By Richmond Natural Medicine

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December 20, 2018

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Winter Solstice is Coming and It Could Be The Time of Year for You To Take A Closer Look at Your Sleep

The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year. Throughout the autumn season, we have craved heavier foods, warming spices, and snuggling in. The leaves have fallen from the trees and we can smell their decay as we walk through the rain. We have experienced the shift in nature’s seasons from ripeness to restfulness. Might we benefit from our own shift with the seasons?

The winter solstice is also the longest night of the year – perfect for getting a “long winter’s nap.”

“But wait,” you say, “ I’m not sleeping through the night.”

Poor sleep is one of the most common complaints I hear from patients and often has become so routine they no longer take notice. In addition to daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and general grumpiness; poor sleep may lead to mood instability, brain fog, and hormone imbalance. Poor sleep disrupts our daily or circadian rhythm. When our sleep rhythm is disturbed, it will eventually disturb other circadian rhythms. These natural rhythms are managed by internal hormonal releases that instruct the body when it is time for sleep and when it is time to wake up. Hormonal disruptions compound sleep problems and can lead to persistent symptoms of fatigue and anxiety.

Typical solutions are sleep medications at night, both prescription and natural, and reliance on caffeine throughout the day. If this sounds like your life, don’t beat yourself up, you are responding to your body’s demands for regular sleep-and-wake cycles. This approach can be useful in the short-term, and in a vibrant and healthy individual may be re-regulated without intervention.

Sleep is complex, though, and rarely is there one factor that leads to disruption, it is usually several insults over a period of time. As naturopathic doctors,  we help people correct the underlying imbalances and restore normal function.

So, light a candle, soak in a warm tub, and turn out the lights earlier tonight in honor of the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.