Getting a Good Night's Sleep

Good morning! Dr. Kelly here. Let’s talk about getting a good night’s sleep.

I hope you remembered to turn the clocks back this weekend.

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to your health.

Not sleeping causes inflammation in the body.

There are several factors that play a role in making sure you do get a good night’s sleep.

Some key factors to help:

Getting 8 hours of sleep from 10pm-6am is better than getting 8 hours of sleep from 2am-10am.

Your body has a better chance of getting into a deeper sleep the earlier you go to bed.

• Make sure your room is dark. Light pollution affects circadian rhythm and suppresses melatonin production.
• Cooler room. Something in the upper 60’s is most ideal.
• Taking an Epsom salt bath before bed has a couple of positive effects on sleep.

First there is Magnesium in Epsom salt. Magnesium helps your body relax. The more relaxed you are, the easier it is for you to go to sleep.

Secondly, a bath raises your body temperature. This gives you a greater range of temperature to drop. This is especially beneficial when the room is cool.

• You can enhance this by using 1-2 cups of Epson salts, ½ – 1 cup of baking soda (it helps to alkalinize a stress out acidic body), and 10 drops of lavender oil (to lower cortisol)
• Get into a routine that helps you relax. This routine can be what is best for you. Is that deep breathing, quiet time, or calming music.

Getting relaxed can be as easy as avoiding a stressful book or tv show.

I like to add a good supportive mattress and pillow.

The goal is to keep your spine in its proper alignment.

Kids need good spine support too. Look for a pillow that keeps their spine aligned.

A supportive mattress plays a role in a good night’s sleep.

It can be tough to find a good bed. Some people like a softer, other like a firmer mattress.

I recommend starting with a firmer bed to help support the spine. Then if you find it too hard, you can easily add a mattress topper to provide more softness.

I use Quality Sleep Shop in the La Grande area. Mattresses are made in the USA, and they have less off gas.

Ideally you spend 8 hours sleeping in bed. Your nose is right up against the pillow and mattress. Breathing in allergens or toxins for several hours is bad for your health.

I want to go a little deeper into Magnesium.

Magnesium improves sleep efficiency, sleep time, falling asleep, early waking up, supports melatonin and cortisol.   

Melatonin is very important with your sleep cycle. It contributes to the circadian rhythm and your sleep-wake cycle.

There are formulations of melatonin that can be a direct amount, or a time released amount of melatonin. If you wake up in the middle of the night, a time released form would be better.

How much melatonin is the question. You can take as little as .5mg of Melatonin.

I recommend starting with 3mg. See how you feel. If you are tired in the morning, cut it in half. If it doesn’t help, take 4.5mg. Increase and see how you feel.  You need to listen to your body.

If you are having a difficult time getting up in the morning, it could be your cortisol level.

Cortisol is highest in the AM giving you that boost to wake up and get going. It naturally decreases as the day goes on.

If you are getting a spike at night, it could be keeping you up.

Taking some protein at night can help keep your sugar levels stained overnight.

There can be several issues with you getting a good night’s sleep. Let’s help guide you to your Sweet Dreams.

You can reach out by responding to this email or text us SLEEP if you want to discuss it with Dr. Kelly. Even better, ask me about it on your next visit.

Yours in Health Naturally,

Dr. Kelly