Sleep

Our body gets daily wear and tear.  We have some damage to the body and mind from regular daily activities.   When we are sleeping, a healing and repairing process is going on to fix physical and mental damage.  If you don't sleep enough, the proper repair won't take place.  Some damage is left unrepaired.  The next day, new damage is added on top, and you will have more unrepaired damage.  If you have the same lifestyle, having not enough sleep, unrepaired physical and mental damage will be more accumulated.  Eventually, it causes chronic pain and even diseases.

What is the best time for sleeping?

The best time for sleeping is from 10 PM to 6 AM.  That's 8 hours of sleep.  Our body is regulated by hormonal activities.  In the morning, more stimulating hormone, such as cortisol, is released in the body that helps our body get going.  Toward the end of the day, the level of the stimulating hormone tapers down.  Then, at night, the level of the resting/ nurturing hormones becomes higher.  The level of the growth hormone gets its peak from 10 PM to 2 AM.  During this time period, you should be sleeping to maximize the effect of the growth hormone to heal the physical damage.  

Then, time from 2 AM to 6 AM, is know for the psychogenic repair.  Nervous and hormonal systems are nurtured during this time period.  Therefore, going to bed at 10 PM and getting up at 6 AM is optimal.  

If you miss that time period for sleeping, optimal physical and mental healing may not occur.  That is a reason why people with a graveyard shift tend to feel groggy even if they sleep for 8 hours.  They miss the golden time for sleeping.  

What if it doesn't fit your schedule?

Sleeping from 10 PM to 6 AM may not fit your schedule.  You may have a swing shift or kids to take care of.  However, it is still good to know that is the best sleep time.  If you are unable to arrange your schedule, you may need to modify the sleep schedule.  You may need to miss the golden time for sleeping, but make sure to have 7 to 8 hours of sleep if possible.  If your schedule doesn't allow you to sleep that much, make sure to have some nap times.  

Less sleep affects your health

It is still good to seriously consider changing your lifestyle to sleep for 8 hours from 10 PM to 6 AM.  In the long run, lack of sleeping would cause health issues simply because you have more cumulated unhealed physical and psychological damage.  There are a lot of medical studies concluding that sleeping less than 7 hours have effects on health in many aspects such as the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, and nervous systems.  

If you have persistent chronic pain, unhealed injuries, chronic fatigue, frequent headache, or foggy head, you would feel much better from optimizing your sleep schedule.  With those symptoms, you are suffering so much, but even if you see doctors and have tests, they may not able to find what is wrong.  

One of my patients in the clinic had stubborn chronic neck pain and tightness with frequent severe headaches.  She had no particular injuries.  Yes, she had bad posture, limited mobility of the spine, severely tight neck muscles, and weakness of her postural stabilizer muscles.  Although she achieved good posture, full mobility, and normal strength with therapy, she kept having pain.  She felt better after each treatment with massage, but the pain kept coming back.  She was a nurse and she had a 12- hour swing shift.  Every once in a while, she had a 24-hour shift. We had a long conversation and I was able to convince her to improve her sleep schedule.  She still kept the same job, but she started sleeping at least for 7 to 8 hours straight.  Guess what?  Her pain and headache significantly became less.  To become totally well, she would need to change her sleep schedule to sleep from 10 PM to 6 AM.  

Change your sleep schedule for good!

First, it is good to know what is the best time for sleeping -- from 10 PM to 6 AM.  If you can just do it, that will be great!  You will be able to maximize the healing potential to repair physical and psychological damage because of the peak level of growth hormone during the period.  

Quite frankly saying, changing your habit is very difficult.  If it's difficult for you, try your best first.  If you are a night owl and go to bed way past midnight, you may start with sleeping by midnight.  As you start realizing the benefits of sleeping more, you may be motivated to do better.  

Our body likes regular scheduling.  Going to bed at a certain time, waking up at a certain time, and eating meals at a certain time are good things to practice.  It is good to set plans around your sleep and meal schedule.  

Also, it is important to know your body can be different from others due to your genetic makeup.  You may need to fine-tune your sleeping.  For most people, 8 hours of sleep is ideal.  Some people may need more and others may need less.  A good estimation is 8 hours +/- 1 hour (7 to 9 hours).  

More is not better

For repairing daily physical and psychological damage and refreshing your body and mind, good sound sleeping is important.  You would think more sleeping is better.  An answer is no.  If you sleep longer, that simply means you are awake less.  Your activity level goes down.  Your metabolism will go down.  Then, you would suffer symptoms of not enough activities, such as chronic fatigue, obesity, losing muscle tone, weakness, poor circulation (cold hands or feet), constipation, and so on.  Having a good balance is key.  

However, if you are recovering from a major injury or surgery or recovering from a disease, you may need to sleep more to maximize healing.  When you are sick or suffering flu, you would feel sleepy usually.  Your body wants you to sleep so that the healing process can be taken place and your body can fight against the infection.  Also, after a heavy workout, you would often feel sleepy in the following day.  

Get ready for good sleep

It is good to have dinner for about 4 hours before bedtime.  Digestive organs work hard after a meal.  It takes about 4 hours for digesting the foods you eat.  If you sleep with the full stomach, your body has to spend a lot of energy on digestion even after you go to bed.  This can negatively affect sleep quality.    

After dinner, it is good to relax.  It is better to dim lights because bright light stimulates your body.  Stopping using a smartphone, a tablet, and a computer is also a good idea because those devices emit bright blue light that really stimulates the body.  It is good to lessen stimulants toward bedtime.  

Here are things you can do in 1 hour before sleeping.  

• Turn off a TV and stop using a smartphone, tablet, and computer at least an hour before bedtime.  
  

• Do relaxing exercises, such as gentle stretching.  
  

• Take a hot shower or using a footbath before going to bed.       
  

• Listen to relaxing music.  (Just make sure not to look the screen.)
  

• Practice diaphragmatic breathing or meditation.    
  

It would be a good idea to make those as your ritual for going to bed.  By doing those regularly, your body and mind will get used to them and start liking them.  Out body and mind tend to like regular routine anyway.  Eventually, you can condition yourself so that practicing these things will trigger you to be ready for sleeping.  

If you suffer from current health issues that interrupt sleeping  

If you have health issues that prevent you from sleeping, such as severe pain, restless leg syndrome, heartburn, GERD, sleep apnea, or severe insomnia, you need to have the proper medical treatment.  Otherwise, poor sleeping would lead to further health issues and conditions.