Understanding the Relationship Between Serotonin and Sleep
Good sleep is the foundation of good health. When you are having a hard time sleeping, you may find yourself experiencing other problems in life. That is why it is essential to figure out what may be keeping you awake at night. While outside distractions can play a role, you also need to understand the relationship between serotonin and sleep.
The Connection Between Serotonin and Sleep
Before you can understand how serotonin impacts your sleep, it helps to understand more about this chemical. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter and a hormone. That means it serves to carry messages between your brain and different parts of your body.
People often associate serotonin with moods. Too little of this natural chemical can lead to poor moods and even anxiety. Serotonin also helps regulate your body, including sleep cycles. The amount of serotonin can play a few different roles in your sleep.
Promoting Restful Sleep
A critical connection between serotonin and sleep is the chemical's ability to help your body move between its normal sleep phases. While you rest, your brain cycles between REM sleep and non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep is the phase of rest when your body actually winds down. During the night you will go into this phase several times to get into a deep sleep.
Serotonin promotes non-REM sleep phases by blocking other neurotransmitters that would take you to the next phase too soon. This is important since non-REM sleep is more restful for your brain and body. Your breathing slows and your body can better repair itself and heal. Therefore, the connection between serotonin and sleep influences the way your body recovers from injuries and illnesses.
Interrupting the Sleep Cycle
An imbalance of serotonin levels can take a toll on your sleep. Consider what happens if your serotonin is too low. In this situation, you may find it harder to get to sleep. Your body can't shut down properly because there is not enough serotonin to regulate the signals your brain is receiving, and your body struggles to enter non-REM sleep.
Alternatively, too much serotonin in your system can reduce the quality of your sleep as well. When serotonin levels are needlessly high, you may fall asleep but you can't get to the REM phase easily. That is the phase of sleep when you dream. The back and forth between both types of sleep are needed for you to feel well-rested and refreshed.
The Importance of Your Serotonin and Sleep Levels
Given how important both sleep and serotonin are to your daily life, it is important to manage the levels of both. If you find yourself having trouble sleeping while also experiencing daytime fatigue and moodiness, talk to your doctor about your serotonin levels.
Serotonin Levels
Serotonin is made from an essential amino acid called tryptophan. Your body doesn't have the ability to make this kind of amino acid, so it has to come from your diet in order for you to have enough of it to support healthy serotonin levels.
Modern diets don't always offer enough tryptophan to allow your body to synthesize enough serotonin. This is why Juveon formulated SeroLastin to help accommodate this lack of serotonin. Supplementing your body's serotonin levels can help your body regulate itself more easily again.
Aging also impacts hormone levels, leaving people vulnerable to problems with serotonin and sleep. Lower levels of serotonin in older people have been linked to depression, which affects overall health and sleep patterns.
Sleep Levels
The amount of quality sleep a person gets should also be carefully monitored, especially in older adults. Studies show most adults need about seven to nine hours of sleep each day. Without this amount, other problems can start to appear.
A lack of sleep is associated with greater physical risks such as falls and accidents. This may be due to the fact that tiredness makes it harder to focus, reducing motor skills and awareness. That could be particularly dangerous for people who have previous injuries or lower bone density.
Maintaining good serotonin and sleep levels is also important for your cognitive function. When you are getting too little sleep, you become more likely to have memory problems during the day. Also, your sleep cycle plays a big part in your ability to learn and retain new things. If you find that you can't pick up new concepts or training, bad sleep quality could be to blame.
Taking Care of Your Serotonin and Sleep Levels
As soon as you notice problems with your serotonin levels or amount of sleep, you should take steps to fix whatever may be wrong. The sooner you correct the issues, the better you will feel during your day-to-day activities.
Start with an evaluation by your doctor. Go over what you are experiencing carefully and see if you can get your serotonin levels tested. This will easily let you see if you need to add a hormone balancing supplement like SeroLastin to your routine. You will also get the benefit of better moods and increased energy.
You should make sure you have good sleep habits. Create a sleep schedule and try to stick to it every day. Try to avoid naps, since they may keep you awake when you try to go to bed later because your body is confused.
Add exercise to your daily routine to promote sleep. Working out helps balance out your hormone levels, and a healthy relationship between serotonin and sleep is all about keeping a good balance. Time your workouts for earlier in the day so you have proper time to wind down. You may also want to avoid alcohol since it can affect your serotonin levels, especially over the long term.
Investing in Your Health
Making good choices about your health means considering every aspect of how you live, including how you rest. There will be times when the regulatory systems in your body change, including the systems that connect serotonin and sleep. If you are ready to find a solution, see how Juveon is making products to help.
Sources:
- https://www.healthline.com/health/dopamine-vs-serotonin#:~:text=Serotonin%20is%20also%20involved%20in,main%20hormone%20involved%20in%20sleep.
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190624173822.htm
- https://www.livestrong.com/article/136959-how-does-serotonin-affect-sleep/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21459634/
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/sleepwake-cycles
- https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/good-nights-sleep#:~:text=Go%20to%20sleep%20and%20get,Develop%20a%20bedtime%20routine.
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22572-serotonin
- https://www.masterclass.com/articles/non-rem-sleep-explained
- https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-101
- https://getserolastin.com/1
- https://www.enzolifesciences.com/science-center/technotes/2016/march/changes-in-serotonin-levels-with-age-could-affect-stress-responses-in-the-brain/
- https://juvenon.com/products/serolastin
