Summer sleep

Change of seasons can affect your sleep in a number of ways. For some, sleeping in the fall and winter is easier than in the spring and summer. And warmer temperature is only one piece of the puzzle.

Light

The change in light can have a big impact on effect on the time and quality of sleep. The longer daylight hours can impact the body’s cycles. Light directly impacts the pituitary, which secretes melatonin. Melatonin regulates the body’s sleep-wake cycles. In winter, lack of light can cause the body to produce more of the chemical, making you feel tired and sluggish. In summer, production of melatonin is much lower to point that some find getting to sleep more difficult.

Try to create darkness in your house around 8:00 to prepare yourself for sleep. If your bedroom is not dark enough, try wearing a sleep mask.

Temperature

But being too warm can also have a negative impact. According to experts, the temperature of your sleeping area and how comfortable you feel in it, affect how well and how long you sleep. When you go to sleep, your body temperature set point goes down. If it’s too cold, or too hot, your body struggles to achieve this set point. The slight drop in body temperature induces sleep. But if the room becomes uncomfortable, you are more likely to wake up.

The ideal conditions for sleeping are: cool, quiet, and dark. The temperature in your bedroom should be no more than 20°C.

Food

Sugary, high-fat and high calorie foods impact the body’s hormone levels. For example, the hormone leptin, which is influenced by eating too many of these types of foods, will disrupt the sleep cycle, and these disruptions will further alter the levels of other hormones.

A snack that contains sleep-enhancing complex carbohydrates plus a small amount of protein will provide enough tryptophan to relax your brain. 

Foods that contain magnesium, calcium, and potassium can also help promote sleep. This combination of nutrients increases serotonin and melatonin levels in the body. For example, yogurt with bananas or strawberries and sliced almonds on top. Other good choices include cherries, oatmeal and warm milk (not necessarily all at once!).

Cherries are one of the only food sources of melatonin, the chemical that controls the body’s internal clock.

Bananas contain the amino acid L-tryptophan, which gets converted to 5-HTP in the brain. 5-HTP is then converted to serotonin (a relaxing neurotransmitter) and melatonin.

For a sleep elixir, try calming teas such as chamomile with honey or warm almond milk.

Exercise

Get outside and workout in the summer during the day to help you sleep better at night. Allow yourself sufficient time afterwards to wind down, otherwise your body may feel too stimulated to prepare for sleep.

Turn off the computer

The bright light emitted from computers sends a signal to the brain to wake up. The release of melatonin is inhibited and this can hinder the quality and quantity of our sleep. Give yourself at least half an hour before bedtime with no computer to optimize your sleep.

Read

Reading puts me to sleep at the best of times (makes my eyes heavy) so reading before bed can be a good prelude to falling asleep. Reading has been shown to relax the body and relieve stress. Oh yeah, and reading on a hand-held device doesn’t count. It has to be a real book!

Many sleep experts recommend establishing a regular de-stressing routine before bed to calm your mind and cue your body up for sleep. May you sleep well this summer!