Have you ever wondered, “What is the greatest single thing over which control would bring forth the most significant change in the quantity and quality of natural healing?” What a fabulous question. I would have to say sleep. Both the quantity and quality of sleep achieved on a regular basis can and will greatly affect your overall health. If your sleep is lacking for any extended period of time then you can be assured that your health will follow. Sleep affects virtually every aspect of our physical and mental well-being, from your emotional regulation to cognitive function to immune system strength and physical performance. When it comes to healing, sleep plays a crucial role in coordinating the body’s repair mechanisms, making it an essential component of recovery from injury, illness, and daily wear and tear. Let’s spend a few minutes exploring why this is, shall we?
The Four Stages of Sleep:
The first three stages of sleep are non-REM activity.
- The first stage is a light transitional sleep stage. It is brief and consists of the act of dozing off.
- The second stage is a more stable sleep. The body and mind slow down as one begins to fall into a deeper sleep. During Stage 2, the body temperature drops, and heart rate slows, creating an environment conducive to repair and regeneration. This stage plays a role in memory consolidation and learning.
- The third stage, also known as “deep sleep” or “slow-wave” sleep, provides for a multi-hormone and protein release process that speeds recovery mode and overall healing. This deep sleep stage also produces chemicals that dampen the senses, thus making it more difficult to be awoken.
The fourth stage, REM sleep, is associated with vivid dreams and Rapid Eye Movements. While REM sleep is primarily known for its role in cognitive functions such as memory consolidation and emotional processing, it also contributes to bodily repair. During REM sleep, blood flow to the brain increases, promoting neural plasticity and supporting brain health. Additionally, the brain’s lymphatic system becomes more active, flushing out toxins and waste products that have accumulated in brain tissues throughout the day. While your breathing and heart rate increase during REM sleep, most muscles are paralyzed, keeping us from physically acting out our vivid dreams. These sleep cycles last from 90 minutes to 120 minutes and the majority of REM sleep happens during the second half of the night. Thus, a lack of length in sleep could cause the healing processes of the REM stage to be absent. The resultant outcome could be memory loss, brain fog and other cognitive issues.
So what is the secret to a truly healing sleep anyway. Well, let’s explore a few of the hormones and proteins released during that sleep cycle and how they help your body achieve a more wholesome healing process each night.
- Growth Hormone and Tissue Repair: During slow-wave sleep, the pituitary gland releases surges of growth hormone, which stimulates tissue growth and repair. This hormone is crucial for rebuilding muscles, bones, and other tissues that may have been damaged or stressed during the day.
- Melatonin and Sleep Patterns: While primarily known for its role in regulation of our sleep-wake cycle, melatonin also possesses powerful antioxidant properties. These properties protect cells from damage caused by free radicals, supporting the body’s overall repair processes.
- Cytokines and Inflammation: The role of sleep in reducing inflammation is particularly significant in the context of healing. Chronic inflammation can cause the healing process to slow and stagnate and contribute to a variety of health problems. During sleep, the body produces anti-inflammatory cytokines, which help to keep inflammation in check and promote a more conducive environment for healing.
- Endorphins and Pain Perception: Adequate deep sleep produces endorphins which block or slow the reception of pain signals to the brain. When the body releases these natural Painkillers, it changes the perception of pain signals received by the brain and in so doing, alleviates pain and promotes a sense of well-being during the waking hours. Studies have shown the opposite to be in effect as well.
“the leading causes of disease and death in developed nations—diseases that are crippling health-care systems, such as heart disease, obesity, dementia, diabetes, and cancer—all have recognized causal links to a lack of sleep.”
Dr. Michael Walker, 2018. Why We Sleep. Penguin Books.
Other Factors that Affect Sleep Quality:
Your pre-sleep routine is equally important in gaining access to deep sleep and therefore, promoting healing. These include maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, avoiding caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime, and limiting exposure to blue light from electronic devices or other brain stimulation in the evening. Even the use of Diode light sources can interrupt your circadian rhythms as the strobing light source stimulates the brain. [Yes, diode lights do strobe, they just do so at a frequency that the human eye cannot perceive; however, the strobe can still stimulate the brain. Crazy, but somehow it is perceived even though not processed visually by the optical nerve.]
Nutrition plays a significant role in supporting sleep-related healing. A diet rich in proteins, vitamins, and minerals provides the building blocks needed for tissue repair.
Stress management is another crucial factor in optimizing sleep for healing. Chronic stress can disrupt sleep patterns and impair the body’s healing processes.
Exercise, with proper timing and intensity, can significantly improve sleep quality and, by extension, healing. Regular physical activity has been shown to increase the amount of slow-wave sleep we get, which is crucial for physical restoration. However, intense exercise too close to bedtime can interfere with sleep, so it’s important to find the right balance.
Bodily Systems that Require Sleep:
- Endocrine System: Hormonal regulation is another key aspect of sleep’s restorative function. The balance of hormones in the body is closely tied to a regular sleep-wake cycle. Hormones like melatonin and cortisol follow the bodies circadian rhythm. This means that a regular sleep schedule is critical in the regulation of these hormones, which, in turn, affect various bodily functions, including metabolism, stress response, and mood regulation.
- Immune System: the immune system is another principal player in the body’s repair processes during sleep. While sleeping, the immune system releases proteins called cytokines. These cytokines should increase when you have an infection, inflammation or are under excessive stress. Sleep deprivation may decrease production of these protective cytokines making you more susceptible to infection and slowing down illness recovery time.
- Cardiovascular System: During the deeper stages of sleep your heart rate and blood pressure decrease giving the heart a chance to rest and recover from the day’s stresses. This nightly respite is critical for maintaining heart health and reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
- Reallocation of the Bodies Energy Usage: During sleep, the body’s metabolic rate decreases, digestion ceases during the nightly fast and respiration and heart rate slow. This energy conservation in these normal processes allows for a reallocation of the energy usage to feed the healing processes including the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the primary energy currency of cells. Sleep allows for increased ATP production – replenishing the energy stores depleted during waking hours.
- Learning and Memory Formation: The impact of sleep on learning and memory formation cannot be overstated. Sleep plays a vital role in consolidating newly acquired information, transforming short-term memories into long-term ones. This process, known as memory consolidation, occurs primarily during slow-wave sleep and REM sleep. By facilitating the transfer of information from short-term to long-term storage, sleep enhances our ability to retain and recall information. This makes our sleep patterns an essential component of effective learning.
Detrimental Effects of Sleep Deprivation:
The consequences of insufficient sleep on bodily repair can be severe and far-reaching. Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to a host of health issues, including weakened immune function, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, impaired cognitive function, and even accelerated aging. When we don’t get enough sleep, our bodies don’t have sufficient time to complete all the necessary repair processes. This leads to a buildup of cellular damage and increased cellular inflammation.
Moreover, the lack of sleep can disrupt hormone production and regulation. For instance, insufficient sleep has been linked to decreased production of growth hormone and increased levels of cortisol, which can interfere with tissue repair and contribute to weight gain. It can also lead to imbalances in hormones that regulate appetite, potentially contributing to overeating and obesity.
Stress levels have a profound influence on bodily repair during sleep. Chronic stress can interfere with sleep quality and duration, reducing the time available for the repair process.
Summary:
As you can see, many bodily systems rely upon a steady sleep pattern and quality of sleep within that pattern. And a reduction in quantity or quality of sleep creates an increase in the dysfunction of these systems. Increased dysfunction leads to sleep reduction and sleep reduction to greater dysfunction. I have been caught in this loop more times than I care to admit. It always requires throwing a wrench into the status quo to break up the vicious downward spiral. Might I suggest a written schedule for your pre-slumber routine, at least until it becomes habit, an exercise routine to help with expelling additional energy and stress and, finally, some Insomnia Tea. These few things can help you archive a stable sleep routine in as little time as possible. Then, over time, you can alter your nutrition intake and stress management routines to optimize them. As for nutrition, I would counsel getting back to simplicity in both ingredients and processing. For stress management, find something you enjoy that allows you to unwind from the day. This can be as simple as reading a good book within your pre-slumber routine or as intricate as going to the range to fire off a few rounds into your targets. I can honestly say that both bring me pleasure and allow me to blow off steam and end up in a more centered and relaxed condition. Find what works for you and include that. If you take these gradual steps you may find that, before too long, your are sleeping like a baby once again.
Peace be with you,
Thomas Storey
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