The quality of your sleep has an impact on every human function from your physical performance, mental and spiritual health. Before we dive in to proven solutions, I would like to take a short moment to provide some motivations under a scriptural context.
Your body was created by God, and you are entrusted to take good care of it. Your spiritual life will have an impact on your present and eternal life which is more important than your physical life. But remember that God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. God created food perfectly designed for all of our bodies' needs. You were bought at a price therefore in all that you do, including the care of your physical and spiritual life, honor God with your bodies.
1 Timothy 4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
1 Corinthians 3:17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Genesis 1:29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
1 Corinthians 6:20Â you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.
Diets high in sugar will disrupt sleep, but some complex carbs at dinner can help sleep especially if it's in its original God created form, like a baked potato for example. Certain symptoms related to sleep can be associated with low blood sugar or high blood sugar.
Difficulty falling asleep has been associated with hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).
The sleep related symptoms associated hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) are, can’t stay asleep, having nightmares, crying in your sleep, excessive sweating so as to dampen your clothes, and feeling tired, irritated or confused after waking up.
Benefits of sleep on Human Growth Hormone (HGH) production
HGH is for growth & repair of the human body at every stage of life. 75% of HGH is produced during sleep and the majority HGH production during the day is after exercise.
Some of the side effects low levels of HGH are increased body fat, increased risk of heart disease, poor mood and overall well-being, weakening of the heart, muscles and bones. If you have ever gotten the sense of feeling thinner after a good night sleep, you can credit your HGH production for that.
The key players involved with your sleep wake cycle and quality are the following
Adenosine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter (sleepy sensation)
Cortisol is a hormone that boost energy (wake cycle)
Melatonin is a hormone that is required to fall asleep (sleep cycle)
Adenosine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that creates a sleep drive or hunger the longer you are awake, and it builds up in your system throughout the day.  Adenosine works by blocking neurotransmitters that make you feel awake.
The adenosine antagonist is Caffeine. Caffeine wakes you up binds to the adenosine receptor slot, blocking the sleepiness receptor.
Caffeine has a half-life of 6 hours and should only be consumed early in the day in order to not disrupt your sleep wake cycle.
Light is the most influential factor on sleep, and it is the primary time giver. Light affects cortisol production in the morning and melatonin in the evening. When waking you get a pulse of cortisol and adrenaline. This starts the timer for the sleepiness signal which should kick in 12 hours later when melatonin is released.Â
Neurons in the eyes that set the circadian clock respond best to natural sunlight at a low solar angle. At the time of sunrise, the sun rays provide an optimal ratio of blue and yellow rays to trigger the cortisol pulse. All it takes is two to ten minutes of sunlight exposure at sunrise to create the ideal benefit to set your circadian rhythm right. The light that passes through a window loses 50 times its effectiveness. Some artificial options exist such as SAD lamps, which simulates sunlight and contains blue light. Blue light blocking lenses are good at night but not in the morning when you are in need of the beneficial blue rays to provide energy. Viewing sunlight at sunset can help protect you from negative effects of light later in the evening.  The longer you have been awake, the more sensitive the retina is to light, and it becomes really easy for a small amount of light to trigger the activation of cortisol at night. After 8 pm you want as little light exposure as possible, so start dimming lights in the house after 8 pm. Between 11 pm and 4 am, completely avoid bright light exposure because it can suppress dopamine production, which is the reward and happiness neurotransmitter. Evening lights should be placed low in the room to avoid activating the neurons in a low position on the retina. It is those receptors that are designed to trigger the cortisol pulse.
For optimal sleep make your room as dark as possible or wear an eye mask. The ideal room temperature should be cool, ranging between 60 and 70 degrees.
Naps are Beneficial from 20-60 minutes, but if you wake up feeling groggy after a nap, it’s because you are not sleeping well enough at night. Try Timing your sleep by going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day.
Additional tricks to improve the quality of your sleep
Focus on the body, not your mind. It's difficult to control the mind with the mind, so one of the best techniques to get you to fall asleep faster is the body scanning technique. Imagine that you are laying down inside a scanner and the scanner begins by moving down from the top of your head and slowly working its way down to your toes. You are in control of the speed of the scan, so it is critical that you completely relax every muscle in the beam of the scanner and only move to the next body part once the muscles exposed are completely limp. If you are not asleep by the time it reaches your toes, start the scan over.
Long exhalation nasal breathing at a ratio of 2/1 exhale to inhale is a very effective way to engage your parasympathetic nervous system and promote the rest & digest branch of your autonomic nervous system.
Support the natural C-shaped curve of your neck when sleeping on your back will put your neck in a better position to completely relax.
If your neck still feels like it can't fully relax, consider that you might need a chiropractic adjustment to remove subluxations in your neck.
If you are not holding your adjustments, you might need to balance your central vestibular system to calm down the sympathetic nervous system, which is the fight or flight branch. The Gravity Reset Method was specifically designed for that purpose and you can get more information by clicking here.
Dietary supplements that have been frequently reported as beneficial are:
Magnesium threonate, glycinate & malate, which increases Gaba, an inhibitory neurotransmitter.
Theanine is a tremendous addition to magnesium for those who don't respond to magnesium by itself.
A psychobiotic such Bifidobacterium longum 1714 can help reduce the effects of stress and improves sleep.
Nitric Oxide producing supplements can help in combination with the previously listed products by optimizing circulation.