Top 5 Ways To Get Better Sleep

How Sleep Affects Your Brain

Sleep doesn't always get the appreciation it deserves, but it's incredibly important for your overall health and wellbeing. A regular good night's sleep not only helps you concentrate and get things done but can also keep your immune system operating at peak efficiency and guard against illness.

Poor sleep, on the other hand, is linked to brain fog, difficulty focusing, depression and more. One study (Mann et al., 2021) even found that ADHD has a strong link with poor sleep. The link with ADHD makes sense because proper, reparative sleep is vital in solidifying memories and helping you retain the information you learned during the daytime. If we can improve sleeping habits, then, we can help alleviate the symptoms of depression, ADHD, and other conditions, too.

This is one reason why we put so much emphasis on sleep here at Elite Physiology. The other is that our favored approaches of bio- and neurofeedback are based on teaching your mind and body to behave a different way -as stated, sleep is vital when it comes to the ability to learn. The first step for almost every client who comes through our doors is improving sleep, which helps build that foundation for learning.

How do we do this? First, we create a brain map, also known as a qEEG. Through state of the art technology we can examine your brain's electrical pattern. We do this by having you look at a blank wall or space for 10 minutes - something boring, non-stimulating - and then having you close your eyes for another 10 minutes. This helps us establish a sort of "drowsiness baseline, that gives us clues as to how you're falling asleep each not. If you're very tired but not falling asleep, the test helps us determine what's going on in your brain that's preventing sleep. Specific brain waves might be the culprit. For instance, high beta wave activity is common in people who have a hard time falling asleep, or can't go back to sleep after waking up. Beta waves are related to a conscious, alert state, and often present as rumination and anxiety. If you've ever woken up and found your mind tackling a life problem at 3 in the morning, beta waves were to blame!

Using neuromodulation, we can tone down beta wave frequency to teach your brain to relax before initially falling asleep and when waking up at night. In other words, we remove the barrier to sleep onset. If you do often wake up during the night, you probably lack what's called a "sleep spindle." Sleep spindles are bursts in brain activity that occur as you're falling asleep, moving through the different stages of sleep. During an early stage, a brain wave known as a K-complex occurs. Immediately after this, a sleep spindle should occur, too. If it doesn't the person wakes up. With neuromodulation, we can teach your brain to ensure this sleep spindle occurs which will help you stay asleep during the night. These are just a few examples of how neurofeedback and neuromodulation can help you get regular, restful sleep.

Let's take a quick look at 5 ways you can improve your sleep habits and thereby boost your mental and physical health.

1. Camping

There's just something very natural and relaxing about resting under the stars, surrounded by beautiful trees and a warm campfire. Put your phone in airplane mode to avoid blue light and any distractions.

The important thing here is to allow yourself to fall asleep and wake with the rising and setting of the sun - it can help get your circadian rhythm back on track.

2. Work on Sleep Hygiene

Habits are important when it comes to healthful sleep. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Don't keep electronics like a laptop or even your phone in your bedroom, and wear blue-light blocking glasses when using these devices in the evening.

Your brain doesn't know the difference between blue light and natural sunlight and won't produce as much melatonin (a relaxing hormone) when exposed to screens.

You can also unplug certain devices at night to reduce the amount of electro-magnetic fields circulating in your home.

3. Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback can train your brain to automatically slow down beta brain waves, greatly reducing nighttime rumination. It can also teach your brain to boost sleep spindles at the appropriate stage of sleep so you don't wake up while falling asleep, among other approaches.

4. Neurostimulation

Neurostimulation can teach your brain to relax when you're drowsy. It can also be used to promote a more generalized, relaxed state that can help if you experience a near-constant state of stress.

5. Biofeedback

Biofeedback can train your autonomic nervous system. This is the component of your nervous system responsible for unconscious actions like heartbeat or breathing. Falling into sleep is very much not a conscious process and largely depends on the desired functioning of your autonomic nervous system.

Do all you can to improve your sleep habits, and your mind and body will thank you for it!

Learn more about how we can help you get consistently good nights of sleep. Book your FREE 25 minute consultation today!