Dreaming of a Good Night’s Rest

by Matthew Solan

So much has been written about sleep, you’d think we’d all be wrapped in the arms of the slumber god Morpheus by now, dreaming sweet dreams and waking up refreshed. But for too many Americans a sound sleep remains, well, a dream. Instead they spend their nights tossing and turning and their days walking around bleary-eyed and exhausted. Some of these insomniacs battle serious disorders such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy that may last months or even years. But the majority suffers more mildly—though just as unhappily—from disrupted cycles in which they either struggle to go to sleep at a normal time or awaken in the middle of the night unable to fall back asleep. All too often, insomniacs wake up feeling more tired and sluggish than they did before going to bed. If this sounds familiar, you may benefit from simple changes in your diet, environment and lifestyle. They may be all you need for a good night’s rest.

Good food, good sleep

You no doubt know the basic no-nos when it comes to your diet and sleep—no alcohol, no caffeine, no sugar, any of which can upset your normal sleep cycle. Conversely, increasing your intake of certain foods and correcting some nutrient deficiencies can actually improve your sleep.

• Eat more tryptophan. As post-turkey-dinner nappers ably demonstrate, tryptophan is a precursor to the sleep-inducing substance serotonin. One of nine essential amino acids your body cannot manufacture on its own, tryptophan comes from the proteins found in meat (especially turkey), milk, eggs, cheese, soybeans and soy products and peanuts and other legumes. But if you gobble tons of different protein-rich foods, don’t expect to necessarily fall asleep more quickly or rest more easily, says Jane Guiltinan, ND, director of the Bastyr Women’s Wellness Center at Bastyr University north of Seattle. Why so? Too much protein from too many sources can cause tryptophan to be diverted from creating serotonin to building muscle. “Try to stick to just tryptophan-rich proteins,” she says. “I’d suggest one serving of a high-tryptophan food near bedtime.” • Get more calcium and magnesium. Lack of sleep can also be tied to low levels of calcium and/or magnesium. According to Guiltinan, calcium deficiency can trigger muscle cramps while you sleep, which can cause you to wake up. And people who lack magnesium sometimes suffer from restless legs syndrome (RLS), a tingling, aching or throbbing sensation in the legs or an overwhelming urge to move them, especially when at rest. In a 1998 study, German researchers found that taking 300 mg of magnesium every night for four to six weeks improved sleep for insomniacs who suffered from mild to moderate RLS. Guiltinan recommends that problem sleepers increase their daily intake of calcium by eating more dairy products such as yogurt, milk and cheese and of magnesium by eating more dark-green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds. If you choose the supplement route instead, she suggests taking 1,200 to 1,500 mg daily of calcium and 100 to 300 mg of magnesium. “You should split the doses during the day,” she says. “Half in the morning and the other half at bedtime, because the body cannot absorb the nutrients optimally if you take the full dose all at once.” Guiltinan adds that studies have indicated that calcium is absorbed more efficiently at night and advises taking the second half of your daily dose about an hour before turning in.

• Sleepy herbs. Some herbs can also help you nod off. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis), chamomile (Matricaria recutita, Chamaemelum nobile), kava (Piper methysticum) and passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) are perhaps the most popular herbs used to treat insomnia. Although these herbs work for only about four hours at a time, they reduce anxiety and tension, which can interfere with sleep.

Valerian, the most-studied of the herbs used for insomnia, appears to offer the most help when taken regularly over one- to two-week periods rather than as a one-shot silver bullet sleep aid. Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, a certified dietitian-nutritionist and registered herbalist, suggests taking 8 g of valerian powder 30 minutes before bed. He also recommends ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), an anti-stress herb used in Ayurveda, the traditional healing system of India. Five grams of dried root a day should do the trick.

Other less-known herbs touted for their sedative properties are lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa) and skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). James Duke, PhD, author of The Green Pharmacy (Rodale Books, 1999) endorses a bedtime tea made of 2 to 4 teaspoons of dried lemon balm per cup of boiling water.

Location, location, location

You won’t sleep well if you don’t feel comfortable in your surroundings. This is why you should devote time to preparing the best possible sleep environment. Feng shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement and design, promotes bedrooms that are clutter-free and decorated with colors that engender feelings of serenity.

First, create a boundary around your bedroom, says feng shui expert Terah Kathryn Collins, author of The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Room by Room (Hay House, 1999). “The bedroom should be reserved for two things: sleep and romance,” she explains. Next, eliminate anything that increases activity or stimulates the mind such as TVs, computers and exercise equipment. “If you see your computer, you’ll think of emails you haven’t returned. Your treadmill will remind you that you need to work out more,” Collins says. If you must have a TV in the bedroom, place it in a cabinet with doors, so it can be out of sight when not in use. Hide any other must-haves behind an attractive, free-standing screen.

Also, place your bed so you can see the door. “If the door is hidden from view, that increases anxiety,” Collins says. It also shouldn’t be directly in front of the door, but rather off to one side so that you don’t have the sense you can be easily intruded upon. The direction the bed points is also important. Collins says insomniacs should face the headboard west, which promotes relaxation and helps them to sleep past dawn. If your insomnia is depression-related, however, she suggests facing the headboard toward the east, which “speeds people up.” Sleeping with your head pointing north maintains overall balance, while south promotes intuition and dream recall.

Colors can also affect your slumber. It’s best not to have gray, blue or pure white as the dominant color, Collins says, for the simple reason that “cool colors such as these don’t complement or ‘match’ your skin.” The problem? “Though they can be dramatic, they don’t make most people feel truly comfortable and relaxed.” Try this experiment: Find a pure white sheet and one in a skin-tone color such as beige, and hold them up to your face in front of a mirror. “Most people will notice that the skin-tone is more attractive against their skin, while the cool contrast of the white can make them look washed out and sallow,” Collins says. So choose pastel colors reminiscent of skin tones and/or the deep rich hues that come from skin tones, such as beige, chocolate brown, peach and terracotta.

Finally, make your bedroom a clutter-free zone. Remove piles of clothes and reduce that bedside stack of magazines and books to just one of each. “The more stimuli you can eliminate, the better,” she says. Collins adds that while mirrors can make rooms feel bigger and brighter, they also can be a distraction at night because reflections can be quite activating. Her suggestion: Place curtains over mirrored closet doors so they can be “closed” at night and opened during the day.

The rooster’s crow

How you awaken each morning can also influence how well you sleep. Some experts believe your body is naturally designed to awaken gradually with the rising sun and should not to be jarred awake by a screaming alarm clock. Dawn simulators recreate a natural sunrise by slowly increasing the intensity of light in the room. A study in BMC Psychiatry found that dawn simulators improved the quality of sleep during winter months for a group of about 80 randomly chosen people.

The right light can also help you fall asleep more easily. Studies have shown that exposure to 2,000- to 10,000-lux light (the equivalent of gazing at the horizon on a sunny day and up to 20 times brighter than normal room lighting) can improve overall sleep quality, says psychiatrist Daniel Kripke, MD, of the University of California, San Diego. This is most beneficial for about 20 to 30 minutes in the morning and a few hours prior to bed. More specifically, light therapy has been used to reset body clocks for those with sleep-timing problems and to correct erratic sleep habits caused by depression. A recent study in the journal Sleep found that evening exposure from a light box effectively treated people who often woke up too early and were unable to fall back to sleep. Exactly how light therapy improves sleep for people with depression remains unknown, Kripke says, but one popular theory is that bright light increases sleep-aiding serotonin levels.

Slow it down

Many of us spend our evenings paying bills, helping kids with homework and taking care of household chores, so it’s often difficult to suddenly come to a halt and slide into bed ready for our 40 winks. Instead of working right up to the bewitching hour, take steps to gradually relax your body prior to bedtime. Stop all evening activities at least an hour beforehand to give yourself time to wind down. If you need extra help, draw a tepid bath mixed with 2 cups of Epsom salts. The lukewarm temperature cools an active body, and the Epsom salts are a source of magnesium, some of which can be absorbed through the skin, Guiltinan says.

You can also perform a few restorative yoga poses. Research by psychobiologist and yoga teacher Roger Cole, PhD, has found that inversions—poses that place your pelvis higher than your head—balance hormone levels, which consequently reduces brain arousal and blood pressure. You don’t need to go upside down in a headstand or handstand to feel the calming effects, either. An inversion such as Downward-Facing Dog can produce the same tranquil feelings, says Baxter Bell, MD, a yoga instructor in Oakland, Calif. He also suggests simple relaxation poses such as Legs Up the Wall Pose or a low backbend with your torso supported by a bolster or a stack of blankets and your feet raised a bit higher than your chest. “That’s also a great pose for when you wake up in the middle of the night,” he says. “Do them for five to 10 minutes and then try to fall back asleep.” You may find that a good, healthy sleep is no longer a dream.

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