Some say the best things in life are free: friends, family, love, and I’m going to argue that sleep should be included in that line-up. Welcome to my TedTalk.
Hi, I’m Rachel, a clinical herbalist and the founder of Impact Botanicals. We talk a lot about self-care and all the ways in which we can- and should- take care of ourselves. We also call ourselves a “self-care brand that cares back” which we do through our Plastic Impact Guarantee and our hiring practices. I’ve been a practicing herbalist for over 10 years, and I love talking about the power of plants, but I seldom get to talk about my specialty: the nervous system. When I was earning my Master’s Degree in Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine, I was also falling in love with the brain, and chose to concentrate my herbal medical studies on the squishy, electrical sponge that powers every experience we have in life, from the mundane to the extraordinary.
I’m here to tell you that the best and most important form of self-care is free; it’s sleep.
There’s a difference between rest and restorative rest. Rest is down time. It’s sitting on the couch and watching a movie. Restorative rest is much deeper. It’s renewing, rejuvenative, replenishing. Restorative rest gives us back our energy, our creativity, and allows us to be our best selves. Adaptogens, and now, nootropics are making headlines as the newest fads in wellness, specifically because of their restorative and rejuvenative properties. These amazing plants definitely deserve the limelight, and herbalists have been using them for centuries, but they are no replacement for a good night’s rest.
There are 5 stages of sleep and each is important.
Stage 1: We’re going to come back to this one in more detail, but this when you’re just falling asleep or just waking up. Most people don’t pay much attention to this stage.
Stage 2: This is rest for your body and brain. This is your brain taking half an hour to just chill, breathe, and decompress. It’s basically the “Netflix: are you still there?” phase.
Stage 3&4: Both of these are deep sleep stages and are phases of restorative rest for your body. Your brain is pretty active in this phase, making sure that the organs finish their work for the day, your cells replenish, and your immune system is delivering Marvel-level, vigilante justice on anything that made its way into your body during the day. This is when your body repairs itself.
REM: This is when you dream. Your brain is hyper active during REM, basically cleaning itself. This is your brain a few hours before company is coming over and it's gotta make the space look presentable. During REM, the brain is releasing an excitatory neurotransmitter called acetylcholine all over itself, dissolving any neural connections it doesn’t think you need anymore. Calcium binds neuronal connections and ensures your memories stay intact, acetylcholine dissolves the connections and makes you forget things (sometimes it can be overzealous.)
Now let’s go back to stage 1. If you were reading closely, you’d see that both your brain and body rested during stage 2, and your body got *restorative rest* during stages 3&4, but aside from stage 2, your brain’s been pretty active during your unconscious hours. When does your brain get restorative rest?
Stage 1. It’s the shortest phase, lasting only about 5 minutes, and that’s the only time your brain gets to truly recover. It’s marked by a truly unique brainwave pattern called Alpha 1. Alpha waves are common, but those are typically Alpha 2 waves. Alpha 1 waves are rare; we only know of 3 things that produce them: stage 1 sleep, certain types of meditation, and reading/ speaking the ancient language of Sanskrit.
So, you want more *restorative rest* for your brain? Not the kind of rest that’s just a metaphorical hour of Netflix, but rather the kind that’s equivalent to a week’s vacation, or a spa day with friends, the kind that leaves you actually feeling rested, creative, and ready to take on the day?
Then you have a few choices. You can meditate. You can chant Sanskrit. Or, you can sleep in. You see, when you sleep in on a lazy morning, you’re passing through stage 1 sleep every time you roll over in pursuit of “5 more minutes.” The more you pass in and out of sleep, the more stage 1 time you get, and the more restorative rest your brain gets. This is *especially* important for teens, and their developing brains.
If you wanted a science reason to justify sleeping in, this is it. You’re welcome.
And if you want to check out some self-care for your skin or hair, I can highly recommend anything from our shop. Especially our Adaptogenic skin cream, which fortifies the nervous system while moisturizing your skin. Our products are all herbalist formulated, vegan, cruelty- free, organic, and designed to foster wellness along with beauty. Because let’s be real: Health is Beautiful.
