All About Sleep | Sleep Coaching

March is National Sleep Month and in honor of this sweet and sometimes elusive brainwave state, I thought I’d compile my favorite sleep-related tips and resources for you.

Whether this finds you reeling from daylight savings or sleeping well, it’s true that we all phase in and out of good sleep. Why? Because we’re permeable beings. We’re influenced by what’s happening in our personal lives just as much as the global state of affairs. We’re deeply connected to each other, to the elements that rule the natural world, and so we, too, swing along with it. That said, you and I still have quite a bit of influence on our sleep quality. And that’s where I’ll focus today.

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Isn’t it funny that we are thrown off by an hour shift of the clocks in daylight savings? Who knew 60 minutes makes a difference? Turns out, it has more to do with the shift of light exposure. Light exposure drives our circadian rhythm. All the articles on getting east-facing light exposure as early as possible are true. Research takes it takes about 2 weeks to rebalance from significant disruptions in your typical sleep patterns - for better or for worse. And as far as filling a sleep deficit - forget it. Sleeping more doesn’t equate to getting back on track. The best thing you can do is return back to a set sleep and wake time to rebalance.

It’s the simple things. As a coach, I also do various contract coaching work and currently, I coach for an app called BetterSleep where I share and sleuth with folks in the lifestyle arena. It’s the small things, the natural things, that help the most and are least known.

If you’re one to fall asleep with sound, BetterSleep is great for this. They have sleep stories, sound mixing (which I use for my yoga classes), breathing visualizations and meditations. Honestly, it’s a cool app. They’re right up there with Calm and Headspace.

Yoga tools

Sleep talk is ubiquitous in the field of life and health coaching. It comes up in every conversation I have because it affects everything from food to mood to movement. I think it’s safe to say most find a positive relationship with more movement and sleep. Too much energy left at the end of the day doesn’t pair well with sitting still, let alone sleeping. It turns into a conversation not of “how can I tire myself out?” but “how can I use both movement and/or asana to cultivate a sense of steadiness and ease to rest in?”

For some, that steadiness and ease is the addition of heavy weights at the gym or held yoga posture. We could fill an entire conversation on how the elements of earth and water play into lifestyle. Long story short, building strength is grounding in the body and mind.

And if it's not the body in need of ease, it’s that darn mind of ours moving, turning and churning without ceasing. Dreaming is simply evidence that the mind never stops moving, but at least it feels like somewhat of a break.

Here’s a bit of guidance in choosing a yoga sequence for sleep that lends itself well in the bodymind:

• Forward folding postures (think: seated forward folds, supported child’s pose) that support a down-regulated nervous system

• Spending time directly on the ground (prone, seated) or with all four limbs on the ground

• Pay special attention to the feet (rub and massage first, then shift attention here when placed on the ground)

• Bringing the gaze low in your space or eyes closed

• Low-toned, low-frequency sounds

Elemental Sleep

Do you wake often or sleep light between 2-6a? More easily awoken? Both Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine have their own reasons for why this occurs. My study is Ayurveda, so I’ll focus efforts here. The 5 elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Ether are present in varying distribution in the environment and in our bodies at different times of day. Waking between 2-6am is common, and increasingly so in spring, as both either and air (which is ether in motion) are predominant in our environment. And we are a microcosm of the macrocosm. These elements are characterized by movement and communication. The earth starts to wake, the birds start to sing, the wind starts to move - it’s all in plain sight (I mean, within earshot). Have also noticed it’s easier to wake up before 6, but waking after is much harder? It’s the same rationale. We’re made of rhythms and winds, too, and are affected by our environment.

Air and ether also predominate in stages of life. Approaching and entering wisdom years (50+), we see air and ether manifest in body and mind, with often a lesser need (and lesser ability) to sleep. Dry skin, drier bowels, memory concerns that range from forgetfulness to dementia. There are all manifest of air and ether.

Nightmares

This study from Frontiers in Psychology is a long read, but an interesting one. A recent client focus here led me into a deep dive on the correlations and causations with nightmares. Here are the highlights:

• Trauma certainly can play a role (read here)

• Eating late may correlate with nightmares or disturbing dreams

• For a lesser percentage of the sample, eating late correlated with more creative or bizarre dreams

• Out of those that ate later, dairy was the only food of statistical significance that correlated with nightmares. Consuming dairy before bed may be a leading factor.

More About Better Sleep

A paid subscription to BetterSleep gets you hundreds of sleep sounds to mix and match… and access to sleep coaching. For folks looking for lifestyle coaching, this is another easy and affordable way to access me. Check out all the benefits of having a sleep coach and schedule a call!

Relevant books and pods:

Yoga for Sleep by Mark Stephens

Your Inner Clock by Lynne Peeples

Dr. Matt Walker on Huberman Lab Guest Series

Sleep well my friends,

Elise