Unlock the mysteries of deep sleep and its profound impact on human health. Delve into the scientific exploration of this vital sleep stage, understanding its role in memory consolidation, physical rejuvenation, and overall well-being.
Sleep can supercharge your energy levels, strengthen your brain’s resilience, and help you relax into a deeply restorative night’s rest
In today’s culture of disruption, it’s even more important that we create daily habits that support our well-being so we can get rejuvenating sleep and allow our minds to remain receptive and open in order to meet the unique challenges of the COVID era.
Circadian Rhythm
Nearly all of our cells, tissues, and organs rely on internal daily rhythms, or circadian clocks, to keep our bodies running smoothly and in peak health under the watchful eye of the master clock
- The master clock is headquartered in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in the brain’s hypothalamus
- There are peripheral clocks located all over the body-in the heart, lungs, kidneys, pancreas
- These clocks make up our circadian system, which controls the functioning of each bodily process, including sleep, metabolism, hormone release, alertness, blood pressure, heart function, cognitive function, and the immune and reproductive systems
- Healthy circadian rhythms rely on regularity and stability- for the timing of light, timing of exercise, and timing of meals
What to Do When Your Head Hits the Pillow
Practicing mindfulness, the nonjudgmental awareness of our present-moment experience, can help you notice your thoughts, emotions, and body sensations
- Judson Brewer, MD, PhD, a professor and researcher at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, calls this awareness the “bigger, better offer.”
- Awareness helps us see how unrewarding anxiety is, and it feels better to be aware of worrying rather than worry itself.
- He recommends mindfulness to help his patients shift their mental energy from feeding mental habit loops to noticing the physical sensations in the body.
How Circadian Rhythms Impact Our Health
When frequent sleep disturbances, night-time screen use, or high caffeine intake throw our light exposure out of whack, the natural circadian rhythms of the body are reset-to either speed up or slow down the internal clock, which influences all the systems that it controls.
- Extreme circadian instability-as seen with shift workers- can cause a variety of chronic health problems, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, impaired immune function, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, depression, and some forms of cancer.
Sleep is not always easy
Mindfulness practices and habits can help us fall asleep and stay asleep
- Four ways to help make going to bed and staying asleep easier
- Michelle Maldonado
- Breathe deeply, stretch, meditate, and focus on your breathing
Where Mindfulness Meets Circadian Health
Mindfulness can help bring added awareness to our daily behaviors, offering an anchor for healthy circadian routines that can support the natural rhythms of our body’s internal clock.
- Throughout your day, mindfulness can support your ability to take a pause-a flash of awareness about what will serve you best-so that you can respond, rather than react, to a given situation, trigger, or challenge.
Winding Down Before Sleep
In times of uncertainty, stress increases, and rhythms and schedules go awry.
- Practicing mindfulness-through mindful moments, meditation, body scans, and yoga-can be an effective way to create those essential daily habits and a nightly wind-down period to prep for a good night’s sleep.
