As a busy professional, it seems like lack of sleep is inevitable. It’s almost as if sleepless nights were a part of the job description! It’s the same thing every night… you try to fall asleep, but you spend the majority of the evening staring at the ceiling, counting “to-dos” instead of sheep. You “wake up” (if you can even call it that) the next morning, exhausted, in need of a coffee IV to make it through your day.
Although sleep disturbances are extremely common, and are thought to be a normal by-product of busy, stressed out lives, they might actually be caused, or exacerbated by underlying health conditions. In today’s post, I’m going to talk about three of the reasons that aren’t able to sleep, that have nothing to do with your never-ending to-do list! If you’re tired of being tired, and want to finally be able to get a good night’s sleep and wake up feeling rested and rejuvenated, read on!
The Biology of Sleep
Sleep is a complex process that is dependent on our biological underpinnings. I’m not going to bore you with the entire procedure your body goes through during its 24hr cycle, but it is important to understand a bit of background.
Our sleep-wake cycle is regulated by several different hormones, neurotransmitters and circadian rhythms. Although many will have you believe these processes simply transform in the brain, they’re actually dependent on all bodily systems running smoothly below the neck. When any one system is off, sleep can be affected. In this post, we’re going to touch on three processes in particular that, when disrupted, will have you reorganizing your sock drawer at 3am.
Gut Microbiome
Gut health is one of the pillars of my MINDPEAK program, and probably the pillar I spend the most time helping my clients to improve. Your gut is basically the master controller of everything health and performance. And, your sleep is no exception. Studies are showing that when there is a negative change to your microbiome, there are substantial negative effects on your sleep quality (Anderson et al., 2017). As you’ll remember, the gut microbiome is responsible for synthesizing several different hormones and neurotransmitters, including those that regulate our sleep-wake cycles. For example, the neurotransmitter serotonin is produced in the gut, and is very involved in the sleep process. Low serotonin levels themselves have been shown to contribute to insomnia (Vashadze, 2007), but serotonin is also necessary for the synthesis of the more “popular” sleep hormone, melatonin. Many of you are probably familiar with the over-the-counter melatonin pill that people take as a sleep-aid at night. Unbeknownst to many, melatonin is actually a hormone that is naturally produced in the body, especially in the gut. Its function is to help regulate your body’s circadian rhythm, which allows you to fall, and stay asleep with ease. This little tidbit takes people by surprise for two reasons. First, most people think melatonin is just a supplement that you buy at CVS to help you fall asleep. And second, those who do realize that it’s a naturally occurring hormone believe that it is only produced in the pineal gland. Although this endocrine gland does produce melatonin, new research is showing that the digestive tract can contain up to 400X more melatonin than the pineal gland does at all times (Chen et al., 2011).
So obviously the gut is necessary for synthesizing very important neurotransmitters and hormones for the sleep process. However, when certain species of bacteria are missing, or outnumbered, we may be at risk for not being able to produce the neurotransmitters that we need. Conditions like dysbiosis or leaky gut may result in the loss of several beneficial bacterial species, which then results in disrupted production of these neurotransmitters.
Not only is the gut necessary for neurotransmitter synthesis, but it’s also necessary for regulating our immune system, which can have a crucial impact on our sleep quality. Intestinal permeability can result in an increased level of lipopolysaccharide in the bloodstream, which can increase our body’s inflammatory status (Oriach et al., 2016). That brings us to our next sleep disrupter….chronic inflammation.
Chronic Inflammation
Inflammation, as you know, is a naturally occurring process that helps to protect us from foreign invaders, illnesses, and toxic exposure. This process is our body’s immune system coming to fight off whatever dangerous element comes our way. When this inflammatory response is acute, or short-term, it’s a good thing. However, when it becomes chronic, lasting a few weeks, months, or even years, it can disrupt all processes in the body including our sleep. Inflammatory mediators such as cytokines and lipopolysaccharides, in high doses have been shown to suppress REM and non-REM sleep (Raison et al., 2010).These are periods of the sleep cycle that are both imperative for a good, restful night’s sleep.
It has been shown that patients with chronic diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity, or cardiovascular disease all experience disruptions in non-REM sleep, slow wave sleep, and have trouble both falling, and staying asleep (Raison et al., 2010). These health conditions are all associated with chronic activation of the immune system, resulting in chronic inflammation, which might point to this immune process being the mediator between sleep disturbances and these conditions. If you’ve ever had trouble falling, or staying, asleep when you’ve been sick with the flu or a cold, you can see just how this might be the case.
There are a few theories as to why or how chronic inflammation disrupts sleep. For one, chronic inflammation can increase cortisol, which you may have heard of as the “stress hormone.” Cortisol can impair one’s ability to get quality sleep (Hirotsu, Tufik, & Andersen, 2015). Something you’ve probably experienced if you’ve ever tried to sleep while stressed (which is like, every night). Chronic inflammation can also result in whole body pain, which can cause you to wake up regularly throughout the night, not getting through your solid sleep cycle. Finally, just as leaky gut can cause chronic inflammation, the opposite can be true as well. Chronic inflammation is linked to a change in the gut microbiota composition, which as we know from above, can impact our ability to synthesize the metabolites necessary for good quality shut eye (Wang, Chen, & Wang, 2020).
Nutrient Status
Finally, our overall nutrient status may play a role in our ability to get quality shut eye. There are several nutrients involved in regulating your body’s sleep-wake cycles, but I’ll touch on a few powerhouses here.
Our body relies on optimal levels of certain key nutrients in order to synthesize the hormones and neurotransmitters involved in the sleep cycle. For example, tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin, and thus melatonin. A deficiency in this nutrient has been shown to disturb REM sleep (Jenkins et al., 2016). Not only is tryptophan necessary to manufacture serotonin and melatonin, but so is Vitamin B6. Serving as a cofactor for the synthesis of the sleep regulating hormones, Vitamin B6 can also help to relax your nervous system, making it easier for you to fall and stay asleep (Stevenson, 2020).
Vitamin D helps to regulate our circadian rhythm, our body’s way of regulating which hormones get released at what point of the day. This allows us to feel tired when it’s time for bed, and awake when the alarm goes off! Vitamin D helps to ensure that our circadian rhythm does this accurately (Stevenson, 2020).
Finally, magnesium, also known as the “relaxation mineral” is an extreme ally of the sleep process. Magnesium is able to “turn on” your parasympathetic nervous system, which is the opposite system to your fight-or-flight response, and can help you get into a state of relaxation (obviously important for sleep!). Magnesium can also help to improve the functioning of melatonin, and reduce cortisol levels, two things that we’ve learned are crucial to a good night’s rest (Abbasi et al., 2012).
Sleep is often regarded as a process that takes place in the brain. Hopefully this post has helped you to realize that sleep is a much more intricate process that relies on whole body health. The traditional approach to sleep support is more of a “bandaid” approach. Doctors will suggest taking a melatonin supplement and turning off electronics 2 hours before bed. Although these can help to improve your sleep, they don’t fix the root causes that may be keeping you up in the first place!
Many of the clients in my MINDPEAK program come to me believing that it’s their never ending to-do list that keeps them up at night. Granted, it sure doesn’t help, but most of the time when we take a deeper look into their overall health we realize that some of their underlying health conditions may actually be causing their worst nightmares. In fact, one of my more recent clients sought out my services because he suffered from chronic insomnia. It would take him forever to fall asleep at night, only to wake up every few hours thereafter, a theme I see regularly with many of my clients. When we took a deeper look at his health history, we realized he had suffered from symptoms such as IBS and diverticulitis, and realized that his gut may be at the root of his sleep disturbances. Sure enough, once we started to work on healing his gut through my MINDPEAK blueprint, he started to see marked improvements in his sleep. He was able to sleep through the night, wake up feeling refreshed AND no longer needed his mid-day coffee to keep him going at work.
If you have tried everything to get a good night’s sleep and you’re still reading this post at 2am, you might be a perfect fit for my MINDPEAK program. Not only will we help regulate the stress that’s keeping you up, but also fix the underlying causes that are contributing to your poor sleep. To find out if you’d be a good fit for this program, sign up for a FREE 30 minute coaching session here. Together, we’ll develop a program that addresses YOUR root cause, so you’ll be staring at the inside of your eyelids in no time!
References
Abbasi, B., Kimiagar, M., Sadeghniiat, K., Shirazi, M. M., Hedayati, M., & Rashidkhani, B. (2012). The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 17(12), 1161–1169.
Anderson, J. R., Carroll, I., Azcarate-Peril, M. A., Rochette, A. D., Heinberg, L. J., Peat, C., Steffen, K., Manderino, L. M., Mitchell, J., & Gunstad, J. (2017). A preliminary examination of gut microbiota, sleep, and cognitive flexibility in healthy older adults. Sleep Medicine, 38, 104–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2017.07.018
Chen, C. Q. (2011). Distribution, function and physiological role of melatonin in the lower gut. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 17(34), 3888. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v17.i34.3888
Hirotsu, C., Tufik, S., & Andersen, M. L. (2015). Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism: From physiological to pathological conditions. Sleep Science, 8(3), 143–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.slsci.2015.09.002
Jenkins, T., Nguyen, J., Polglaze, K., & Bertrand, P. (2016). Influence of Tryptophan and Serotonin on Mood and Cognition with a Possible Role of the Gut-Brain Axis. Nutrients, 8(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8010056
Oriach, C. S., Robertson, R. C., Stanton, C., Cryan, J. F., & Dinan, T. G. (2016). Food for thought: The role of nutrition in the microbiota-gut–brain axis. Clinical Nutrition Experimental, 6, 25–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yclnex.2016.01.003
Raison, C. L., Rye, D. B., Woolwine, B. J., Vogt, G. J., Bautista, B. M., Spivey, J. R., & Miller, A. H. (2010). Chronic Interferon-Alpha Administration Disrupts Sleep Continuity and Depth in Patients with Hepatitis C: Association with Fatigue, Motor Slowing, and Increased Evening Cortisol. Biological Psychiatry, 68(10), 942–949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.04.019
Stevenson, S. (2020). Eat Smarter: Use the Power of Food to Reboot Your Metabolism, Upgrade Your Brain, and Transform Your Life. Little, Brown Spark.
Vashadze S. (2007). Georgian medical news, (150), 22–24.
Wang, J., Chen, W. D., & Wang, Y. D. (2020). The Relationship Between Gut Microbiota and Inflammatory Diseases: The Role of Macrophages. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01065