Why Is Sleep Important?

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Nervous system regulation can help support sleep.

When we focus on giving our nervous system "cues of safety," we help dial down our stress response.

This creates a state of deep rest in which the conditions for sleep are more present.

Using these strategies to create cues of safety for the nervous system can help sleep come more naturally.

Sleep is something that is so foundational for all of us, yet for many, it can be quite elusive. In part one of this blog, I explored an important fundamental shift in the way we think about sleep. While many articles on sleep focus on environmental and behavioral strategies for improving sleep (such as avoiding screens and blue light, not eating too late at night, etc.), I offered a look through the lens of the autonomic nervous system.

Foundational to sleep is helping our nervous system shift out of protection mode (e.g., fight-or-flight) and into rest-and-digest mode (controlled by the ventral vagus branch of our parasympathetic nervous system). Instead of trying to fall asleep, as if we have to achieve something (which can create more tension and striving), we can focus on creating the conditions for our nervous system to feel safe. From here, sleep can happen naturally.

Part two of this blog explores some practical strategies to do this.

Strategies for helping the nervous system feel safe enough to fall asleep

Here are some of my favorite strategies:

1. Take opportunities during the day to reset. Rather than waiting for bedtime, take a few minutes throughout the day to hit the reset button and remind your nervous system that you are safe in this moment. Spend a few........

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