A Breathwork Guide
Stress Reset
Do you struggle with deep, restful sleep? It’s a complicated and unique issue for each person, so I’ll do my best to offer the most impactful solution that you can try today.
Most often, I see light rhythms, stress, and nutrition as the top three contributors to poor sleep.
We’ve touched on getting outside for a quick walk (rain or shine) during the day to support our wake/sleep cycle with sunlight. This helps to regulate cortisol and melatonin, respectively. Then, dimming overhead lighting at night signals to our brain that it’s time to go to sleep, mimicking the setting sun.
We’ve also covered the quickest ways to regulate your blood sugar, ensuring that insulin isn’t keeping you up at night.
This time, we’ll delve into stress—both external and internal—and its potential impacts on your ability to feel recharged.
Stress is a significant factor that can disrupt sleep patterns. According to the American Psychological Association, chronic stress can lead to hyperarousal, a state where the body remains alert, making it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep. This hyperarousal can be triggered by various stressors, including work pressures, personal relationships, and even internal stressors like anxiety and worry.
One effective way to manage stress is through mindfulness and relaxation techniques. Research from Harvard Medical School suggests that practices such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation can significantly reduce stress levels and improve sleep quality. These techniques help activate the body’s relaxation response, lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and promoting a sense of calm.
In Cochrane, Alberta, you can enhance your stress management and sleep quality through various wellness services. Massage therapy, including lymphatic drainage and osteopathic massage, can help reduce physical tension and promote relaxation. These therapies are known to improve circulation, reduce muscle tension, and support the body’s natural healing processes.
Additionally, health coaching and nutrition coaching can provide personalized strategies to manage stress and improve overall well-being. Coaches can help you identify stressors, develop coping mechanisms, and create a balanced diet that supports hormonal health. Understanding the role of hormones in stress and sleep is crucial, as imbalances can significantly impact your ability to rest and recharge.
Incorporating adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha and rhodiola into your routine can also help manage stress. Studies have shown that these herbs can reduce cortisol levels and improve the body’s resilience to stress, ultimately supporting better sleep.
By addressing both external and internal stressors with the help of Cochrane’s wellness services, you can create a more conducive environment for restful sleep. Remember, it’s about finding what works best for you and making small, sustainable changes to your daily routine.
A Small Step for Today
Stress…
It can keep our mind racing at night if we haven’t been able to get our checklist done.
But what if there was an internal system we could nourish that could make that checklist seem more manageable?
Ok, let’s nerd out for a moment and talk about our internal stress management system, the HPA-Axis.
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which regulates our stress responses, plays a crucial role in maintaining alertness and modulating sleep.
When this axis malfunctions, it can disrupt sleep patterns! Boo.
Ok, we’ll touch on why this matters, and then what to do about it.
Chronic stress, perceived or internal, can affect our sleep by overactivating the HPA-axis.
What do I mean by perceived or internal?
Perceived stress (or external stressors) are the obvious ones. A fight with a loved one, moving, or a toxic work environment are all perceptible stressors impacting our sleep quality.
Internal stressors
These are not so obvious. Unperceived stressors are quietly irritating your body in the background, and unfortunately can disrupt your quality of sleep.
An active infection.
Sleep apnea.
Toxin exposure/build-up (e.g., heavy metals, pesticides, airborne pollutants, molds, etc.) in your surroundings, or exposures when you were younger.
Insulin issues (like we touched on in the last email) can make your body think it’s in a fight for its dear life.
Dysregulated hormones - like in peri- and post-menopause.
These, among a few other things, can cause your body to become stressed and increase cortisol production in response.
But, you don’t typically know these are happening, and just keep waking up throughout the night.
These things are different from external stressors but can still be supported by filling up your cup with the next-step solutions I’ll offer here.
Ok, the most important hormone in the HPA axis that impacts your sleep is cortisol. How do we break the frustrating cycle of stress and fatigue? 🌙
Stress is a reality. How do we manage stress for better sleep quality?
My Top 3 Suggestions to Get You Resting More Deeply, Tonight
Take a Moment Today to Catch Your Breath
The best part about using your breath is you can’t do it wrong. :) And, long exhales can switch us from a stress response or the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic, our rest-and-digest nervous system.
Naturally lowering cortisol, and supporting us to have deeper, more restful sleeps.
Whether it’s once a day when you remember, or right before you go to sleep, try this:
Place one hand on your abdomen, and one hand on your heart, and take 3-10 deep breaths, extending your exhales.
Count in your mind - 4-8-4
Inhale through your nose - 4 seconds
Exhale through your mouth - 8 seconds
Hold at the bottom of the exhale - 4 seconds
Focus on your abdomen rising and falling, or the air moving through your nostrils, as the monkey mind will eventually try to derail our efforts at slowing it down ;)
Body Scans
Ideally, after taking a few mindful slow exhales, a check-in with your body can help us to compartmentalize.
So much in our day is out of our control, but how we feel and what we think about it is within our control :)
I promise, this scan will leave you feeling in-tune, in control, and connected to yourself and the incredible world around you.
Start at the top of your head, look for sensation.
Warm, cold, tingly, even just the feeling of air on your skin. Anything, just find a sensation. Then move on.
Next, notice sensation on your forehead.
Pain, heat, coolness, pressure. Anything! Then, next structure. Just keep moving as quickly or slowly as you want. But pay attention for sensation.
Nose, sensation. Cheeks, sensation. Chest, arms, hands, torso, upper and lower legs, feet.
Keep breathing while you do this.
Inevitably the mind will kick in and tell you this is the DUMBEST THING EVER, and take you on a crazy journey into tomorrow-land. When you eventually find yourself back in the present moment, just start again at the last structure you remember, until you get to your feet.
That’s it! Then hopefully you fall asleep. If not, start again at the top of your head until you pass out. :)
Sleep Apnea and Hormones
If your partner says you snore, please ask your doc about a sleep test to rule out apnea.
And, this one is specific to my females out there. Hormone dysregulation can contribute to an inability to fall and stay asleep.
If you haven’t heard about this, shoot me an email and I’ll chat with you about what you should look for to determine if hormone support would be helpful for you!
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