Are you tired of looking at the clock, still wide awake, thinking about your looming alarm call and thinking how little sleep you will have? You are not alone. According to the 2020/21 New Zealand Health Survey*, 30 percent of people do not get a full night’s sleep. For a few people, sleep issues are a lifelong problem, but many just go through patches of sleep issues caused by a variety of reasons such as stress, lifestyle changes, hormones and nutritional deficiencies.
Not having enough sleep can certainly make you feel tired and makes life much harder, but it has also been linked with poor health and can affect mood and mental health. This makes it important to try and address sleep issues when they occur.
To help with your family’s sleep needs, there are key Clinicians products which can help, all with slightly different purposes.
- REM Sleep supports relaxation, getting to sleep, and waking in the morning feeling refreshed
- Stress & Energy Support is ideal for times of stress, low energy and burnout
- NEW Sleep Support Duo is delicious relaxing bedtime drink combining magnesium and chamomile
- Sleep Science is a great sleep support at times of stress and for people who wake in the night.
Whether it is falling asleep that is the problem or staying asleep, there are many natural ways to support a solution. Here are a few of our favourites.
Sideline devices
Stay off your devices a couple of hours before sleep. Not only do they keep you too mentally stimulated, but the blue light affects melatonin production, a hormone which helps us fall asleep and maintains healthy sleep patterns.
Sleepy snacks
Relaxing bedtime snacks might help and taking warm milk before bed is not just a myth. Dairy products contain tryptophan, which can make your sleep hormones. Bananas are a good source, too.
Vital vitamins
Lack of certain vitamins has been linked with poor sleep. B vitamins help support your nervous system and help with making our sleep hormones. More recently, having healthy levels of vitamin D
has also been found to support sleep quantity and quality.
Marvellous magnesium
If you are having trouble physically relaxing, your muscles feel tense, or you struggle to keep your legs still at night, magnesium could help. It supports physical relaxation and deep, continuous sleep. Great food sources include wholegrains, avocado, leafy greens, nuts and seeds.
Plant power
Nature has provided a number of herbs that naturally support calm and relaxation to help you switch off. Most people know of chamomile being a popular bedtime drink, but other lovely relaxing herbs include passionflower, lemon balm, lime/linden flower, skullcap and ziziphus.
Get outdoors
Walking in the daytime is a great de-stressor. Also being out in the light provides a contrast for the brain later when it perceives it gets dark, leading it to trigger melatonin production.
* www.health.govt.nz/nz-health-statistics/national-collections-and-surveys/surveys/new-zealand-health-survey/snapshots-2020-21-new-zealand-health-survey/meeting-sleep-guidelines.
