Whole-person health in practice – part five
Whole-person health in practice – part five
We’ve had a little hiatus in this little series where we’ve been exploring ‘whole-person health’. If you need a refresher / or you missed our earlier articles in the series, you can catch up on the introduction by clicking HERE.
Just as a reminder, these are the other four pillars of health that need to be supported when we are exploring ‘whole-person health’ (links to ‘in practice’ articles where we consider how they impact the other parts of our health ‘wholeness’):
- Physical health / movement (click HERE)
- Mental / psychological health (click HERE)
- Nutrition / fluid health (click HERE)
- Spiritual health / mindfulness (click HERE)
So, this week we’re bringing in the last of the pillars – sleep health and rest – and we’ll share some practical thoughts, suggestions, prompts and resources for you to dig into this topic in more detail.
What is sleep?
Sleep is a complex process that involves / affects nearly every tissue in the body along with many of the physiological functions that are key to physical and mental health and wellbeing. “Sleep is the restorative power of the body, as it provides an opportunity for recovery and repair related to cardiovascular health, immune function, metabolism and cognitive function and development.” (McNamara et al. 2023)
Why is sleep so important to our whole-person health?
This might seem obvious, but I do think it’s really important to be clear about what the evidence says about sleep. In 2023 the Australian Government conducted an inquiry into sleep awareness and from the resultant report and recommendations document it states:
“There is evidence which supports the importance of sleep for good health, general wellbeing, and overall quality of life. Sleep is thought to help keep the immune system strong and heart and blood vessels healthy. It allows for growth and healing and helps control appetite and weight.” Not enough sleep and / or poor-quality sleep has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and poor mental health including depression and anxiety.
This same report also highlights that very current research has shown that shorter sleep duration is adversely associated with adiposity (high levels of fatty tissue), emotional regulation, growth, and cognitive development in children and adolescents. It stresses that from a young age (and throughout the lifespan) we need to consider an integrated approach that acknowledges the interrelated nature of behaviours including physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep and screen time use.
When we’re working in the practice with clients’ sleep is often one of the things that we have to work really hard at, and often really early in our time together, because without adequate rest and recovery our nervous system will likely struggle to navigate many of the things that we need to work through in therapy. And of course, it’s super complicated because a number of mental health conditions (PTSD, depression, anxiety, OCD…), and many of the psychopharmacological medicines used to treat these conditions, can all negatively impact sleep.
In a nutshell:
- Best stress relief = sleep
- Best trauma release = sleep
- Best immune booster = sleep
- Best emotional stabiliser = sleep
- Best hormone augmenter = sleep
(Matt Walker on Huberman Lab Podcast – link to episode below)
Three domains of sleep health:
- Quantity: total sleep duration (in hours) over a 24-hour period
- Quality: the ease of falling asleep, staying asleep throughout the night, and feeling subjectively refreshed upon waking
- Consistency: a consistent sleep schedule (one that aligns with the natural circadian rhythm – i.e., most sleep happens during the hours of darkness overnight) and minimises night-to-night variability in bedtimes and wake-times
Sleep is not always easy or consistent
This is an acknowledgement that for many people, especially women, parents with young children, indigenous / First Nations people, people with complex / chronic / acute mental health and / or physical health, people in caring roles, neurodivergent people can struggle with enough, good quality sleep. In fact, research suggests that women can be up to twice as likely as men to suffer with sleep disturbance / insomnia. This is thought to be related to interrelated hormonal, physiological and psychosocial factors (i.e., pregnancy, perimenopause, menopause, caregiving as mother, partner, child to aged parents). And then there are all the complex intersections of all these factors.
(McNamara et al. 2023)
It’s important to flag that sleep patterns, quality and duration are not something we expect to remain constant. Of course, when we navigate stressful life events, are pregnant / have young children, are unwell it is not a surprise to experience down-stream impacts on our whole system, including our sleep. It will all ebb and flow. What is important is to notice when it doesn’t spring back to where it once was when the stressor has passed…because that can be an indicator that we might need to explore ways to understand what else might be going on.
Sleep hygiene tips:
- View sunlight (not looking straight at the sun by going outside within 30-60 mins of waking, and repeat again in the late afternoon just before sunset
- Wake up at the same time every day and go to sleep when you first start to feel sleepy
- Avoid caffeine within 8-10 hours of bedtime
- Avoid bright overhead lights between 10pm-4am
- Limit daytime naps to less than 90 minutes
- Keep the room you sleep in cool and dark, have layers of covers of your bed that you can remove / add through the night
- Know that alcohol messes up your sleep
- Expect your sleep needs and patterns to evolve over time
Resources:
- The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett: Stephanie Romiszeski – The Secret To A Good Nights Sleep
- The Huberman Lab: Master Your Sleep & Be More Alert When Awake
- The Huberman Lab: Using Science to Optimize Sleep, Learning & Metabolism
- The Huberman Lab: Guest Series with Dr Matt Walker: The Biology of Sleep & Your Unique Sleep Needs
If you’d like somewhere to talk about aspects of your whole-person health, please get in touch with us: www.theabaker.com.au / hello@theabaker.com.au / 03 9077 8194.