Sleep
Sleep. We all do it but for some of us it comes easier than others. The Science is now becoming very clear that when we sleep, there is an extensive and impressive combination of night time processes taking place within our bodies, and disrupting these biological processes through lack of sleep or poor sleep, can have very serious consequences on our health.
Sleep scientists continue to produce evidence that good sleep, should be a non negotiable when it comes to looking after our health. The de-valuing of sleep in the modern world is fast becoming one of our leading public health crises.
Our immune and detoxification processes are in full force overnight. Our Brains are committing experiences and learnings to memory and our creative processes are being inspired through REM (Dream) sleep. Not sleeping, puts the body under enormous stress which affects hormones such as Cortisol, which in turn can promote chronic illness like Diabetes and Cancer and we now increasingly understand that lack of sleep is a driver for Dementia. Disturbances in emotional regulation and increases in anxiety are well known to be associated with lack of sleep. All major mental health conditions in fact, have links with poor sleep. Virtually no aspect of our health can escape the detriments of sleep disturbance.
There are many different reasons people struggle with their sleep. Sleep disorders, such as sleep Apnoea, reflux and indigestion, pain, alcohol and drug use (including caffeine), emotional and mental health concerns, stress related to financial, work or relationship issues, worry about children, blood sugar instability, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, disruptions to Circadian Rhythm… and the list goes on.
The good news is there are lots of things we can do to address all of these problems through a comprehensive holistic assessment and personalised care planning.
The benefits of improving sleep health, can be life changing.
Environment
Our physical environment plays a major role in our health. Considering things like lighting, air quality, noise disturbance, exposure to chemicals, mould and electromagnetic fields all warrant our attention when managing health concerns or optimising wellness. For most people, their home and their workplace are the environments in which they spend most of their time and considering potential issues and implementing simple remedies can often yield surprising results.
Connection to the natural world is so often too limited for many of us living busy modern lives within cities. Carving out the time and consciously creating opportunities to get outside daily and reap the many health giving benefits of breathing in the fresh early morning air, walking amongst the trees, swimming in the ocean, taking in a sunset or sitting under the stars….can be more regularly and easily achieved with some careful planning.
While it would be wonderful to be able to do all of these things (and we should aim to have some days where we do), just managing some form of time outside, in the fresh air each day, should be a priority.
Areas we can work on together
Sleep hygiene
Nutritional changes
Lifestyle changes
Supporting sleep with supplements
Making links with hormonal shifts
Connecting with specialists
Understanding sleep study results
Environmental assessments & changes
