Funny topic for me as I’ve never been a great sleeper. I love sleep, it just seems to frequently elude me. But it’s definitely better than it used to be, after I put more focus there.
It’s an area of our lives often overlooked. Feeling fatigued? Oh you need this supplement. A bit run down after burning the candle at both ends? Here’s another cup of coffee, power through!
Sentiments like that are so commonplace. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”. I think that was on one of my old coffee mugs! We’re all looking to optimise our diet, or our training, or for the last extra 1% certain things give us. Prioritising sleep for many will likely make a much bigger overall impact.
Dieting & Sleep
Bringing it back to nutrition it’s been shown when dieting insufficient sleep can reduce the amount of weight you lose, more specifically the fat you lose (so you lose less fat and more lean mass/muscle). It also disrupts your hormones with a reduction in leptin (which is a major appetite suppressor) and increase in ghrelin (making you feel hungry). It can also impact glucose tolerance, even in healthy people.
Supplements
When we are tired supplements may be an option. The obvious being caffeine. This increases alertness & improves decision making, especially when sleep-deprived. Also creatine has been shown to mitigate drops in performance following sleep deprivation.
With caffeine remember the half life is 4-6 hours. So the later in the day you consume it, it may then negatively impact your sleep which won’t help the root cause of why you were tired to start with!
Routine
There are plenty posts on here on how to improve your nighttime routine, from people more well versed that I. Things I’ve tried (although full disclaimer not alway successfully!) include; having a set time to go to bed and get up in the morning, reading before bed, winding down with some mindfulness, not drinking caffeine later in the day (2-3pm), keeping my bedroom cool (not cold) and dark and switching off technology/screens earlier. That last one is where I struggle the most.
Do you struggle with sleep? If so have you tried anything to improve it?
References: Mac Nutrition Uni, Nedeltcheva et al 2010, Morrelli et al 2010, Kamimori et al 2015, McMorris et al 2006, Brondel et al 2010
Bonus notes: Another supplement with some evidence behind it is tart cherry juice. This may aid sleep due to its natural melatonin content. Melatonin is a hormone which helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. In some countries (not the UK currently) that is used as a supplement too. Often only for short periods and to help with jet lag, or night shifts. If considering the latter then get some advice from your doctor first.