Sleep Like Your Life Depends On It

Overview

As we observe National Sleep Awareness Week (March 9–15, 2025) and World Sleep Day (March 14), it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate our relationship with sleep and explore how lifestyle changes can support deeper, more restorative rest. In our fast-paced world, sleep is often sacrificed in the name of productivity, social commitments, or late-night screen time. Yet, sleep is one of the most foundational pillars of health. From a functional medicine perspective, sleep is not just a passive state of rest—it's an active, dynamic process of cellular repair, detoxification, and hormonal recalibration that profoundly impacts every aspect of our well-being. It isn't just a good idea, your life and health depend on it!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults aged 18–60 years are recommended to sleep at least 7 hours each night to promote optimal health and well-being. CDC However, many Americans fall short of this recommendation. In 2022, the percentage of adults not getting enough sleep varied by state, ranging from 30% in Vermont to 46% in Hawaii. CDC

Sleep deprivation is more than just feeling tired. Chronically insufficient or poor-quality sleep is associated with a host of serious health conditions. Let's explore some of them:

• Brain & Mood Disorders: Poor sleep alters brain chemistry and key neurotransmitters that impact cognition and mood regulation including dopamine, serotonin and cortisol.  Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that influences feelings of pleasure and motivation and it affects various bodily functions, including movement, mood, attention, and memory.  It plays a large role in the "reward" aspect of our brain function.  Serotonin is often referred to as the "feel-good" chemical because it contributes to feelings of happiness and well-being but also helps regulate various functions in the body, including mood, digestion, sleep, and blood clotting. Cortisol plays a key role in managing the body's response to stress and regulating the balance between the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest, relax, rejuvenate and reproduce) nervous system.  The amygdala, a key detector in the fight or flight response, becomes hyperactive with sleep deprivation.  The prefrontal cortex which governs impulse control, judgment, and complex thinking becomes hypoactive.  Sleep is when the brain forms new neural connections and repairs cells.  Without enough sleep, the brain’s ability to adapt, learn, and form memories declines.  This can result in a host of cognitive disorders:

• Depression – Chronic sleep disturbances are both a symptom and a risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD). Insomnia increases the likelihood of developing depression, and persistent sleep issues can exacerbate depressive symptoms.

• Anxiety Disorders – Sleep deprivation heightens emotional reactivity and impairs the brain's ability to regulate stress, contributing to increased anxiety levels. This bidirectional relationship means that anxiety can lead to sleep problems, and vice versa. Verywell Health

• Bipolar Disorder – In individuals with bipolar disorder, sleep loss can trigger manic or hypomanic episodes. Disrupted sleep patterns are common and can precede mood episodes, making sleep regulation a critical component of managing the disorder. WebMD

• Suicidal Ideation – Persistent insomnia and irregular sleep patterns have been linked to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, independent of depression severity. Sleep disturbances can serve as early warning signs for escalating suicidal ideation. Stanford Medicine

• Emotional Dysregulation – Even short-term sleep deprivation can lead to mood swings, irritability, and reduced ability to cope with stress. This emotional instability can affect daily functioning and interpersonal relationships.

• Dementia and Alzheimer’s – During deep sleep, the brain activates the glymphatic system, which clears out waste and neurotoxic proteins like beta-amyloid (linked to Alzheimer’s).  Poor sleep = buildup of toxins, oxidative stress, and inflammation → long-term risk for dementia and neurodegeneration.

• Accident Risk: Drowsy driving and workplace errors rise sharply when sleep is compromised and has been suggested to be as dangerous as driving under the influence.
  

• Chronic Illness:  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 6 in 10 U.S. adults (60%) have at least one chronic disease and 4 in 10 (40%) have two or more CDC+1WIRED+.  These numbers are rapidly increasing and creating a major burden on the healthcare industry.  Lack of sleep plays a major role in the development and worsening of chronic illnesses by disrupting metabolic, hormonal, and inflammatory processes.  Here are a few examples of how sleep deprivation contributes to some of our major chronic health issues:

• Type II Diabetes – Insulin resistance increases after just one night of poor sleep.  Sleep deprivation lowers insulin sensitivity, causing blood sugar levels to remain elevated.  Hormonal changes (like elevated cortisol and ghrelin) increase glucose production and reduce glucose uptake by cells.  Chronic sleep loss disrupts glucose metabolism, raising the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.  People who sleep fewer than 6 hours per night have a significantly higher risk of diabetes.

• Heart Disease: Sleep deprivation increases inflammation, blood pressure, and the risk of cardiovascular events.  Poor sleep increases sympathetic nervous system activity (fight-or-flight mode), raising blood pressure and heart rate.  It elevates inflammation and oxidative stress, damaging blood vessels over time.  Sleep deprivation is associated with higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of cardiovascular risk.  It contributes to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and increases risk of heart attacks and strokes.  Adults who get <6 hours of sleep per night have a 20% higher risk of heart disease.

• Obesity:  Ghrelin (hunger hormone) goes upLeptin (satiety hormone) goes downLack of sleep throws off hunger hormones.  This leads to increased cravings, particularly for sugary and high-fat foods.  Tired individuals are less likely to exercise and more likely to make poor food choices.  Disrupted sleep also impacts metabolic rate and fat storage.  Sleep-deprived people consume ~300 more calories per day on average.

• Chronic Inflammation and Autoimmune Risk:  Sleep is critical for regulating immune function and reducing systemic inflammation.  Sleep loss causes systemic inflammation by increasing cytokines like IL-6 and TNF-alpha and weakens the immune system, making the body less able to regulate immune responses properly.  There are at least 100 identified autoimmune diseases and the number of people impacted by them is rapidly growing.  Inflammation is a root cause or significant contributor to all of them.  Much like gasoline on a fire.  Some of these include: rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, irritable bowel diseases and other gastrointestinal disorders, reproductive health including ovarian cysts and endometriosis, thyroid disorders such as Hashimoto's and Grave's to name just a few.

What Happens While We Sleep? A Cellular Perspective

From a functional medicine lens, sleep is a time of deep healing. Each sleep stage plays a unique role:

• Light Sleep (Stages 1 & 2): Prepares the brain and body to enter deeper stages. Blood pressure drops, muscles relax, and the body begins to slow.

• Deep Sleep (Stage 3 or N3): This is when cellular regeneration occurs. Growth hormone is released, tissues repair, and the immune system is fortified.

• REM Sleep (Rapid Eye Movement): Critical for cognitive processing, emotional regulation, and memory consolidation. The brain also undergoes glymphatic clearance, a waste disposal system that flushes out neurotoxins—some linked to neurodegenerative disease.

Each night, the body and brain perform a symphony of restorative processes that cannot be replaced by diet, supplements, or even naps.

Functional Medicine Lifestyle Tips for Better Sleep Hygiene

Improving sleep hygiene doesn’t require a radical overhaul—just intentional choices rooted in understanding your body's natural rhythms. Consider this your idea list, pick one or two things that you aren't already doing and implement them. One change at a time until it becomes a habit. Every step you take in the direction of better sleep will improve your overall health and vitality.

1. Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This reinforces your body’s circadian rhythm, improving sleep quality. How you start your day also impacts how well you sleep. Beginning the day with mindfulness, gratitude or meditation can improve your sleep.

2. Establish a Calming Bedtime Routine

Ease the transition to sleep with rituals like dimming your lights to signal to your brain the day is ending. Take a warm bath or hot sauna to relax your body and raise your temperature a little so when you go to sleep your core temperature drops inducing sleep. Maybe add Epsom salts to your bath to improve magnesium uptake for better sleep. Try an herbal tea like chamomile or lavender. Do some light stretching or gentle yoga. Try meditation or gratitude journaling. Consider a diffuser with essential oils you find relaxing and calming. Pairing a scent with an activity such as sleep can be extremely useful when travelling as your brain strongly associates with your senses and all you have to do is travel with that scent to reproduce the feelings of calm you established with your home routine.

3. Create a Sleep Oasis

Your bedroom should be cool, dark, quiet, and inviting. Consider blackout curtains to block out light that might wake us into thinking it is daytime. This goes for eliminating any light in your room such as electronic devices by removing them or turning them away or covering them. Ideally removing any unnecessary EMF producing devices which are harmful to our brains and disrupt our sleep. Invest in a comfortable mattress, pillow and sheets. After all you do spend one third of your life here and, if you aren't, you should be! Grounding sheets can help if your bedroom is not on the ground floor or you have a lot of EMF exposure. Minimize clutter, make it your space to unwind and regenerate.

4. Limit Screen Time & Stress Before Bed

Blue light from phones, tablets, and TVs interferes with melatonin production. Aim to unplug at least 60–90 minutes before bedtime. Some people need even longer. This goes for difficult conversations, watching stressful television like the news or controversial subjects and attending to work emails and bills. Consider having your evening meal as the beginning of the wind down and engage in more positive forms of relaxation like a good book, light conversation or music.

5. Manage Stress Holistically

Stress is a major sleep disruptor. Incorporate mindfulness practices, such as meditation, deep breathing, or yoga to help calm the nervous system. There is a reason they are called a "practice" as we often have to do these on a regular basis to regulate our nervous system and with each session we get better at just that. Activities that produce calm or parasympathetic upregulation improve all systems in rest, relax, digest, repair and reproduce. These are functions that are most active when we are calm and relaxed, not in fight or flight of the business of the day.

6. Exercise Regularly—but Not Too Late

Daily movement helps regulate circadian rhythms and improves deep sleep. Exercise decreases cortisol (the stress hormone) and increases endorphins, which calm the nervous system. Regular exercise enhances slow-wave (deep) sleep, which is critical for physical restoration and memory consolidation. It can also lengthen REM sleep, essential for emotional and cognitive balance. Exercise improves insulin sensitivity, lowers inflammation, and helps regulate hormones that influence sleep (like melatonin and serotonin). However, intense exercise close to bedtime may be stimulating and make it more difficult to fall asleep.

7. Optimize Nutrition for Sleep

Eat a nutrient-dense diet, avoiding inflammatory foods especially those high in artificial preservatives chemicals and sugars. Avoid heavy meals, alcohol, and caffeine in the evening and have your last meal of the day several hours before bedtime. Nutrition is very multifactorial and there are many key nutrients that contribute to our sleep hygiene. A few to consider to support sleep with foods are those rich in magnesium, tryptophan, calcium and B-vitamins.

• Magnesium helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and regulates GABA, a calming neurotransmitter that quiets brain activity. Deficiency in magnesium is linked to insomnia and restless sleep. Some food sources of magnesium are pumpkin seeds, almonds, spinach, black beans, and dark chocolate (the real kind without lots of sugar!).

• Tryptophan is the “sleep hormone” produced naturally in the brain. It is a building block to making serotonin (the "feel good" hormone) and melatonin (a hormone produced by the brain that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles and circadian rhythms). Tryptophan can be found in turkey, eggs, nuts, and seeds.

• Calcium helps the brain use tryptophan to produce melatonin and aids in muscle relaxation and night cramps. Good sources of calcium include dairy, leafy greens, sesame seeds, and sardines with bones.

• B Vitamins, especially B6 helps convert tryptophan into serotonin and then melatonin and is found in bananas, chickpeas, and salmon. B12 supports circadian rhythm regulation and REM sleep and is found in meat, eggs, dairy, and some fortified plant-based milks.

Honor Sleep to Heal from the Inside Out

Sleep isn’t a luxury—it’s a non-negotiable biological need, YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! From a functional medicine viewpoint, it is a cornerstone of root-cause healing, working synergistically with nutrition, stress management, movement, and detoxification to restore balance in the body.

This March, let’s use National Sleep Awareness Week and World Sleep Day as a catalyst for meaningful change. Whether you're struggling with chronic illness or simply looking to feel more energized and focused, improving your sleep may be the single most powerful step you can take.

Your journey to better health begins with a good night’s sleep.

What is the one thing you are going to try new or that you haven't done consistently for Sleep Awareness Month to improve your health and vitality?