Neurophysiologist Reveals: 3 Unexpected Factors Ruining Your Sleep!

Maintaining a youthful brain is heavily reliant on quality sleep, according to neurophysiologist Louisa Nicola, the founder of Neuro Athletics. During a discussion on the mindbodygreen podcast, she highlighted, “Sleep is our most underappreciated asset for high performance.”

Nicola points out that a good night’s rest is essential not just for your daily cognitive functions like memory and focus, but it also plays a critical role in long-term brain health.

However, improving sleep quality is often easier said than done. Despite trying numerous sleep-enhancing strategies and tools, many still find themselves waking up tired and groggy. Nicola suggests that several overlooked factors might be disrupting your sleep.

She identifies three key overlooked elements that could be compromising your sleep quality:

Indeed, alcohol does interfere with your sleep. It might seem counterintuitive since alcohol can make you feel drowsy. Ethanol, the active component in alcoholic beverages, acts as a sedative. However, Nicola clarifies, “There’s a big difference between being sedated and actually sleeping.” As alcohol is metabolized, it disrupts crucial sleep stages, including REM sleep. This disruption is why you often wake up feeling unrefreshed, regardless of the duration of sleep, due to poor sleep quality.

“Drinking alcohol blocks deep sleep and REM sleep, making it difficult to enter these critical stages,” Nicola explains. This results in waking up feeling extremely groggy, despite having slept for a sufficient number of hours.

Melatonin supplements might help you feel sleepy by relaxing the body, similar to alcohol. Melatonin is a hormone naturally produced by your pineal gland at dusk to help prepare your body and brain for sleep. “Our bodies already produce melatonin naturally,” Nicola points out. When you take synthetic melatonin, it might confuse your brain due to the sudden influx of a hormone it’s already secreting.

Melatonin can be effective for temporarily resetting your circadian rhythm, but its efficacy in enhancing sleep quality over the long term is not well-supported by evidence. It might help you fall asleep faster but doesn’t necessarily aid in maintaining sleep or reaching the deeper sleep stages. Therefore, Nicola advises against using melatonin as a regular sleep aid, except in cases like adjusting to jet lag. For long-term solutions, she recommends considering non-hormonal options that are more suitable for nightly use.

Nicola states that dehydration is a common reason for feeling jet-lagged and can also degrade your sleep quality. A 2019 study found that adults who sleep less than six hours tend to have lower hydration levels. However, it’s important not to overcompensate by drinking too much water right before bed, as this can lead to frequent bathroom trips, disrupting your sleep further.

The best approach is to meet your hydration needs throughout the day so that you do not need to drink excessively before bedtime. If you feel thirsty at night, it’s okay to have some water, but ideally, you should complete your daily water intake earlier. As a guideline, urologist Vannita Simma-Chiang, M.D., suggests stopping drinking three to four hours before bedtime.

If you’re struggling to optimize your sleep, consider whether any of these factors might be affecting you. They might seem straightforward, but they can significantly impact sleep quality over time, according to Nicola.