How to Fall Asleep and Stay Asleep in 5 Easy Steps

Dealing with Mast Cell activation Syndrome is hard enough let alone trying to combat this illness when you can’t sleep.

I’ve been there. Countless sleepless nights only to face another day of awful Mast Cell symptoms. After many years of trying everything, I learned the secret to falling asleep and staying asleep.

In this blog post, I’m sharing the 5 steps to falling asleep and staying asleep That I have found to be the most helpful. I’ll be covering:

·       How I fall asleep and stay asleep

·       The impact of Fight or Flight on your sleep and how to get out of it.

·       How your Adrenals affect your sleep and how to support them

·       How to prepare your body for sleep

·       How to create an environment for sleep

·       Why prioritizing your sleep will affect your Mast Cell symptoms.

Let me walk you through the tried-and-true methods to successfully sleep that I have tried and continue to use. So, if you are tired of not sleeping, spinning your wheels, and wasting time on quick-fix promises, you are in the right place! All of that is about to change for you!

How I Fall Asleep and Stay Asleep Effortlessly

Looking back, I’ve always struggled with sleep. Honestly, the last time I didn’t struggle to sleep was when I was 5 years old and before getting Lyme disease. Throughout my adolescent years, I used melatonin regularly to fall asleep. This helped for a short time but later caused issues due to melatonin-suppressing the body's natural production of melatonin. Fast forward to my adult years, I used alcohol to help me sleep. Then boom, my health took a massive turn, and I started reacting to EVERYTHING, including alcohol. Fortunately, this turn in my health was a wake-up call to assess what I was doing with my life, including my sleep hygiene.

After the initial panic of reacting to things I had previously not, I began to research and come up with a new health plan for myself. I knew that sleep was one of the keys to a successful health journey, so I focused my energy on that. I read blog after blog, research article after research article and the common theme was establishing a routine around bedtime. Much like the bedtime routine our parents insisted on but we as children hated.

From there, I started trialing different tools to help me sleep. After a couple of months, I started falling asleep and staying asleep with little to no effort at all. The tools I found were now part of a routine that was easy to maintain month in and out.

I can now say that my health is on the up and up. I’m no longer reacting to as many things as I had previously reacted to. I’m able to do everyday activities without feeling exhausted. I’m no longer turning down plans with friends, or canceling plans because I’m able to fall asleep and stay asleep during the night, helping my body recover and repair.

So here is what I learned and how to implement it for yourself. This is exactly how to develop a sleep routine that you can stick to daily.

Step 1: Create a routine.

As humans we thrive on routines, the more we do something the more our bodies recognize it as normal, and we adapt. These routines once established begin to tell our bodies it's time to relax. As Americans, we tend to go go go and think that our bodies should switch off when we are ready for bed. This is not the case, and we must start the process of unwinding at least 1-2 hours before bedtime. During this winding down time, I stretch and meditate. I found that defining self-care tasks to accomplish during this time kept me engaged and hindered me from reverting to endless screen time.

Step 2: The Impact of Fight or Flight and How to get out of it

The Fight or Flight response historically is in place to help humans survive. This goes back to the caveman days when large predators were very much capable of killing humans. The fight or flight response once initiated assists the body to fight off a predator or to run from a predator. The problem lies when this response is activated and doesn’t turn off. The body is in a constant sympathetic state where our adrenals are on constant overload. Common causes of this activation are trauma. I want to acknowledge that trauma looks different for everyone. I had a very hard time recognizing my trauma because it didn’t look like trauma experienced by others. A classic view of what trauma looks like is the trauma experienced by the military. Yes, this is one form but there are many more, like physical, sexual, and psychological trauma. This can go back to childhood, or it can be a specific effect in adulthood. I found several things helpful when dealing with fight or flight. Some of my favorites are EMDR, DBT, grounding, meditation, and restorative yoga. Click here for more information on these topics.

Step 3: How Your adrenals affect your sleep and how to Support them

Your adrenals play a significant role in your sleep-wake pattern. There are several cycles your adrenals go through when your body is in constant fight or flight. The initial stage feels like a rush of endorphins keeping your body and mind sharp for what it perceives as a threat. The second stage is where your adrenals get day and night mixed, and you can’t fall asleep till early am. The third stage is when your adrenals are completely fatigued, and your body can’t seem to get enough sleep. It is essential to support your adrenals through all these phases. The more support you give them, the quicker you can move out of these phases. I found a combination of things were needed to help support my adrenals. These things include a sleep routine, sea salt, fats, light exercise, and avoiding caffeine. I found avoiding caffeine the hardest one of all. Naturally, when we are tired, we want that coffee, tea, or some sort of caffeinated beverage to get us through the day. Unfortunately, caffeine further disrupts the imbalance of our adrenals and should be avoided.

Step 4: How to Prepare your body for sleep.

Letting your body know it's time to start to unwind is key to a successful sleep routine. Without it, our bodies think it's time to still be on the go. After I cook dinner, I take an Epsom salt bath. This functions as a key part of my bedtime routine and a huge part of my detox routine. Click here to learn more about my detox routine. An Epsom salt bath is a great way to start the bedtime routine because it not only helps the body relax it also helps replenish the body's stores of magnesium. Studies show that a low level of magnesium can lead to sleep disturbances. Epsom salt baths are an easy way to restore this balance. If I feel I need more magnesium, I use a magnesium spray added to unscented lotion after my bath. Click here for the magnesium spray and Epsom salts I use Click Here.

Step 5: How to create an environment for sleep.

Let's think about the history of sleep. In the beginning of time, humans slept in caves. What do we know about caves? They are cool, quiet, and dark. So, let's start there. Our bedroom temperatures should be between 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit. This allows the body to relax and achieve rhyme sleep. I start to adjust the thermostat about 15 minutes before I go to bed. This allows me to ease into the temperature shift if I don’t already have the thermostat set to this setting due to the different seasons. To keep a quiet and consistent environment in my bedroom. I achieve this by using binaural beats. Specifically, 528 hertz. Studies show that 528 hertz allows for the best rhyme sleep. I use my Alexa to play this throughout the night on repeat. I typically start playing this about 30 minutes before bed. Our two dogs start to head to bed once we play this. They even have a routine now! To achieve a dark environment, we use blackout curtains. This step is crucial because artificial lighting throws off our circadian rhythm and doesn’t allow for that rhyme sleep that helps our bodies repair and recover. Click here for what I use to achieve this environment.

Why Prioritizing your sleep will affect your Mast cell symptoms

When your Mast Cell reactions are increasing, you start to feel panicked and don’t know where to focus what little energy you do have on certain tasks. In my experience breaking down the big picture into manageable tasks is the only way to keep calm and make changes. When we look at the whole picture, we see the mountain before us. This is a daunting task for anyone. So, focusing on resting and improving our sleep quality is essential to the big picture. It's in my opinion the basis of our health and without it, we cannot progress. I found that my reactions were more severe and frequent when I did not sleep well. I have since learned to avoid my triggers even more so on days that my sleep is less optimal. Click here for more information on how I manage my mast cell symptoms. When we don’t sleep well our body is unable to repair and recover, this in turn makes our body react more to what it perceives as a potential danger. The more quality sleep I got the fewer reactions I had day to day. Click here for all the tools I found helpful to achieve the best sleep ever.

While wrapping up this topic I encourage you to prioritize yourself and give your body what it needs! I was where you were, overwhelmed and discouraged. But I want to give you that hope and confidence to take charge and start the healing process.

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