Importance of sleep and nutrition

There are many different types of sleep disorders. Many people are not aware that your nutrition directly impacts your quality of sleep, especially as it pertains to having the proper micronutrients and most importantly how healthy your microbiome is. What is often left out of the discussion as well, is the importance of nasal breathing during sleep and that breathing through the mouth during sleep time can have very detrimental effects on growth and even intelligence.

The B vitamins has a critical role to play when it comes to sleeping. If we do not have sufficient B vitamins or if we do not have them in the proper ratios, our sleep will be negatively affected. It also appears that the endocannabinoid system has a critical role to play in sleep management. On top of that, vitamin D appears to feed the gut bacteria that makes our B vitamins. Our vagus nerve directly connects our gut bacteria to our brains.

It is also important to mention our circadian rhythm and how having the proper light signals observed by the eyes, sends important signals to the brain to communicate what time of the day it actually is. These will be from natural light sources such as the sun during specific times of the day and how detrimental artificial blue light from our technological devices such as computers and phones.

Sleep, as described by Dr. Stasha Gominak, MD, is a complex symphony of processes and hormones that has many variables and needs to be in alignment if we are to get proper rest.

It cannot be overstated how important sleep is for the human body, as we cannot fully recover from any disease if we do not have adequate sleep.

The golden rule of health is that sleep comes first.