Your nervous system is the combination of your brain, nerves and spinal cord. It communicates and controls what your body does i.e walking, speaking, breathing, learning and how the body handles an emergency situation. It is also responsible for regulating part of the process of falling asleep.
While blue light is found naturally in sunlight, nature only intends for us to be exposed to it during the day when we are meant to be awake and productive. Blue light tells your brain that it is day time and it boosts your mood, attention, energy and memory. When the blue light is gone, your brain and body should be resting. These days we are exposed to blue light at all times as the screens on our devices emit it, this makes it hard for the brain and the nervous system to send the messages to the body that it is time to go to sleep, especially in the evening when the sun is down.
Sleep is one of the most necessary things to keep your central nervous system functioning properly. When you have reduced quality of sleep or lack of consistent sleep on a regular basis, it can affect the brain and the nervous system. Ideally an adult human requires an average of 7 hours of sleep per night to get effective rest and recovery for the body.
While we sleep the highway of the nerves that help you remember things, grow, heal and recover are created and repaired. During this time your sympathetic nervous system relaxes allowing your fight or flight response to wind down. When our brains and body experience sleep deprivation, it creates a massive disruption to the running of our body. You may experience symptoms of decreased coordination, increasing risk of accidents, you may find it hard to concentrate or absorb new information and your blood pressure may increase due to the excess in activity of the sympathetic nervous system and that is the system responsible for your fight or flight response. It can also lead to: increased stress, impacting overall health, your posture due to the fatigue and it may lead to more pain and discomfort in the body.
It is ideal to get a sufficient number of hours of sleep and also high quality sleep so that your brain and nerves can rest and repair for your next day of activities.
What you can do?
- Ensuring you go to bed earlier and have some wind down time for your body and your mind.
- Refrain from consuming any caffeinated drinks or food after 12pm.
- Make sure that your sleep environment is inviting and comfortable.
- Create a bedtime routine to start 30 minutes before your desired bed time. You can try meditating or reading a book, dimming the lights or taking a bath.
- When the sun goes down use your Baxter Blue - blue light blocker glasses when looking at any device, whether that is the television, ipad, laptop or smartphone.
- Put away all screens and devices at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before bedtime.
- Meditate or do breathing exercises to slow down the ‘thinking’ brain, this helps calm down the nervous system and priming it for good quality rest and sleep.
Yours in health,
Dr Diana Pakzamir (Chiropractor)
Blossom Family Chiropractic (link to website- www.blossomchiro.com.au)
