We all know sleep is important, but do you know why?

I know you are probably thinking, Savanna you are nuts thinking I can get 8 hours of sleep. But taking a few simple steps has made it so much easier for myself to get 8-9 hours every night. Read on to learn how I achieved this!

When we sleep, our body is going through processes that it can’t complete while we are awake. If we do not get enough sleep, or quality sleep, it disrupts our bodies natural processes. This can make current conditions worse or even set the stage for new conditions to appear.

1. While you sleep, your liver is doing its best work! It is breaking down excess hormones in the body and essentially working as a natural detox. During the day, your liver is busy assisting the digestive track and it cannot multi-task to break down hormones simultaneously. This is also why it is important to not eat in the 3 hours before bed – if your liver is still working with digestion, it cannot begin the hormone detox process.
2. Most of your body’s repair work happens while you sleep. This is healing internal issues as well as external wounds. This is also when muscle growth happens! If you are trying to build muscle but aren’t getting enough sleep, your body cannot repair and build that muscle growth you are trying to attain.
3. While you sleep, your body essentially turns off all processes that are not required for life support. This is to focus on immune support! While every other process of your body is resting & repairing, your immune system is doing a thorough check for germs in the body. If you are not getting enough sleep, that check for germs isn’t as thorough or not happening at all, meaning germs linger and can cause you to get sick.
4. Inflammation: this is something a lot of us are familiar with in some aspect. While you sleep, your body is regulating/balancing inflammation. This means, anywhere that needs an inflammatory response is getting the support it needs, and anywhere that has excessive inflammation is getting help to clear that out. If excessive inflammation is not dealt with during sleep, it will cause discomfort and eventually pain.
5. Your body produces lots of waste both literally and emotionally throughout the day. While you sleep, your lymphatic system is busy at work breaking down and clearing out that “trash” from your cells. Your brain also has its own lymphatic system, called the glymphatic system, that works hard while you are dreaming! It processes & clears out emotional “trash” as well as physical waste from brain cells.

It is critical that an adult gets a minimum of 8-9 hours of sleep each night to complete these processes, especially if you have an inflammatory condition or disease. As Americans, I feel we are instilled with the notion that sleep is lazy or unproductive. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! If we are not taking care of our bodies by making sure we get the sleep we need, the negative impact can be detrimental!

Actions to help with sleep:

1. Set yourself a consistent bedtime! Set a time that you want to be in bed, ready to sleep every night. For the purpose of the next few examples, we will go with a 10:30pm bedtime.
2. Stop eating at least 2-3 hours before bed. This has been huge for me! If you are going to bed at 10:30pm, set a timer on your phone for 7pm reminding you to eat in the next hour and no more food after 8pm. If your lifestyle requires you to eat within 2-3 hours of bedtime, make sure to eat a big breakfast, a medium lunch, and a small dinner. For your dinner, make sure you include lots of veggies & protein, and skip the carbs and sugars. This will make digestion easier and save energy for the other processes your body will need to complete during the night. Also, if you suffer from any kind of indigestion or GERD that gets worse at night, this step helps reduce that pain and discomfort!
3. One hour before bed, dim the lights in your house or turn most of them off. Avoid screen exposure! Turn off the tv, put your phone on the charger and out of your hands, and instead read a book, listen to an audiobook/music, work on a hobby, call a friend and chat about your day, etc. When light is coming into your eyes it suppresses the production of natural melatonin in the body, making it harder to fall asleep. I like to turn out all the lights except one or two little lamps. I then spend time cleaning up the dog toys, figuring out my lunch for work the next day, folding some laundry – really any light housework I need to get done before heading to bed.
4. Get some sunlight during the day! Just as I said before, light suppresses production of melatonin. During the day, this is good as it will keep you awake, making you naturally get sleeping towards the end of the day. Take a walk around the building on your lunch break, or even better, sit outside for lunch! On the weekends, get outside for some yard work or a walk around the park. It doesn’t have to be fancy or some big, planned adventure.

When your schedule or lifestyle doesn’t allow for more sleep:

1. Eat Better!! Everything starts with healthy eating habits. Current American diets are not healthy. They are designed for convenience, but this has a HUGE negative impact on so many areas of our health, including sleep. Eat more veggies (get an assortment of colors but don’t forget those greens!), add in more protein (beef, lamb, oysters because they are rich in iron), and stick to better quality fats (avocado, fatty fish, nuts, flaxseed, chia, full-fat yogurt). Reduce sugar intake – if craving something sweet eat a handful of berries!
2. Overnight Elixir: 1-2 TBSP of Nettle leaf, 1-2 TBSP Dandelion leaf, 1 TBSP hibiscus rosettes + 1 QT boiling water. Place your herbs in a quart mason jar, top with water, place the lid & give a good shake. Let sit overnight and drink your elixir the next day. This is packed full of vitamins & minerals your body needs. Use caution if you are on blood thinners as nettle & dandelion may also thin the blood. Use this form to request a personalized herbal blend.
3. Incorporate cinnamon & Tulsi into your diet. Cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar levels (as does Tulsi) so if you are on blood sugar lowering medications, please monitor your levels daily and consult your doctor if you have consistently lower numbers. Tulsi paired with peppermint as a tea is great as an afternoon caffeine replacement. It will put some pep in your step without lingering in your system and making it hard to sleep. Use this form to request a personalized herbal blend.
4. Drink a cup of green or black tea in the morning for a caffeine boost. Caffeine can take 10+ hours to break down in the body. This means you should drink it early, so you have time to flush it out before bedtime. After your caffeinated beverage, drink plenty of water! I have been hitting 64 ounces daily during the week. (I usually slack off and get around 40-45 ounces on the weekends 🤦🏼‍♀️)

All of this to say, it is SO IMPORTANT to get sleep. But if you can’t take every tip in this article, try to incorporate as much as your schedule or life allows. Baby steps are still steps!

Sage & Sunshine 🌿☀️
~Savanna