Welcome to the second part of out post on Sleep, The Brain and The Mind.
ACTIONS TO PROMOTE BETTER SLEEP
Over the years working with a host of clients I have found the following to be very effective to improve the quality of sleep, which in turn improves the functioning of the brain and mind.
Reduce the amount of caffeine
Whenever you’re awake, a chemical called adenosine slowly accumulates in your brain. And this adenosine binds to receptors which slow down brain activity. This simply means the more adenosine there is, the more tired your brain feels. So the longer you’re awake, the more tired you become. Conversely, while you sleep, the concentration of adenosine declines, gradually promoting wakefulness.
The reason why a great majority of us turn to coffee as a pick-me-up is caffeine is incredibly similar to adenosine in structure. The caffeine works it’s way through your bloodstream and into the brain, where it starts to compete and binds with adenosine receptors. Since caffeine is not adenosine you don’t feel sleepy.
After you have knocked back a coffee or two caffeine molecules are parked in many of the adenosine receptors. This means adenosine can no longer bind and it’s calming properties are diminished. This great for you when you’re feeling tired and still need to work. This is not so great if you need to get to bed. Adenosine levels in the brain are quite vulnerable to caffeine several hours after consumption.
Over the long term, using caffeine as a stimulant your brain will responds by creating more adenosine receptors. This means even more caffeine is needed to give you that jolt. It also means that when you try to quit drinking coffee or miss your daily intake, you might experience some withdrawal symptoms and feel more tired than you would have before you ever drank coffee.
Caffeine is also very good at stimulating the production of adrenaline, which is the fight/flight hormone. This increases your heart rate, gets your blood pumping, and even opens up your airways.
My suggestion to you is to cut your caffeine by the late afternoon and your chances of getting a good night sleep increases dramatically.
Light and the Brain
The brain is quite sensitive to the light. The presence of light or it’s absence affects sleep. How does this work?
In the centre of the brain is a tiny structure called the pineal gland. It secretes a sleeping hormone called melatonin to help you go to and stay asleep. The production of melatonin is dependent on the signals the pineal gland receives from the retina. If the signal indicates it is dark then melatonin is produced helping you to fall asleep. Conversely, the pineal gland will halt the production of melatonin if it receives a signal that there is light. Therefore, bright light in the late evening will trick your brain into keeping you awake because it prepares you for daytime
Many of us have gotten into the habit of crawling into bed and checking our smart phones, tablets or laptops. Some of us might even have a television in the bedroom. These glowing devices are a direct message from the retina to your pineal gland to shut off production of melatonin. You are pretty much creating artificial day light.
My advice to you is to avoid staring into any of these devices just before you go to bed. Start winding down your evening with soft light and use the chemistry of your brain to your advantage.
Food and the Brain
What you eat in the evening has a major effect on the quality of your sleep. The best foods to consume in the evening are those that are rich in tryptophan. The reason is tryptophan is an amino acid that converts to serotonin (the chemical responsible for maintaining a proper sleep cycle) and the all-important melatonin (the sleeping hormone you learned about in the previous section).
Foods like turkey or other poultry are rich sources of tryptophan. Fish, such as tuna, halibut, cod, sardines, scallops and salmon are also a treasure trove. Nuts and seeds, like cashews, almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds are also a brilliant source. Lastly, there are legumes, such as kidney beans, lentils, black beans and split peas.
I highly recommend staying away from simple carbohydrates like white rice, white bread, white pasta and sugars. Eating these types of foods increases the blood glucose and contribute to shallow sleeping and can often result in awakening during a sleep cycle. Instead, eat foods that are rich in tryptophan.
Alcohol and the Brain
I am quite confident that most of you are quite aware of the effects of alcohol on our brains. Let’s simply take a little deeper look at how it affects our sleep.
Your body has two sorts of neurotransmitters (brain-chemicals); one that excites you (keeps you awake) called Glutamate and one that relaxes you called GABA. Glutamate is most active during your waking hours. Conversely, GABA is most active during your hours of sleep. So when you fall asleep your brain Glutamate levels should drop and your brain GABA levels should rise. This facilitates a deep and restful sleep.
When we drink alcohol it has a very calming effect on us. We tend to feel more relaxed and at ease. We feel some of our inhibitions fall away. There is the notion that a glass of wine in the evening has the affect of relaxing us and helping us to fall asleep. This is true to some extent.
Alcohol has an initial sleep inducing effect, but that is where it ends. When the alcohol is broken down by the body it can lighten sleep and cause frequent and early awakening. Simply put, alcohol is the arch enemy of a good nights sleep.
Alcohol acts like GABA and parks itself in the GABA receptors. This in turn dampens down glutamate activity making you feel mellow and relaxed. That is the reason why that glass of wine in the evening can make you feel drowsy after a long day at the office.
The problem is that alcohol creates a counterfeit GABA effect. Initially, you feel tired and may fall asleep, but 3 to 4 hours later when the effects of alcohol begin to taper off the excitatory effects of glutamate kick in. This means your body and brain start to feel agitated and you awaken.
Since the GABA receptors were all occupied by the alcohol, the brain thinks it has produced enough GABA and thus turns off production. So there is now not enough GABA, which is the principle inhibiting neurotransmitter of the brain, to counter the excitatory effects of the glutamate swimming around in your head.
The major problem with alcohol consumption in the evening is mid-sleep cycle awakening. There is no problem getting to sleep, but you can’t stay asleep. Simply put, alcohol really messes up with your sleep maintenance.
If you find yourself waking up in the wee hours of the morning with your mind racing and you are unable to get back to sleep, ask yourself if you really need that glass of wine in the evening.
Conclusion
I truly believe more knowledge means more informed choices. Knowledge itself is interesting but it is not power. Applied knowledge is the actual power.
Now that you know some of the brain science behind sleep, you can make more informed choices to get a better nights sleep.
As I wrote in the opening paragraph…A healthy mind sustains a healthy brain. A healthy brain sustains a healthy mind. There is a symbiotic relationship between the two. It is this very relationship that determines the quality of our lives in the present and into the future.
In my next post, I will be discussing in greater detail the effects of exercise on our brain.
We encourage you to share your questions, opinions and comments.
Thanks again for taking the time to read our blog.
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