Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I loved sleeping. Sleeping was time I could spend all by myself, traveling to unknown places and exploring a world that felt supernatural, mysterious, and intangible. I loved the feeling of drifting away into dreamland, and the moment of waking when your adventures of the night are fresh in your brain, before they slowly fade out of grasp. It fascinated me, and still does.
Professionally, I’m also a big fan of sleep. The snore of a sleeping client is music to my ears; and when they wobble out of the massage room with their hair messy from scalp work and their shirt on backwards with one eye still closed, I feel like I've succeeded in my career. Although I love that my clients can access deep rest and safety in my studio, I hope that they are able to find the same feeling in their own homes, workplaces, and relationships.
So why are we all so tired, all the time?
Shortened and simplified - somewhere along the way, sleeping turned into a hassle. Capitalism, corporations, and “the grind” were impeded by sleep. How could laying down and doing nothing for eight hours a night possibly help us achieve the American Dream?
(Side note: sleeping does make us more productive. And while productivity doesn’t determine our worth, if that’s the reason that motivates you to prioritize your sleep - use it!)
On top of being generally overworked and burnt out as a society, those of us with chronic pain and chronic illness face the ultimate catch twenty-two when it comes to rest. Pain makes sleeping a challenge, which makes you sleep-deprived, which increases your pain, which makes it harder to catch up on your sleep, and repeat. It is an exhausting cycle.
Let's learn about it.
The Science
Sleep is controlled by our Circadian rhythm, and our Circadian rhythm is controlled by brain cells that live inside our hypothalamus.
When we sleep, our brains are doing anything but resting. Our good friend, the glymphatic system, helps us out by removing waste from our brain, and is most active during deep sleep. Similar to the lymphatic system, the glymphatic system uses fluid to flush out what the brain no longer needs.
In order to function, our brain cells need nutrients. After the nutrients are used, waste like lactic acid, potassium, and protein are left behind. If left uncleaned, this waste can build up over time and cause issues like brain cell damage.
Specialized cells, called interstitial space cells, live in the “fluid-filled gaps” between functional cells of body tissue and organs. Scientists have found that during deep sleep, these interstitial space cells grow and the glymphatic vessels relax, which helps with the cleaning flow.
Now, I’m a massage therapist who is very cautious about using the words “toxins” or “waste,” as they’re often buzzwords used by Goop-y wellness influencers to fear monger you into buying overpriced products. But this waste is more like… the poop of our brain, in a way. After the waste (brain poop) is flushed into our bloodstream, it eventually reaches the kidneys and liver, where it’s filtered out.
Better sleep equals better waste clean-up!
Better sleep also equals better
learning abilities
memory
immune system
brain development
brain cell health
creativity
mood
and more!
How does chronic pain impact our sleep?
Pain signals mean “danger!” And danger means our body will try to protect itself by shifting into flight, fight, freeze, or fawn, aka our sympathetic nervous system becomes activated. When our sympathetic nervous system is activated, our cortisol (stress hormones) spike. It’s difficult for us to get back into a neutral state from here, not to mention all the way back into the parasympathetic “rest and digest” state.
Sleep also helps combat inflammation and immunity. So when an individual has an autoimmune disease, or is taking an immunocompromising medication, they may be subject to further pain.
In addition to this, when we go to sleep, we generally don’t just switch off like a light. We are laying there, doing the least amount of things we’ve probably done all day, and every bodily sensation feels louder. No more distractions or external stimulus to drown out the pain. That exhaustion cycle I mentioned earlier comes into play now, causing us to be sleep deprived.
Did I mention that when we’re sleep deprived, our tolerance for pain gets lower? So add that to it.
Tessa Miller, the author of “What Doesn’t Kill You: A Lesson In Chronic Illness,” affirms:
Yes - people with chronic pain really do need that much sleep.
Okay, cool, so we can’t sleep and we hurt. Now what.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a one-size-fits-all solution for sleeping. But there are the basics, the ones we’ve all heard after telling a friend, family member, or co-worker about a bad night’s sleep:
No screens before bed, limit caffeine, exercise early in the day, stick to a routine, try melatonin or CBDn, try Yoga Nidra, decrease external stimuli in the thirty to sixty minutes before bed.
These are all great ideas, and it’s important to remember that not everyone has the same 24 hours in a day and not everyone has the same body/needs.
As always, the key is to be gentle with yourself; beating yourself up over something you intended to do but didn’t do usually doesn’t fuel motivation to keep trying.
If I were to give suggestions, I’d say to choose one thing from the list above that you feel drawn to, and try that consistently for three weeks. If you feel you can take on another thing from that list, go for it! It can take around 90 days to incorporate a habit into your lifestyle, so give yourself grace.
I’d also suggest reading “Rest is Resistance” by Tricia Hersey. While I’ve always known that sleep is good for humans physically and mentally, Tricia Hersey puts into perspective how resting is a way to combat colonialism and capitalism. (That became my motivation to further prioritize sleep).
In her book, she speaks about finding small moments of rest throughout your day, no matter how busy you are. Can you pause, and close your eyes for 30 seconds in your car before entering the grocery store? Can you take one deep breath before you grab your phone?
Ariana Huffington’s book, “The Sleep Revolution,” is also a wonderful glimpse into the science and history of sleep. If you’re interested in learning more about sleep and rest, I’d definitely suggest those two books.
I’ve also linked some articles and studies below regarding both the science of sleep, and sleep in relation to poverty and chronic pain.
I hope you were able to take at least one helpful thing away from this entry, and I hope you sleep so good tonight! ❤️
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/glymphatic-system
https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-uncover-how-brain-washes-itself-during-sleep
