How common poor sleep is
If you lie awake at 2am and wonder what happened to the sleeper you used to be, you have a lot of company. Dr. Martin puts the number at 70 to 75% of the population, and calls it an epidemic. The sweet spot he gives is six to eight hours a night, and he says to shoot for that.
On this episode he walked through why sleep slips and what to do, point by point. The thing that ties most of it together is one hormone.
Cortisol that will not come down
Cortisol is made by your adrenal glands, the two small glands on top of your kidneys. It is on your side. It wakes you up in the morning, gets you going and handles fight or flight. The trouble starts when it is still up at the end of the day.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1490But if cortisol is high when you're going to bed, I'm sorry, you're just not going to get into a good sleep because cortisol is meant to wake you up.
Cortisol takes you out of what he calls rest and digest, which is where sleep lives. And he does not think this is rare.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1490And today, I venture to say this, and I think I'm right. 80% of the population or more have high levels of cortisol at night when it should be the opposite.
His interest in this goes back to the 1980s and his work on chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, which he saw as adrenal exhaustion. On this episode he also cites research linking poor sleep with high cortisol and faster biological aging. High cortisol, he says, pours gasoline on silent inflammation, the kind you do not feel as pain. That is one more reason a run of bad nights shows up in how you feel by day.
His instruction is simple: get your cortisol down. Exercise during the day lowers it. Sunlight lowers it. If your cortisol is high, he says, you are not getting into the five stages of sleep. When and why cortisol peaks through the day is covered in when is cortisol highest, and the everyday ways to bring it down in how to lower cortisol after 60.
Eating too close to bed
This was his first point on the list. Stop eating at least three hours before bed, longer if you can. It takes your body about five hours to fully digest a meal, and you do not want it in high gear when you lie down.
If you do eat late, he says, your blood sugar goes up, your cortisol goes up, and you are not burning fat. Sleep is one of the best times for your body to burn fat, but only when you are in deep sleep and not still digesting. One of the big effects of cortisol in women, he adds, is belly fat. Finishing dinner at six and not eating until eight the next morning gives you 14 hours without trying very hard.
Coffee after 50
He likes coffee. He just does not like it at night, and he speaks from experience on what age does to how you handle it.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1490I'll tell you, I think the day that I hit 50 years old, I couldn't drink coffee at night anymore. And I had to flip it to decaf.
Under 50, he could have a coffee right before bed and feel nothing. After that, it had to be decaf in the evening, and he says to make it Swiss water decaffeinated. If you have kept the same evening cup you always had and your sleep has changed, this is an easy thing to try.
"Sedation is not sleeping."
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1490Sleeping pills and melatonin
He says he is as sympathetic as anyone to people who cannot sleep, and he hates the thought of anyone lying awake all night. He still wants you to understand what a sleeping pill does.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1490When you take a sleeping pill, you're not sleeping, you're sedated. Big difference, okay?
His concern is your brain's self-cleaning system, which he calls the glymphatic system. It works when you are truly asleep, and in his view not when you are sedated. Melatonin as a supplement gets a softer version of the same caution. It is not like a sleeping pill, he says, but it can knock you out to some extent, and he would rather your body make its own. Never stop a prescribed medication on your own; take that conversation to your doctor.
Light, dark and a cool room
Your body makes melatonin, and this is how he wants you to help it.
- Sun in the morning. Bright daylight through your eyes tops up melatonin, even on a cold winter day. Do not look straight at the sun.
- Dark at night. Turn the phone off. He suggests a sleep mask over your eyes, because you make the most melatonin in complete darkness.
- A cool room. He likes it cold enough to see his breath and says the research backs a cooler room.
- A consistent bedtime. Going to bed at the same time each night helps. He is often getting ready for bed by eight.
The deficiencies he checks for
In his practice, people with poor sleep were often low in a few basic nutrients. Not always, he says, but often.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1490And I found with people that don't sleep properly, they weren't optimized, they were low in B12.
Vitamin D was the first on his list, then B12, which he calls a brain vitamin and says is mostly found in red meat. Magnesium was the third, and he has a simple way to get some.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1490You got trouble sleeping about an hour before bed, go take a hot bath with epsom salts, put a cup in there or two, okay, in your bath.
Epsom salts are magnesium salts. The fourth is omega-3, especially DHA. Too much omega-6 from seed oils and processed food against too little omega-3 drives low grade inflammation, and he says that alone can keep you from a good night's sleep. Vitamin D, B12, magnesium and omega-3 all work against inflammation.
Common questions
Why can't I sleep as I get older?
Dr. Martin's first suspect is cortisol that is still high at night. He also points to eating late, evening coffee, light at night, sleeping pills and low vitamin D, B12, magnesium or omega-3.
How many hours of sleep does a woman over 60 need?
He calls six to eight hours a night the sweet spot and says to aim for it.
Is melatonin safe to take every night?
He is cautious about it as a supplement because it can sedate you to some extent. He would rather you build your own with morning sunlight and a dark room at night.
Does coffee affect sleep more after 50?
It did for him. He says from the day he turned 50 he could not drink coffee at night and switched to Swiss water decaf in the evening.
Get your cortisol down at night
If you cannot bring it down on your own, he says, he can help, and that is why he created a cortisol formula. Cortisol Control PM is Martin Clinic's evening cortisol formula.
60-day money-back guarantee. Formulated in clinic.These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your healthcare practitioner before starting a new supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.
