• True darkness: Ensure your sleep environment is pitch black. Sunlight and blue light reduce melatonin.
• Pink noise played during the first 90 minutes of sleep has been found to slow brain oscillations and increase sleep. Check out the free app Simply Noise.
Sleep Supplements
If you are following a good, solid sleep routine and still struggle with insomnia, your neurotransmitters may need a bit of help. Supplements to support good sleep include:
• Melatonin: Melatonin decreases as we age, so it is especially helpful for age-related insomnia. It also helps with insomnia due to depression, autism, or epilepsy, and helps patients withdraw from benzodiazepine therapy.
• GABA: GABA is our main inhibitory neurotransmitter of the CNS. Barbiturate and benzodiazepine medications target the GABA receptor. In my clinical experience, patients particu- larly appreciate GABA because it doesn’t leave them feeling drowsy in the morning.
• Glycine: Glycine is an amino acid that binds to NMDA receptors in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain, which regulates our circadian rhythm. It is inhibitory and helps to lower body temperature, thereby increasing sleep.
• Magnesium: Magnesium is a mineral that catalyzes more than 300 enzyme reactions in the body, improving sleep by activating GABA.
• Tryptophan: Tryptophan is the amino acid found in turkey that is blamed for post-Thanksgiving feast naps. Tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin, which in turn is the precursor to melatonin. Studies show it has the best results when taken together with B6 and B3. Do not take tryptophan if you are on a MAOI medication.
• Valerian root, Valeriana officinalis: This slightly stinky root helps you fall asleep faster and improves sleep quality by af- fecting GABA receptors. However, it can sometimes have the paradoxical effect of energizing some people.
• Hops, Humulus lupulus: Yes, the same hops used to make beer also activate the GABA receptor. I highly recommend hops together with valerian and Passiflora as an aid to help- ing patients stay asleep.
• Passionflower, Passiflora incarnata: This beautiful flower is excellent for quelling cyclical, ruminating thoughts that can deter falling asleep. Take as a solid extract or together with valerian and hops.
• Magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora: Magnolia has the com- pound honokiol that activates GABA receptors and reduces cortisol. Magnolia is also a great immune help against viruses and is therefore useful for insomnia related to viral infections.
Here’s to your good night’s sleep!
Dr. Tara Tranguch wears the Oura ring to track her sleep and is passionate about improving her patients’ sleep. She is a licensed naturopathic physician in Woodbury, CT, with a focus on preventive health care, digestive issues, environmental medicine, and autoim- munity. Specialized treatments include nutrigenomics,
homeopathy, and hydrotherapy. Learn more at
drtaratranguch.com and follow her at
facebook.com/drtranguch. See ad on page 6.
www.NaturalNutmeg.com 25
The Stages of Sleep Source: Neuroscience. 2nd edition, Purves
D, Augustine GJ, Fitzpatrick D, et al., editors. Sunderland (MA): Sinauer Associates; 2001.
Sleep is categorized as rapid eye movement (REM) or non-REM (NREM) sleep. We go from being awake to:
NREM Light Sleep
This is 5–10% of our total sleep. In stage I, our skeletal muscles can still move and breathing is at a regular rate. If you wake up in this phase you might not even know you were asleep. In stages II–III, heart rate and body temperature drop. Sleep spindles activate the brain in stage II, which accounts for 45–55% of our sleep. Benzodiazepines increase sleep spindle activity and work at this level.
NREM Deep Sleep
Also known as slow wave sleep, NREM deep sleep is stages III–IV. It is characterized by delta waves in the brain and accounts for 15–20% of our sleep. This stage occurs in the first half of the night and is the most rejuvenating and restorative sleep stage. The benefits of deep sleep include growth hormone secretion, which is necessary for building bone and muscle and strengthening the immune system, and for our total brain health. Our central nervous system uses the glymphatic system to remove waste and it is only active to remove toxic proteins when we are in deep sleep. Reduced deep sleep has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases.
REM Sleep
REM sleep is marked by rapid eye movements and muscle inactivity (with the exception of eye muscles and the diaphragm). This is the stage associated with vivid dreaming and accounts for 18–23% of sleep. While we dream, we consolidate memories, learning, and creativity. The REM cycles get longer throughout the night lasting from 10 minutes to an hour and is the last stage of sleep. If you wake up in the middle of a dream, you know you were in REM sleep.
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