HeraSphere #3: The Science of Sleep

In this issue: The Sleep Science That Every Woman Needs to Know

• Why Sleep is Your Secret Weapon

• Your Sleep Cycles: Your Brain's Restoration System

• Your Circadian Rhythm: Your Body's Master Clock

• The Sad Truth About Our Favorite Drinks: Coffee & Wine

• Sleep Aids & Supplements: Separating Fact from Fiction

• Sleep Hygiene: Easier Said Than Done

  • Dr. Walker’s Tips for Falling Asleep

  • What Has Helped me Sleep Better

1. Why Sleep Is Your Secret Weapon

• Sleep is your body's Swiss Army knife of health tools. While you're catching those Z's, your brain is busy filing away memories like a master librarian. It cleans out toxic proteins that could lead to Alzheimer's and recharges your immune system. Natural killer cells that fight cancer drop by 70% after just one night of poor sleep! It regulaties hormones that control everything from hunger to stress, repairs muscle and tissue damage, and helps you process emotional experiences (ever notice how everything feels more manageable after a good night's sleep?)

• The health implications of poor sleep are staggering. Just one week of sleeping less than 6 hours per night leads to changes in over 700 genes.

  Chronic poor sleep is linked to a 45% increased risk of developing heart disease. Women who sleep less than 7 hours per night have a 30% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In fact, sleep deprivation increases anxiety by up to 30% and is strongly linked to depression. Poor sleep is also associated with increased inflammation, which is connected to everything from accelerated aging to autoimmune conditions

• Think of sleep as your body's overnight spa treatment – you're getting deep cellular renewal that impacts everything from your memory to your metabolism.

2. Your Sleep Cycles: Your Brain’s Restoration Program

• Your nightly sleep is a carefully orchestrated series of cycles, each lasting about 90 minutes. Think of it like a washing machine with different cycles: pre-wash, deep clean, and refresh. You need about 4-5 complete cycles each night for optimal restoration.

• Light sleep (Stages N1 and N2) serves as your entry point into deeper sleep. During these stages, your brain begins to disengage from the outside world, producing special patterns called sleep spindles that protect your sleep from disruption. Your body temperature drops, your heart rate slows, and your brain starts the initial process of memory consolidation. You'll spend about half your total sleep time in these stages.

• Deep sleep (Stage N3) is your body's repair shop. This is when your body releases growth hormone for tissue repair, your immune system kicks into high gear, and your brain clears out cellular debris, like a dishwasher cleaning out your brain from the day. It's also when your body does most of its physical restoration work. Most of your deep sleep happens in the first half of the night, which is why going to bed late can rob you of this crucial restoration time.

• REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is your brain's creative workshop. While your body is temporarily paralyzed, your brain becomes highly active, processing emotional experiences and consolidating memories. This is when most dreams occur, and your brain makes novel connections that aid in problem-solving and creativity. REM periods get longer as the night progresses, with the longest occurring in the early morning hours.

• Here's why timing matters so much: you get most of your deep, physically restorative sleep in the first half of the night (typically between 10 PM and 2 AM), while most REM sleep occurs in the latter half. This means that sleeping from 10 PM to 6 AM provides more restorative benefits than sleeping the same eight hours from 1 AM to 9 AM. It's not just about how many hours you sleep – it's about when those hours occur and whether you're completing full sleep cycles. That's why consistent sleep and wake times are so crucial for optimal rest and restoration.

• Frighteningly, chronic poor sleep is prospectively linked to the risk and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

3. Your Circadian Rhythm: The Body’s Master Clock

• Your circadian rhythm is your body's internal timekeeper, orchestrating a complex symphony of biological processes that repeat roughly every 24 hours. Every cell in your body has its own molecular clock, but they all take their cues from the master timekeeper, influencing everything from hormone production and body temperature to metabolism and cognitive performance.

• Light is the most powerful signal for regulating this system. When morning light hits specialized receptors in your eyes, it triggers a cascade of biological changes: cortisol (your wake-up hormone) increases, melatonin production stops, body temperature rises, and your digestive system becomes more active. As evening approaches, this process reverses – melatonin production increases, body temperature drops, and your metabolism slows down, all preparing you for sleep.

• For women, the circadian system is particularly complex because it interacts closely with our monthly hormonal cycles. Our core body temperature varies more throughout the month than men's does, and we're generally more sensitive to circadian disruption.

• During perimenopause and menopause, changing hormone levels can further impact this delicate system, which is why sleep disturbances often become more common during these transitions. Understanding these interactions helps explain why maintaining regular daily patterns – in sleep, eating, and activity – becomes increasingly important for women's health as we age.

4. The Sad Truth About Our Favorite Drinks: Coffee & Wine

• That afternoon coffee might be sabotaging your sleep more than you realize. Caffeine has a surprisingly long half-life of 6 hours, meaning if you have coffee at 4 PM, half of that caffeine is still circulating in your system at 10 PM. Even if you're one of those people who can fall asleep after an evening espresso, caffeine reduces your time in deep sleep, compromising sleep quality. Try to cut off caffeine by 2 PM, and be aware of hidden sources like chocolate, tea, and foods (like Burmese tea leaf salad, which has kept me up).

• Wine might feel like it helps you drift off, but alcohol and quality sleep don't mix. While alcohol can make you feel sleepy initially, it fragments your sleep architecture and blocks crucial REM sleep. Think of it as putting your brain on mild anesthesia rather than natural sleep. As alcohol metabolizes during the night, it also causes your blood sugar to fluctuate, often leading to middle-of-the-night wake-ups. For better sleep, try to stop drinking alcohol 3 hours before bedtime.

• Timing your liquid intake is crucial for uninterrupted sleep. Most people need to use the bathroom about 2 hours after drinking fluids, so try to front-load your hydration during the day and reduce liquid intake in the evening. A good rule of thumb is to stop drinking most liquids 2-3 hours before bed. This helps prevent those frustrating midnight bathroom trips that can disrupt your sleep cycles.

5. Sleep Aids & Supplements: Separating Fact from Fiction

• Prescription sleep medications don’t give you quality sleep: Drugs Ambien, Lunesta, and other sedative-hypnotics can help you fall asleep faster, but they often don't provide the natural, restorative sleep your body needs. Think of it like putting your brain into a chemically induced state of unconsciousness rather than natural sleep. Research shows these medications can reduce time spent in deep sleep and REM sleep – the stages crucial for memory consolidation, emotional processing, and physical restoration. Most sleep experts recommend using these medications only as a short-term solution while addressing underlying sleep issues. As a word of caution, they have been associated witha heightened risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in multiple studies

• Melatonin has some benefits, and more if you’re over 50. Melatonin has modest benefits in faster and longer sleep, and greater benefits for populations over 50. Think of melatonin not as a sleep inducer, but as a sleep timer – it helps tell your body when it's time for bed, but doesn't actually make you sleep better. There could also be a placebo effect for some, and it does help lower your body temperature slightly, which is a precurser to sleep. If you try it, many sleep experts continue to advise starting with the lowest effective dose, typically 0.5-1 mg.

• Higher magnesium levels are associated with better sleep quality, longer sleep times, and less daytime tiredness. While research is mixed, magnesium may help with falling asleep faster and protect against early waking in older adults and supplementation may help improve insomnia symptoms in adults over 60. Specifically, Magnesium threonate stands out due to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively than other forms of magnesium.

• CBD for sleep is like the wild west right now – lots of promise, but we're still figuring out the details. The research so far is intriguing: CBD might help with both falling asleep and staying asleep if anxiety is keeping you up at night. It works with your body's endocannabinoid system, which plays a role in regulating sleep and mood.

• For jetlag specifically, the Time Shifter app is based on NASA research and helps you adjust your sleep schedule when crossing time zones. If you’ve used it, I’d love to hear about your experience!

• Learn more about other natural sleep aids here

6. Sleep Hygiene: Easier Said Than Done

• Temperature matters: Keep your bedroom cool (around 65°F/18°C) – your body needs to drop its core temperature to initiate sleep

• Control light to boost your circadian rhythm: Get bright light exposure within 30 minutes of waking. Dim lights in the evening to signal bedtime to your brain, and use blackout curtains or an eye mask for sleeping

• Timing is everything: The idea is to to bed and wake up at the same time every day (this is the toughest part for us night owls). Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep consistently, and stop looking at screens 1 hour before bed (blue light disrupts your melatonin)

• Create a wind-down routine: Taking a warm bath or shower 1-2 hours before bed can help lower your core temperature. Gentle stretching or meditation, and writing down tomorrow's to-do list to clear your mind are best practices

• The bottom line: It can be stressful to try and get this all right every night. Making small, realistic changes can help, and there is a bit of trial and error to find out what works best for you

• Check out this sleep quiz by Dr. Michael Breus (aka The Sleep Doctor) to see how your sleep habits stack up & get personalized sleep improvement recommendations.

Dr. Walker’s Tips for Falling Asleep

Skip the old advice about counting sheep – it actually makes things worse! Instead try:

1. The Mental Walk Technique Instead of counting sheep, take a detailed mental walk through a familiar place. Picture your neighborhood or a favorite park, noting specific details along the way. This engages your mind just enough to stop anxiety-inducing thoughts without being too stimulating

2. The 4-7-8 Breathing Method This powerful relaxation technique works like a natural tranquilizer. Inhale quietly through your nose for 4 seconds. Hold your breath for 7 seconds. Exhale completely through your mouth for 8 seconds. Repeat 4 times

3. The Clock Ban Remove or cover all clock faces in your bedroom, including your phone. Checking the time when you can't sleep creates anxiety about how much sleep you're losing, making it even harder to drift off

If you wake up in the middle of the night… Remember this is normal! Historically, humans often slept in two phases.

• If you can't fall back asleep within 20 minutes, get up and do something boring in dim light like reading. Only return to bed when you feel sleepy

• Try the "body scan" meditation: progressively relax each muscle group from toes to head

What Has Helped Me Sleep Better

• The right environment: We have black out curtains, turn the thermostat to 65 degrees at night, and use a sound machine nightly

• A meditation, of sorts: I have a Renpho eye massager that applies heat and temple massage with music for 10 minutes, which usually helps me relax and fall sleep

• A cool neuromodulator device: Since my toddler comes in and wakes me up at 3am almost every night, I’ve been testing a Elemind headband. It’s a brand new neuromodulator technology that acts like a calming device for overactive minds, helping to quiet mental chatter. That’s worked about 75% of the time to help me get back to sleep, which is highly superior to 20% without!

Thanks for reading and sharing HeraSphere. Please share your sleep tips or other feedback! Just hit reply or comment on the post - I read every note and am also learning so much from this community! A quick poll to get your thoughts…

Sweet dreams,

Lilly

P.S. If you found this helpful, please share it with a friend who might need better sleep too. We're all in this together! 💕

If you’ve received this email from a friend and want to receive it in your own inbox

Note: While I love diving deep into research and sharing what I've learned about women's health and wellness, I want to be crystal clear: I'm a passionate health advocate and researcher, not a medical professional. Think of me as your well-informed friend who does extensive homework – but not your doctor.

Everything I share in HeraSphere comes from careful research and personal experience, but it's meant to inform and inspire, not to diagnose or treat any medical conditions. Your body is uniquely yours, and what works for one person might not work for another. Always consult your healthcare provider before making significant changes to your diet, exercise routine, or wellness practices, especially if you have underlying health conditions or take medications.

Some links in HeraSphere are Amazon affiliate links. I do earn a small commission from qualifying purchases, which helps support this newsletter while keeping it free for readers. I only recommend products I personally use and believe in, like the walking pad that's transformed how I get my steps in during work days!