Tag Archives: sleep and health

How Vitamins Make Your Sleep Better

Twenty-five percent of Americans will experience intermittent insomnia sometime in the year while ten percent suffer from chronic insomnia. Insomnia is the second leading mental health disorder in the United States with symptoms such as fatigue, moodiness, anger, appetite changes, lack of motivation, and poor decision making. Sleep deprivation can increase the likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder, a leading cause of insomnia. So, you see how sleep deprivation becomes a vicious cycle.


Quality sleep is affected by a variety of things that you do in the daytime, such as what you eat, your ability to handle stress and anxiety, your schedule, and exercise. It is also affected by the vitamins you take.

Vitamin D and Sleep

Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, may be one of the most important vitamins for sleep. Vitamin D supports the immune system, manages inflammation, and also regulates your mood and stress levels. Despite the health benefits of Vitamin D, millions of people are deficient. The majority of food sources are animal-based such as fatty fish, cheese, and eggs so vegetarians and vegans may need to supplement.  

You are able to make vitamin D by exposing your skin to sunlight. This process is impaired if you constantly wear sunscreen, if your skin is too dark, you are obese, or you have a kidney or digest tract issue preventing Vitamin D from being properly converted or absorbed into the body.  

Vitamins and sleep
Could your sleep be better with vitamins?

Vitamin E to Counteract Sleep Deprivation

Vitamin E helps protect and maintain healthy cell function in the body. Especially, to protect short and long-term memory and counter the effects of sleep deprivation.

While most people get enough vitamin E, deficiencies are possible — largely due to genetics or an underlying medical condition such as cystic fibrosis, cholestatic liver disease, or celiac disease. Food sources of vitamin E include vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and green leafy veggies.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is well-known for its antioxidant strength which bolsters our immune systems. But, research has also shown several unique links between Vitamin C and sleep. For example, people who sleep fewer hours at night consume less Vitamin C than those who sleep longer hours. Vitamin C deficiencies are also linked to greater sleep disruption. In addition, Vitamin C is linked to protection of the brain as well as assist in reducing the effects of sleep apnea.

Nearly 7% of American adults experience a Vitamin C deficiency. Common signs of a deficiency may include cork-screw shaped body hair, rough and patchy skin, bright red colored hair follicles, swollen and painful joints, oddly-shaped fingernails, and easy bruising to name a few. Foods high in Vitamin C include oranges, strawberries, bell peppers, broccoli and tomatoes.

Vitamin B6

Lack of Vitamin B6 increases symptoms related to insomnia and depression. B6 is involved in over 150 enzyme reactions which help to process fats, carbs, and proteins. It is also instrumentally-linked to the immune and nervous system.

Vitamin B6 deficiencies are more likely if you are deficient in other B vitamins such as B12 and Folate. Deficiency is also more common if you suffer from liver, kidney, digestive, or autoimmune diseases. People who smoke, alcoholics, suffer from obesity, and pregnant women are also at risk. Foods high in B6 include meats, fish, whole grains and eggs.

Vitamin B12 and Sleep-Wake Disruptions

B12 is important in maintaining consistent sleep by limiting sleep-wake disruptions which are common in people who suffer from depression and anxiety.

B12 deficiencies are common. You may be at risk if you are taking diabetes medication, heartburn medication, strictly vegan, or elderly. Much like Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 is mostly found in animal-based foods meaning that without supplements vegans and vegetarians are at risk of being deficient. Common symptoms of a B12 deficiency are pale or jaundiced skin, weakness and fatigue, and those pins and needles sensations. Foods high in B12 include beef, fish and organ meats.

Lisa Smalls is a freelance writer from NC who covers sleep health topics for Mattress Advisor. She is passionate about educating and writing on the subject of nutrition and its relation to sleep health.

Get Good Sleep, Because Good Sleep is Hard To Find

Everyone wants good sleep, but let’s face it – most of us really don’t sleep like champions. Actually, thanks to modern living, most of us get pretty lousy sleep. Huh. It’s kind of the one area where humans are moving steadily backward. Seems like a good time to reverse the trend because let’s face it – everything is better if sleep is better (I’m getting that lesson drilled into me currently by my fantastic, but sleep disruptive, newborn.)




This, just for the record, is not my sleep disruptive newborn, but it is a sleepy white puppy from dailycuteness who looks like good sleep is on the menu.

This, just for the record, is not my sleep disruptive newborn.  It’s a puppy from dailycuteness who looks like good sleep is on the menu. I want this type of good sleep.

Small Steps to Good Sleep

  1. Make sure your sleep environment is totally dark. This means no nightlight, no TV, no light coming in the window, no bright alarm clocks. Focus especially on the blue-spectrum lights which are more sleep-disruptive than the red end of the spectrum.  Seriously my bedroom looks like a crazy person lives here (ahem. Quiet in the peanut gallery) because all of the lights that indicate my various electronics are on are covered with layers of tape so I don’t have little blue and green lights all over the room.
  2. Caffeine only before noon.  This includes sodas and iced tea, and even dark chocolate if you’re especially sensitive. My favorite case of “cured” insomnia involved a mechanic, who in answer to the question “how much water do you drink in a day” replied “three pots” meaning that the only drink the shop where he worked was coffee and he had three pots per day (!!) Sometimes, looking at the simple things really is the best.
  3. Exercise. Exercise helps everything.  Really everything.  For most people it is best for sleep to exercise in the morning, but some people respond best to evening exercise. As with everything else, try it at home and see what your body likes best. Remember 10 minutes is more than none, so don’t feel bad about just doing 10 minutes if that’s all the time you have.
  4. Cut down on the sugars and starches in your diet. If you’ve read anything from this blog you probably know I’m not a fan of the carb-heavy diet and here’s one more reason. Carbohydrates stimulate cortisol production, especially when they are eaten right before bed. Eating a carb-heavy meal is likely to put you to sleep at first as your blood sugars rise, but when they quickly start to drop it can wake you up at night and prevent you from getting into deeper sleep stages.  Make sure the last meal of your day is mostly proteins and not so many starches and sugars.
  5. Melatonin before you go to bed – between 1 and 10 mg depending on your body’s response.  When you get the right amount of melatonin you will fall asleep easily and generally stay asleep well.  Too much produces extremely vivid dreams or nightmares as well as a groggy feeling in the morning like you’re not ready to get out of bed. If you notice those symptoms just decrease your dose. In general, the amount of melatonin that you need decreases over time and typically you will be able to sleep well without it  within a few months.  The typical starting dose is 3mg and you can use more or less depending on your needs. This is the hormone your body naturally produces to help you feel sleepy, but if you’ve been sleep deprived for a while it gets used first to help protect your brain from oxidative damage so there is less left over for sleep.
  6. Eliminate food sensitivities. Food sensitivities are one of the biggest hidden causes of sleep disruption that I encounter with my clients.  Eating a food to which your body is sensitive increases inflammation and your internal stress levels, which raises cortisol (one of your stress hormones, but also the hormone that wakes you up and gets you going in the morning)  and prevents restful sleep. It also makes pain levels higher, if you have pain that prevents you from sleeping, simply because of the increased inflammation. Eliminating food sensitivities takes some work at home but it’s entirely possible (and free) you just have to know how.
  7. Warm milk before bed. Skip this, of course, if you have a milk or dairy sensitivity.  Warm milk before bed (or hot chocolate with real cocoa) is wonderful.  Milk contains a protein called casein that acts as an opiate and sedative, which helps you to sink into sleep more easily. Mama really did know best.
  8. Protein rich foods for the evening meal.  In addition to cutting down on sugars and starches, boosting the protein for the last meal of the day makes a huge difference to sleep. Protein digests and is converted to sugar slowly so your body isn’t stimulated to wake up because of hunger or fluctuations in blood sugar levels.
  9. Numb out as you fall asleep. This is one of my favorite things. I had insomnia as a child and my father was able to help me overcome it using this technique.  As you lay down for sleep find a comfortable position and then focus on a heavy feeling in your body.  It is almost the feeling you get when you go to the dentist and have your mouth numbed – that heavy, numb, overly-large feeling.  Start thinking of that feeling in your toes and feel it gradually creep up your feet to your ankles to your calves and up your body slowly all the way to your head.  At first you may have to go through the cycle slowly from toes to head a few times, but this is an effective way of shutting down your brain and blocking out the thoughts that can sometimes keep you awake.  The more you use the numb out, the easier it will become.  Now if I have a hard time sleeping, I numb-out and I can barely make it past my knees before I’m asleep.
  10. Eliminate noise or add a loud fan.  If your sleep environment is noisy then do everything you can to either make it quiet or to mask noise changes.  Some people don’t notice noise when they sleep, but most people will rouse, at least partially, in response to noise. Even if you don’t wake up fully, noises can change your sleep cycles and interfere with deep sleep. If you live in a noisy area or have a noisy house then getting a loud fan or white noise machine (or app) can really help to cut down on the disruptions.

Of course there are a million other things you can do for sleep, but these are some of the basics of good sleep hygiene that can help to get you on track for many better nights in the future.  Good sleep = good day.



Great Health is Easy. Just Ask Your Dog.

Great Health *is* easy. Except when it doesn’t feel that way – which, according to my clients, is pretty much always. Here’s the thing – if you treated yourselves the way you treat your beloved pets, you’ll be just fine.

Great Health Is Easy: Just Treat Yourself Like Your Pets

Clean food without a lot of fillers

Great health is easy with great food

Great health is easy if you eat good food.

The media has been all over how bad the fillers are in pet food and how much better off your pet would be without them.  The grain (what dog or cat needs grain?), soy, corn artificial flavors and preservatives.  Why not just give them meat and veggies like they would eat in the wild?  Well why not take that one step further and feed yourself that way?  Here’s the thing – if grains in food are causing hot spots, allergies, inflammation and behavior problems in your pet, why wouldn’t they be doing the same thing to you? Think about it and cut out the filler foods.




Fresh Water

Obviously your animal needs a supply of clean, fresh water to drink that is easily available throughout the day, otherwise they could die, right? Right? And they really don’t need too much of anything else to drink (think sodas, juices, etc…), isn’t that right too? Yup. Neither do you. I know the human-animals out there enjoy a good coffee or wine or beer or lemonade but for the most part the best through-the-day drink is water. Enough water – shoot for eight 8 oz glasses and you’ll be golden.

A Walk Every Day

Of course your beloved dog needs to walk every day – everyone knows that.   Guess what? You do too! It doesn’t have to be a long walk, or even a fast walk, but walking every day helps you avoid Alzheimer’s disease, reduces your risk of heart attack, improves mood and sense of well being and generally makes you (and your pet) feel better. Great health is easy if you just have a walk.

Good sleep

Great health is easy if you just sleep

Great health is easy when sleep is a priority.

You’ve seen your cat sprawl out in the middle of the day on the sunny spot on the carpet, and your dog curl up in their bed for an afternoon siesta. Animals don’t hesitate to sleep if they need it and you shouldn’t either.  I know that’s easier said than done when your schedule is overly-full and you’re working and taking care of kids and trying to cram 28 hours into a 24 hour day. The bottom line is that you will be happier, more productive, more energetic and nicer to be around if you just get enough sleep regularly.

Play time with fresh air

Because really, what’s the point of all the hard work, effort and struggle if you don’t get to play a little? I’m just sayin’. If you aren’t doing the things that make you happy, then chances are the rest of it just isn’t really worth it.

Well – voila! That’s what you need too? As it turns out the human animal is pretty darn similar to the doggy-animal or cat-animal or whatever other type of animal you might have. Before you make excuses and say “I don’t have time…” remember that you should be just as high a priority on your list of things to do in the day as your pet is.  Wouldn’t it be nice if you gave yourself as much love as you gave your pet? Imagine how much better you’d feel on a daily basis.