not get enough sleep, even when I go to bed at a reasonable hour.  My father and his mother, even though she grew up without electricity, were the same way.  Not everyone's bodies run on the same timetable and Mercola does say for us to listen to our bodies).  I have found that reading for at least fifteen minutes before bed (in bed) helps me relax and I sleep much better.  Also (and Mercola mentions this in another article) is to keep your feet warm and since I don't like wearing socks (as he suggests), I make sure to have an extra blanket draped over the latter half of my body.  Also, not eating or drinking anything at least three hours before bedtime is very beneficial, not just because you won't have to relieve yourself in the middle of the night, but because all that food on your stomach so late isn't very comfortable.  I think I will try sprinkling my sheets with lavender water, but as for using a pillow, I don't.  I like to lay flat.  I get great sleep (what of it I do get) despite having a cuckoo clock in there.