Sleep is an essential part of maintaining a healthy life. Though we may resist it sometimes due to workload or social events, we quickly experience the consequences of those missing minutes of sleep. There is an increasing trend for using sleep aids to help achieve a good night of sleep. Sleep aids like Ambien, Benadryl, Tylenol PM, Zopiclone, or Z-Quil are popular choices for helping the body to move into a sleep cycle. Both the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Statista predict an annual increase of 6% sales of over-the-counter sleep aids. With this growing trend across our society, let’s look at the consequences of these sleep aids and the natural options for pursuing quality sleep.
While these sleep aids can help a person fall asleep, the sleep aids do not help the brain to acquire restful sleep and renewal. The sleep cycle is a time for your brain to be able to remove useless proteins and garbage that have built up during the day. Your brain is very active throughout the day processing information at one quintillion calculations per second. All this processing will generate some garbage during the daytime, so a key purpose for sleep is to give the brain a chance to move out the garbage during quiet time. This natural cleaning process, called glymphatic flow, only happens during the deep sleep cycles. Sleep aids like Ambien help a person to reach the light sleep cycle but disrupts the ability of the brain to reach the deep sleep cycle where the garbage clearing can take place. A 2025 research article published by the Sleep Research Society found sleep aids decreased the amount of time in the deep sleep cycle. The sleep aid may help a person achieve a quantity of sleep, but the quality of sleep is greatly reduced.
The quality of sleep is measured by the amount of deep sleep achieved where the excess proteins from the normal day activities can be removed. These excess proteins in the brain are associated with symptoms of Alzheimer’s and dementia. A 2023 research article in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease studied over 3000 healthy senior adults for 15 years and discovered that White participants who used sleep aids were almost twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those who did not use sleep aids. The Sleep Research Society found that individuals with insomnia who did not use sleep aids had better brain wave patterns than those who did use sleep aids for insomnia. Therefore, drugless ways of promoting quality sleep need to be considered.
Specific habits you can start that will help to reduce those sleepless nights include:
• Sleep in a completely dark room. Reduce as much light as possible.
• Aim to be in bed by 10 pm. Sleeping before midnight is critical for circadian rhythms.
• Adjust the temperature of the sleeping area to 65 degrees, no higher than 70 degrees
• Remove electronics and electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from your sleeping area. These forces disrupt your body’s natural production of melatonin and serotonin.
• Practice relaxation techniques in preparation for bedtime including breathing exercises, relaxing stretches, meditation, or massage.
• Stop eating food at least three hours before bedtime, especially grains and sugars.
• Stop drinking water two hours before bedtime.
• Stop using computers, cell phones, or TVs at least an hour before bedtime. The blue light from these devices stimulates wakefulness.
• Avoid alcohol
• Avoid caffeine
Additional natural supplements are available to assist the transition to deep sleep cycle. Melatonin and GABA supplements have been effective for some individuals. Supplements containing valerian root or passionflower have also been helpful to increase relaxation and quiet the mind. Magnesium threonate is a targeted magnesium supplement that delivers magnesium to the brain and helps promote rest. These recommendations are not replacements for establishing a consistent, quality bedtime routine as outlined above.
Protecting your brain involves more than just wearing a protective helmet on fast rides. You can protect your brain every day by providing opportunity for quality sleep. The result will be greater mental clarity and improved quality of life. Make healthy sleep a priority in your personal health care this coming year.
Contact me to discuss your health goals for the coming year. I can help you create space for improving sleep and natural healing. Contact me at nutritionproportion@gmail.com, check out my website at www.nutritionproportion.net, or follow me on Facebook at Nutrition Proportion USA.
