The Serious Business of Sleep
As we talked about in our popular article, Guide to Biohacking Your Sleep, sleep is absolutely essential to good health.
Despite the science, however, many still underestimate sleep’s significance, often viewing it as less important to health than activities such as exercise, stress reduction or proper diet.
In fact, you can go longer without eating food than you can without sleep! A person can live about three weeks without food, but only eleven consecutive days without sleep. And within just twenty-four hours, sleep deprivation begins to trigger serious side effects.
In reality, sleep is so vital for physical and mental health because our genes rely on sleep to “express” properly. Your genetic expression guides cellular processes that maintain all of your body’s functions. Optimally supporting your genetic code is crucial. Without ample restorative sleep fueling the functional genetic expression sleep serves, our minds and bodies simply cannot perform optimally in the short or long term.
The following is more ‘food for thought’ on the importance of sleep and what we can do to support better sleep hygiene.
The Gut-Sleep Connection
In another article, Genetics, Mental Health, And The Gut-Brain Connection, we discuss how our gut (aka microbiome) health can impact brain function.
“Genetics can play a role in both gut health and mental health, and certain genetic variants (there are many more than the few examples listed here) have been found to be associated with specific conditions.
MTHFR* (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) is an enzyme that plays a critical role in the metabolism of folate and homocysteine. Variations in the MTHFR gene have been linked to an increased risk of depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions, as well as gut-related issues such as inflammatory bowel disease.
FUT2* (fucosyltransferase 2) is an enzyme that regulates the production of certain sugars on the surface of cells in the gut. Variations in the FUT2 gene have been linked to an increased risk of inflammatory bowel disease and other gut-related conditions.
IL-6* (interleukin-6) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a role in the immune response. Variations in the IL-6 gene have been linked to an increased risk of depression and other mental health conditions.”
One theory suggests that the gut and brain communicate through the gut-brain axis, a complex network of neural, hormonal, and immune pathways. This connection also extends to our sleep patterns.
The gut produces and releases various neurotransmitters, including serotonin, a key player in mood and emotional regulation as well as sleep quality. Additionally, it generates other mood-enhancing chemicals like dopamine and GABA, which also influence mental health and sleep.
Furthermore, the microbiome plays a pivotal role in immune system regulation, directly influencing the brain and sleep.
Gut inflammation can trigger brain inflammation, contributing to conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD, all of which can disrupt sleep patterns.
Further research is required to fully grasp the intricacies of the gut-brain connection and its effects on mental health and sleep. Nevertheless, it’s clear that maintaining a healthy gut is imperative for overall well-being, including sleep quality, and conversely– that sleep quality itself is imperative for overall well-being, and potentially for a healthy gut.
More Genetic Connections
Insomnia and inadequate sleep can impact various genes, particularly those related to circadian rhythms, stress responses, hormones, and metabolism.
For instance, the PER2 gene, responsible for regulating circadian rhythms, is influenced by insomnia.
Genes linked to the HPA axis, which manages stress responses, including CYP11B2, are also affected by sleep deprivation. Furthermore, genes governing fat storage (e.g., FTO, APOA2) and appetite regulation (e.g., MTHFR, MC4R-2, UCP, AGRP) are susceptible to sleep changes.
If you possess genetic variations predisposing you to issues with any of these genes, insufficient sleep can significantly disrupt these and other bodily systems.
Hormones
Hormonal changes affect the hypothalamus, one of the main organs responsible for regulating body temperature.
Factors that can affect your hormone levels include genetics, age, and hormone-related diseases.
Sleep Environment
We have already identified the paramount nature of sleep for health, as rest and restoration intricately affect cell function and communication. Here we address the impact of the environment on sleep, and identify ways in which to facilitate slumber through adjustments in one’s surroundings.
Like plants and animals thriving in specific environments, our bodies require an ideal setting for optimal functioning, including sleep.
Therefore, creating an optimal sleep environment is considered key to getting a restful night’s sleep.
One of the most important environmental factors for sleep is temperature. When a body is too warm or too cool, sleep is interrupted. Studies show that the ideal temperature for sleep may vary with age. But no matter how old or young, like Goldilocks, a “just right” temperature allows the body to settle in (and remain in) a state of slumber.
For obvious reasons, being able to quickly control the room temperature itself is extremely useful in creating the most sleep-compatible environment. While smart thermostats and heat pumps on remote are a luxury some can afford, opening and closing windows, using black-out curtains, strategic placement of fans and other such methods are affordable ways to support sleep-space temperature balance.
In recent years, advancements in thermal-regulated bedding have also made waves in the world of sleep science.
For example, Tencel™, often made from eucalyptus, is now regularly lauded as an ideal fabric for establishing a “just right” sleep environment through its fiber’s capacities to support temperature regulation, comfort, moisture management and more.
The Benefits of Tencel™ Bedding
Temperature Affects Sleep Quality: Your body’s core temperature naturally drops as you prepare for sleep. This drop in temperature helps initiate and maintain deep sleep. Tencel™ sheets help facilitate this natural cooling process impacting sleep quality.
Comfortable Sleep: Being too warm can lead to discomfort and restlessness. Sweating or feeling overheated can disrupt your sleep and prevent you from reaching the deeper, more restorative stages of slumber.
Thermal-Regulation: Tencel™ sheets have temperature-regulating properties and are designed to help regulate your body temperature while you sleep. They are made from materials that wick away moisture and allow for better airflow, helping to keep you cool in hot conditions and warm in cooler ones.
Moisture Management: Tencel™ sheets are excellent at managing moisture, which can be especially helpful if you tend to sweat during the night. They wick away moisture from your body, keeping you dry and comfortable throughout the night.
All-Season Comfort: Tencel™ sheets are versatile and work well in different seasons. They can keep you cool in the summer and cozy in the winter, adapting to your body’s temperature needs.
Reduces Nighttime Awakenings: Maintaining a cooler sleep environment can support better thermoregulation, minimizing nighttime awakenings caused by discomfort due to overheating. Tencel™ sheets help you sleep more comfortably, making you more likely to experience restorative, uninterrupted sleep.
In addition, Tence|™ has very strict guidelines their licensed and certified partner companies must abide by and has established an initiative to be “True Carbon Zero” by 2050.
At The End of The Day…
Incorporating temperature-regulating sheets into your bedding can be a practical and effective way to create a health-sustaining sleep environment.
When combined with other sleep hygiene practices like maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, following a relaxing bedtime routine, and minimizing exposure to screens before bed, you can significantly improve your sleep quality.
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