MS and Sleep The Habit That Helps Your Brain Detox and Recover Transcript
[00:00:00] If you're living with MS and struggling with fatigue, brain fog, or inflammation, one of the most powerful things you can do for your brain might not be another supplement or diet change. It might be sleep, but not just because sleep makes you feel more rested. Sleep is when your brain literally cleans itself.
There is a system in your brain that becomes 10 times more active when you're sleeping, and its job is to remove. Waste toxins and inflammatory byproducts from your brain. And when you're living with a neurological condition like ms, that nightly cleanup process matters more than most women realize. So today we're talking about sleep and ms.
Why sleep can be such a challenge when you're living with ms. What actually happens in your brain when you sleep, and a few things that can dramatically improve your quality [00:01:00] of sleep. So let's dive in, and before we get started, I wanna invite you to something special. Living with MS can feel overwhelming, but one habit can shift everything.
That's what I'll show you inside my free webinar. How to help Slow MS progression, starting with just one habit. Think of it as your first step towards more energy, confidence, and hope. Save your seat at alene brennan.com/webinar. Welcome to my MS podcast, where women with MS learn how to slow progression and live a life they love.
I'm Alene Brennan, your Ms sister and a practitioner who knows the science and the reality of living this too. Each week I share simple. Science backed habits to boost your energy. Stay consistent and feel like yourself again, because Ms. May be a part of your story, but it doesn't get to [00:02:00] write the ending.
Hello? Hello my friends. If you are listening to this podcast episode today, I am willing to bet sleep likely hasn't always come easy for you. Maybe it's 'cause your legs don't settle at night, or maybe it's because your mind won't settle. We all know those moments, the worst case scenarios and what ifs that just play on repeat over and over and over again at two or three o'clock in the morning.
Or maybe you sleep all night and you still wake up feeling exhausted like somebody borrowed your body to run a marathon while you were sleeping and you get to wake up to the aftermath. That kind of exhaustion. It's humbling, right? And the frustrating part is that sleep is often exactly what we need to support our healing.
Yet MS makes it harder to get the sleep that we need, like it feels like such a catch 22. [00:03:00] I know this firsthand and over the years, I've done a lot to improve my sleep and it's paid off. And I also have helped so many of the clients that I've worked with and the women inside my Healing Habits program because sleep is one of those foundational habits for.
Detecting your brain when you're living with ms. It's not just about the leafy greens and the supplements. Sleep is one of the most overlooked strategies when you are trying to manage ms. And protect your brain long term. Over the years I've adjusted my nighttime routine. I've experimented with all kinds of different like strategies, tips, tricks, hacks, all the things, right?
And I can say now I'm in a relatively like good place when it comes to sleep, and yet I also. Was completely blindsided when, for about two weeks, I was [00:04:00] recently waking up around two or three o'clock in the morning, completely wide awake, not able to fall back asleep. And if you've ever experienced that, you know how frustrating that can be, because at two or three o'clock in the morning, you know it's the middle of the night, but your brain apparently has different plans.
It's like, all right, I'm awake now. What are we gonna do? So I started experiencing this recently and because I have become such a good sleeper, totally caught me off guard and I'm like, what in the world changed? Like, what am I overlooking? Well, I got my little detective hat on and I am proud to say I figured it out and the very next night.
I slept straight through the night, but before I talk about what was actually causing it, I wanna explain something that is fascinating about what actually happens in your brain while you sleep. Because once you understand this, it changes how you think about [00:05:00] sleep entirely. So your body has something called a lymphatic system.
You may have heard this before. It's why so many of us are encouraged to move our bodies throughout the day because it's our waste management system and our body needs movement in order for that to work optimally. It helps to clear out cellular waste and toxins all throughout your body, but not your brain.
Your brain is protected by the blood brain barrier. So for a long time, scientists couldn't figure out how in the world our brain was clearing waste. It knew the lymphatic system did it for our body, but what was doing it for our brain, which was tucked behind the blood brain barrier? Well, eventually researchers discovered that the brain has its own waste management system, which they have called the glymphatic system.
I like to think of this as our overnight cleaning crew, right? [00:06:00] Like, because throughout the day, as I mentioned earlier, your brain accumulates metabolic waste toxins and inflammatory byproducts from normal brain activity. When you fall into deep sleep, the space between your brain cells. Actually expands.
Like, isn't this mind blowing when you sleep, the space between your brain cells expands allowing cerebral spinal fluid to wash through the brain and flush the waste out. I'm like, so wait a minute. Is this like a car wash for my brain? Is my brain going through a car wash in the middle of the night? And here's the crazy part, this system becomes 10 times more.
Active when you are asleep, which means sleep isn't just about rest. Sleep is when your brain is literally detoxifying and repairing itself. So for those of us living [00:07:00] with ms, a condition that affects the brain and nervous system supporting that nightly cleanup crew. Is kind of important. It matters a lot.
So when you start thinking about sleep through this lens, it changes how you see it. Sleep isn't just a luxury or a waste of time. Sleep is healing. It is literally protecting your brain. It's when your brain clears inflammation, consolidate memories, restores energy, and supports your nervous system.
Imagine if there was a supplement that could rattle off all of those attributes. Clears inflammation, check consolidates memories, check restores energy check supports your nervous system. I want a Costco size palette of that being auto shipped to my house, right? But of course, just because we know [00:08:00] that all of these wonderful benefits happen during sleep, we may see it more differently, which, yes, that's helpful, but it doesn't mean.
It magically makes it easier to get good sleep. Many of the women listening to this podcast, I know you out there. I talked to you on the dms on Instagram, hello, hello. You are high performing women with ms. You are working, you are raising families, you're managing responsibilities. And because MS is often invisible, it's like the world still expects you to function like nothing has changed.
So what happens? You push through fatigue, you stay up later, you try to squeeze more in your day to keep up and sleep quietly, keeps getting bumped further and further down the list. And when sleep is compromised, your brain never gets the chance to recover. So [00:09:00] let's talk about a few things that can actually support better sleep.
If you are part of my Healing Habits community, you know, I walk you through all of these important habits step by step. We go through nutrition movement, stress mindset, because they all work together to support your brain and nervous system. But for the context of today's episode about a few things that can help to support better sleep.
Let's start with supplements and how they impact your sleep. If you look inside the cabinet of somebody living with MS, who is trying to biohack their way through this disease, you'll likely see a overflowing box of. A variety of different supplements, all promising to be so helpful in managing symptoms and look, a lot of them have a lot of research and are super effective.[00:10:00]
I have my personal favorites, I'm gonna talk about them in a second here, but we wanna make sure that we understand the timing. Of taking certain supplements and how they can impact our sleep. So we know Ms. Fatigue is one of the most challenging symptoms when living with ms. So of course a lot of the supplements that support us can be for supporting energy production, which again, incredibly helpful for getting through your day when you are struggling with MS.
Fatigue. Yes. Bring on the supplements. They're gonna help give me a little. Boost in my energy and also they can interfere with your sleep if the timing isn't right. Let's take for example, the B vitamins, especially B12, B six, and biotin. They are essential for nerve health, myelin repair, and energy production, which makes them incredibly helpful for [00:11:00] managing MS symptoms like.
Fatigue and numbness and cog fog, right? But because they support energy production, taking them too late in the day can make it harder to fall asleep. Same can be said for coq 10. If you've been a part of this community for a little while, you know my love for Kq 10. It supports mitochondrial energy production and has been studied for MS.
Fatigue. There was a 12 week study done on individuals living with MS, who are struggling with MS fatigue. They took 500 milligrams over the course of 12 weeks and saw noticeable differences in their energy levels. So when I heard that, I ordered me a bottle of Coke Q 10, and it has made a huge difference for me.
I have noticed a significant difference in my energy since taking that supplement. And a little side note, as a member of the podcast community, I extend a lot of my client [00:12:00] discounts to you for supplements. So if you're interested in coq 10 or the study that was done on it, just send me a dm. Um, and I'm happy to share all of that with you 'cause we wanna share the love.
And the energy in this community. Right? But this actually brings me back to the sleep issue that I mentioned earlier. So I was in a particularly exhausting season in life, and I noticed a little dip in my energy. So I was like, all right, let's get that coq 10 going. But here's the thing. I noticed that I was taking it too late in the day, and while it was great for the energy during the day, I realized that is what was waking me up in the middle of the night.
So as soon as I realized that I changed the timing. Literally the very next night, I slept straight through the night. So sometimes it's just a matter of making sure the timing of your supplements is right. And on the flip side, there are supplements that can actually help [00:13:00] support better sleep. One of the most well-known supplements in that context is magnesium.
Magnesium helps to relax muscles, which is especially helpful if you experience muscle tension or those jumpy legs in the middle of the night. It also has another perk for those of us living in the MS community here. It can help to relieve constipation. So there are a lot of good reasons why to take magnesium, but knowing that it can help to support sleep makes it a.
A great supplement to take right before you go to sleep, not first thing in the morning. So really being educated on the supplements that you're taking and the timing in which you're taking them is really important. That's something that I dive deep into in my Healing Habits community. We go through what are the foundational supplements, what are the targeted supplements that are really helpful for us?
When living with ms, what's the best timing to take them? All of it because those details [00:14:00] matter. They matter. And another tool I personally use and love, um, are essential oils. I think we're all kind of generally familiar with what essential oils are, but the fancy definition of them is that they are the volatile aromatic compounds of plants.
So. If you have ever walked into a room and smelled an orange in the room, you smell it before you see it. Like you walk in, you're like, who's eating an orange? 'cause I can smell it when you peel an orange. The essential oils in that. Orange break open, and that is what you are smelling in the air. Same is true if you ever rub your hands over different herbs.
So if you've done it over basil or mint, or thyme, rosemary, whatever it is, if you're in the kitchen like making different things and then you start to get the smell of those herbs, that is because simply the touch of your hand against that leaf broke, open those essential oils, and that is [00:15:00] what you're smelling in the air.
So you can imagine to get an actual drop of essential oil requires a tremendous amount of plants. I think there is 28 cups. I can't remember the stat. It's something crazy, like 28 cups of. Um, peppermint tea is equivalent to one drop of essential oil. There's that much plant material needed to extract one drop of essential oil.
Um, so they're, they're incredible. I have used them over the years. Um, and you can use them aromatically so you can like diffuse them in the air. You can use them topically putting them on their skin. Some you can use internally that you would definitely want like additional guidance on, but, um, different plant families.
Have different effects on our body and our nervous system like florals, like lavender, is very calming. So that's a great one to use At nighttime. Mints are more energizing, so your peppermint, your spearmint, any [00:16:00] type of, um, mint. Any, any type of mint is gonna be more energizing. Citrus oils, the lemons, the clementines, the orange tangerine, all of that stuff is gonna be uplifting.
Um, I think of them as like my happy sunshine oils. And then the root oils like vir cedarwood, they are gonna be more grounding. So when I go to bed at night, I put some vever on the soles of my. Feet, and then I'll often diffuse lavender in the bedroom. It's not magic, but I will tell you one thing, it smells amazing and I absolutely positively sleep better the nights that I use the essential oils, and it's also become part of my.
Evening routine, my bedtime routine. So it's a signal to my body to start winding down and preparing for sleep. And speaking of signals, another one that I try to set up is setting the phone down before bed. I feel [00:17:00] like I am somebody who is super sensitive to that, and it's really annoying if I'm being honest.
I, if I'm on the phone within like an hour before going to bed, I almost. Always notice a difference in how well I sleep. So over the years, I've really tried to create a boundary with my phone at night. I'm not perfect, but for the most part, I've really tried to reduce the amount of screen time before bed and every little bit counts.
So if you are hearing this and you're like, there's no way I can go for an hour without looking at my phone before I go to bed. Great. Can you start with five minutes? Can you start with 10 minutes? If you're a part of my Healing Habits community, you know, one of the things I say over and over and over again when you're trying to build a new habit, if you're struggling to get started or be consistent, break it down to a habit that is two minutes or less.
So if you are trying to improve your quality of sleep and you think that the phone may be standing in the way, shut it [00:18:00] down two minutes before you go to bed, it makes a difference. I would dare to say, especially the small things. Add up. All right, moving on. Another powerful thing you can do for sleep actually isn't what happens at night.
It's what's happening in the morning. Your body runs on something called a circadian rhythm. You've probably heard the term before. It is your internal clock viewing sunlight within 30 to 60 minutes of waking. Especially when the sun is like low, like that sunrise type posture plays a critical role in setting that clock.
Morning sunlight triggers a natural cortisol spike that tells your brain it's time to wake up and be alert. That signal helps regulate. Your wake sleep cycle and prepares your body to then release melatonin later in the evening. So you [00:19:00] want to expose your eyes to the sun first thing in the morning. If you can get outside, great.
Amazing. Do it. If you can't, at least open up the blinds. Get yourself next to a window, let your eyes have some sunlight, and then as the day progresses. You start to reduce the exposure to light. And finally, one of my favorite reminders when it comes to sleep is creating a routine. One of the things I love hearing about inside our Healing Habits community is the different bedtime routines women are creating for themselves.
It is amazing house. Small adjustments can make such a big difference in how you feel the next day Routine is essential for sleep and when it comes to these routines, especially for sleep. I love telling you to act like a child. I have a four-year-old daughter right now, and when we are getting her ready for bed, she follows a routine.
Bath time, [00:20:00] brushing teeth, books, lights out, all of those cues signal to her brain that sleep is coming. And as adults, we benefit from those cues too. So yes, dim the lights. Maybe you do a few stretches. Maybe you're applying the essential oil, or maybe it's reading instead of scrolling. The key is choosing one habit.
I know we can do all of them, but that's not setting you up for success. Remember, two minutes or less. One simple habit that starts to signal to your body, it's time to wind down. So tonight I want you to ask yourself one simple question. Is my nighttime routine helping my brain to heal or is it working against it?
Because when you start thinking about sleep as brain protection, it changes how you approach it. Sleep might [00:21:00] seem like a small thing, but when you understand what's happening in your brain, that cleanup crew is coming at night to wash the wastes out of your brain, it becomes clear that it is one of the most powerful habits.
You can build when living with ms. And here's the good news, it doesn't require perfection. Small adjustments to your routine make a big, big difference over time. All right my friends. That is it for today's episode of my MS podcast. And remember, MS has a biological clock, which means the sooner you start supporting your brain and nervous system, the more influence you have over your future.
And I think it's appropriate to sign off today by saying. Sweet dreams. Take care, guys. And that's it for today's episode of my MS [00:22:00] podcast. I hope you're walking away with one small step you can put into practice today, because that is how real change happens. And remember, MS has its own biological clock, which means this.
Sooner you start, the more power you have to influence your future. The best time to begin is now. That's why I created my free webinar. How to Help Slow MS progression, starting with just one habit today. Grab your spot at alene brennan.com/webinar. See you there.