LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE?

Do you have good sleep hygiene? Yes, sleep hygiene is the term and I’m not talking about your bedtime routine of brushing your teeth, flossing and washing your face.

What’s your sleep routine?

Are you eating up until when you fall asleep?

Looking at your phone, tv or computer up until you close your eyes?

Not getting enough sleep whether because you stay up too late or sleep poorly?

Maybe you’re having a hard time falling asleep? Then you hit snooze fifty times when the alarms goes off in the morning?

Maybe your dog is your alarm. They say nothing gets us out of bed faster than the sound of a dog vomiting, but let’s hope that doesn’t happen in your household.

Our dogs need more sleep than we do, especially as they age. But sometimes they’re sleeping a lot because they're in pain or because they’re bored and under-stimulated. Then sometimes their sleep is interrupted because they’re itchy, hot, sensitive to something in the air or uncomfortable from joint pain. Then you can’t sleep either because they’re restless. We’re so in synch with our dogs and our well-being is tied to theirs and vice versa.

As tempted as I am to read the news when I get into bed, I try to limit my screen time and my bad news information diet at night. It’s not good for falling asleep nor for the content of my dreams.

Using blue light blockers after dark  - and only after dark – can be a good thing for our circadian rhythms and thus, our sleep. Natural blue light in the daylit sky helps regulate circadian rhythms and signal hormones, but blue light also refers to the light from electronic screens that disrupt our biological clocks when we’re exposed after dark. You can buy a cheap pair of these blocking glasses online and use them while watching tv or any screen in the last hours before bed. Your dog is also bothered by that blue light from the tv, computer and phone screens. They just aren’t likely making a big deal about it. They can’t talk, after all. Do them a favor and ease up on some of that blue light at night.

Instead of screen time for the last few hours of your day, maybe consider pod casts, audio books, radio, books and magazines in a dimly lit room so your eyes and nervous system start winding down.

What about midnight snacks? If you’re doing that, just know your body does best with more time in the rest and digest mode. That’s why time-restricted eating is so beneficial. Same for our dogs. Ideally, most of us are giving our digestive system 16 hours of rest and 8 hours to eat. It’s part of hormesis tied to longevity. It’s also helpful for falling asleep. No one likes that feeling of falling asleep before a meal is digested. Ick.

Temperature matters a lot with falling and staying asleep. Better to be a tad cool than sleep in a steam room. We can always layer up and remove some when hot.

How comfortable is your bed? Your Pillow? Might you benefit from a weighted blanket or a new pillow? It’s hard to just toss a mattress since they’re expensive, but you can add a mattress topper to make it firmer or softer.

What about disruptions from your neighbors? Are they blasting their tv at night, yelling drunk in their garden at a party, stomping above your head in stilettos or out late with their own barking dog while you try to fall asleep? Maybe your neighbors are quiet, but you live on a busy street and have an assault of motorcycles, sirens and garbage trucks at odd hours? It’s hard to control these external forces, but white noise machines or relaxing music can help you tune the outside world out.

Yoga Nidra is a relaxing practice for falling asleep, too. Plenty of phone meditation apps now have some options on that front. Other guided sleep meditations can be helpful, too.

Just try to have your wifi and blue tooth off before falling asleep so you don’t get interrupted by artificial EMFs that can disrupt sleep for you and your dog. Some people are more sensitive than others, but our ultra-wired, ultra-connected and wireless world creates some chaos that irritates our nervous system and mood.

Also make sure your room is dark enough for you or invest in better shades or an eye mask. Sleep is important for day-to-day functioning, but also for longevity.

Breathwork techniques can increase relaxation before sleep that makes sleep more attainable. There’s 478 that Dr. Andrew Weil talks about. You breathe in through the nose for 4 counts, hold for 7, and breathe our through the mouth for 8 counts four times in a row. There’s also Dr. Andrew Huberman’s suggested technique where you breath deep through the nose, take another quick sip, then breath it all out through mouth in a long exhale. Even just once. Studies show it works consistently to relax the nervous system, which positively impacts our mental and emotional states. Who knew so many Andrews were into breathwork.

Back to circadian rhythms for a second, getting direct sunlight without glasses for 5 minutes in the first hour of the day can help with circadian rhythms that affects immune system, sleep, energy, focus and mood.

The back of the eyes are connected to the brain and nervous system, so eyes are way more important than just for vision. Dr Andrew Huberman talks about this. He also says a stress management technique is panoramic, peripheral and long-distance viewing. It does a quick reset to nervous system. It really explains why taking a walk in nature is so relaxing. Aside from the scents and sounds, we are looking around and far ahead when we walk at the beach or on a trail.

If you’re having a really hard time falling asleep or getting what feels like a good night’s rest, you may want to look into a sleep study. Many people have sleep apnea and benefit from CPAPs. Some have other sleep disorders. Some respond well to pharmaceuticals but they can have bad side effects with long-term use.

Some herbs can help you fall asleep whether in a tea, a tincture or that herb that’s now legal in much of the US. There’s passionflower, valerian root, skullcap, chamomile, lavender, and ashwagandha. Red wine can also help. Just try not to have too much liquid without using the bathroom because you could have a very uncomfortable night ahead if your bladder is full.

I enjoy essential oils in my surrounding at bedtime such as a sleep blend by DoTerra that includes lavender among other scents. I put a drop below my nose and a few dabs on my wrists. It’s quite calming.

So that covers the senses and how they affect sleep. If your mind is racing when it’s time for bed, these remedies might help. It’s also possible you need to burn off more energy during the day. Same with your dog. And sometimes there’s just something on the mind that we can’t shake. Hopefully when that happens for you, it’s just one night and you make up for it the next night. We need our sleep. We remove lots of toxins when we sleep. Have you heard of the glymphatic system? It’s our recently discovered waste clearance system that supports the central nervous system’s efficiency. Aside from that, sleep is needed to fortify the immune system, for alertness, for decision-making, for balanced moods and for longevity.

Wishing you and your dogs a good night’s sleep.