Not getting enough sleep, according to Chris Kresser, is associated with a variety of symptoms and diseases, including symptoms like insulin resistance, heart disease and reduced cognitive function throughout the day.
Most people don’t get enough sleep because they don’t make enough time for it. But some people (insomniacs) just can’t, no matter how hard they try.
According to research, about one in every three adults struggles with sleeplessness at night and some time or another.
Often people wake up and then can’t get back to sleep after a certain hour. Other times, people go to bed, but their mind is racing and they are worried about all the things that they have to do the next day.
Fortunately, there are a host of things you can do to combat your bodies resistance to dial down and get more sleep.
Eat More Carbs For Dinner
Guys, I’d love to ride this one out every night of the week, but let’s remember this is a Boston lifestyle blog and I am in no way medically certified.
Though the explanation for this one is quite scientific, let’s dive a bit deeper to understand how lovely carbs can potentially help you get a better night’s sleep.
To get to sleep, your brain synthesizes the so-called “sleep hormone,” melatonin. This hormone is then circulated around your brain by the pineal gland, helping your neurons move into a sleep state.
To make melatonin, however, your body needs an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan can be consumed in the form of protein-containing foods, like beans.
But it turns out that tryptophan isn’t much use to the body unless it’s coupled with carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, according to Kresser, increases the availability of tryptophan to the pineal gland.
The more tryptophan there is, the more melatonin is produced and, therefore, the more sleep you’ll get.
Make Sure Your Bedroom Is Cold
Have you ever noticed that you get the best night’s sleep when the outside room is cold and dark? One of the reasons for this has to do with the way that our bodies evolved.
We are designed to go to sleep at night by reducing our core body temperature. The lowered body temperature then allows us to go into a deeper sleep than would be possible were our body temperature to remain high.
If the sleeping environment is too warm, our body temperature cannot fall, and we risk losing out on any high-quality sleep that we might get.
If getting to sleep is a big problem for you, it might be worthwhile to keep the temps cooler in the winter, and have an air-conditioning unit installed in your bedroom so that you can keep temperatures down to a cooler temperature during Summer evenings.
Change Up Your Bed
The Amerisleep brand began in 2007. Since then, it has specialized in producing a range of memory foam style mattresses that offer a different comfort profile to regular mattresses.
One of the things that these types of mattresses can help with is people recovering from injury. Often people with injuries find it difficult to sleep because of the pain that they experience when they lay down.
After a few weeks of not sleeping well, this pain causes a disruption in their bedtime routine which can persist, even after recovery.
Comfort, therefore, is an important consideration for anybody suffering from temporary insomnia.
