Let’s Get the Basics Right!

PART 1 – SLEEP

Hello People,

Here we are nearing the end of 2021 as we are finishing 2 years through the pandemic. It was a historic journey the world witnessed yet we all adapted whether we liked it or not. We grew to like the pandemic and embrace the change it brought in our lives purely reminding us our own strength and resilience. Our body adapted and co-operated. In retrospect, I wonder how much potential we have inside of us that we could face ANYTHING that comes our way yet we don’t believe so. If only we had little trust and love in our self, we could do better in life. But, why am I going on and on about the strength and resilience? I’m here to talk about the basics before we talk about mental well-being. That is, Sleep. You might be wondering that pandemic, resilience and my introduction doesn’t bring me down to talk about sleep. Probably but you know there is something we fail to acknowledge with respect to mental health is taking care of physical needs i.e., our body.

Sometimes, our human functioning is hard to understand like we discussed our ability to face any difficulties but other times it’s the opposite. The first thing that opposes our goal is our body. Have you realised when you want to go attend that interview, you feel sick or you have to propose that girl/guy you feel dizzy? You feel you can’t sleep when you had a trauma or can’t eat when you have something going on in your head. Our body is a mirror to our brain and vice versa. You don’t take care of one or the other, you collapse. You can’t have a mental strength when you are lacking sleep for 3 consecutive nights and you can’t become that person you aspire to be (Eg., Athlete, Dancer, Executive, Mother, Father, Friend, Partner) since your body is tired to accommodate people and goals. That is why, I want to get the basics right.

Sleep as you know is a neurological event occurred and regulated by the hypothalamus and surrounding structures. It functions like a pre-set alarm clock called circadian rhythms and basically you don’t need a physical alarm clock. But unfortunately, our busy world doesn’t work according to each of our circadian rhythm and no one person can have a same sleep-wake cycle. Hence, we regulate it externally. Let’s not worry about the biology much but I want you to understand two types of sleep that a sleep cycle possess: NREM and REM (NREM – Non-rapid eye movement and REM – Rapid eye movement). Now let’s focus on REM. Because all you need is a good set of REM sleep in your whole sleep cycle.

When the pandemic hit, the first thing that got messed up was our sleep and most people didn’t have a schedule and when they returned to it they had a hard time sleeping. They either felt chronically tired or just can’t sleep for a straight 6-8 hours. This happens when your so called circadian rhythm i.e., sleep tends to be broken continuously for a certain period of time. And the brain chemicals changes with respect to your schedules and habits. That is why, we always recommend giving a month to correct your sleep schedule. Most importantly getting a good REM filled sleep. During REM, your body is going through a process of consolidation (meaning its retaining everything you did that day mostly facts/events are stored in memory) and hence lapses in memory can also occur due to less REM sleep.

REM occurs after 90 minutes into the sleep cycle and it increases in time as you go through each sleep cycle. Most people sleep less than required amount of time such as 3-4 hours where in the they miss out on the longest REM sleep.

During REM, your brain areas are active and gets stimulated for consolidation such as for learning and memory retention. This also increases the production of proteins. Your brain basically prepares and insulates itself for the next day. Repeatedly delaying this process can lead to mental exhaustion, mood changes, burn out, decreased memory and other cognitive difficulties.

So, how to get a good night’s sleep.

1. Decide whether you want to be a person who wants to live longer and live healthy. If so, then decide if you want to work on your sleep schedule.
2. Before scheduling, be aware of any disturbance you have been experiencing while going to sleep. Like it can increased thoughts before sleep, avoiding certain thoughts, compulsive gaming etc. can be anything. Point out and find the cause.
3. If its about your thoughts, consider doing thought journaling before sleep. If its compulsive use of any gadgets, try reducing the timing by 10 minutes each week. We don’t want to push your brain, be gentle and go slow.
4. Sometimes it can be just be mere habits, in that case we are going to work the same way you work your muscles in gym. Day by day stick to the time. Fix a time and get to bed on time. Prepare your body to sleep 30 minute before that said time like make your bed, have a hot cup of milk, keep phones/laptops/books away and just lie down even if you can’t sleep. Do not get up or look for phone/books if you can’t sleep. Just lie down. (Remember we are building brain muscle, its going to be hard so don’t give your brain anything else to focus)
5. Some things that will help you relax is bedtime stretching before sleep is effective. Chamomile tea is shown to be much effective for people with sleep problems. Dim or no light in the room you are sleeping to activate your circadian rhythm.
6. Most importantly, keep doing it until it becomes a habit. Recommended is 3 weeks to 6 weeks without breaks.
7. And don’t give up if it is hard. You need sleep not just for you but because sleep is also associated with general happiness, to build confidence and resilience.

I hope you sleep better. Have a good REM sleep.

Goodnight