Discovered in 2012, the glymphatic system is the lymphatic drainage system for the brain. Metabolic waste is removed from the brain and central nervous system. Brain compounds such as amino acids, neuromodulators, and glucose are also distributed by this system.
This macroscopic waste clearance system comes online when we are asleep, when the brain shrinks by approximately 60%, allowing the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid.
Because the glymphatic system operates during sleep, this is another reason to address insomnia and poor sleep quality. For your cognitive and overall health. Today’s world is busy, busy, busy and sleep has become a luxury for some. It’s time to take a look at the rallying call of the modern world, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
Support your Glymphatic System with better Sleep
1. The Environment
Prepare your sleeping area by making it energetically clean. Minimize EMF by turning off the routers and devices. Sometimes this is not possible if your neighbours or housemates keep theirs on. Place BioGeometry WifiL, L90, and L66 stickers on your routers and consider their home kit. You can purchase these directly from BioGeometry or their official online retailers. I also recommend unplugging devices from their sockets.
Because our body is regulated by light, promote sleep and rest by creating a dark environment. Use blackout curtains and turn off artificial lights if you are in the city. You can place tape over the lights on items such as a smoke alarm. If you are out in the countryside and outside ambient light isn’t an issue, allowing the natural progression of moonlight over time has its benefits.
Be sure to get off your devices, including streaming movies on your phone, with plenty of time before bed. Look into blue light blocking amber glasses to wear after sundown and use amber/red lightbulbs instead. I’m a fan of incandescent light bulbs myself. I also got the Blue Light Blocking Clip Light from Blubox for reading on my Kindle because even e-ink readers emit blue light.
I now take off my contacts before sundown for my eyes to receive changing light information. Light regulates my biological processes including the production of melatonin which shifts me into a state that promotes sleep. It is therefore important to support melatonin and remove stimulants that pull me from this quiet wakefulness state.
Supplementation – Melatonin & Magnesium
Years ago, I briefly took melatonin. It wasn’t great – here’s what I wrote about my experience. Now, I suggest magnesium, which most people are deficient in. My husband and I use Good Night Lotion from Earthley. This is a family-owned company headed by an herbalist which produces well-priced items made with natural ingredients. We also have the Magnesium Magic Créme from Kabana Skincare. My husband is now getting good sleep using the Good Night Lotion. (We use the unscented/sensitive version. If you like lavender, their other version is made with lavender essential oil.)
2. Address & Modulate Stress & Stress Response
Humans, we are good at living with stress, even when chronic stress is debilitating. We put labels on these diseases that at the root is stress. It may be inflammation or poor emotional and mental state, for example. People are told to reduce or manage their stress. Is this bandaid approach enough?
As a species, we are extremely adaptive. Have you stopped to wonder if this is a good thing? Do we want to keep adapting to rising levels of stress, paying with our health, energy level, and relationships? What if we took some time to take a look at the sources of our stress.
Stress is not inherently bad. Author of Energy Blueprint, Ari Whitten talks about how hormetic stress stimulates the body to adapt and become more resilient. In Radical Healing Summit, Ari talks about this and shares his tips for building resilience, including for people with chronic fatigue. When you register for this free summit, a masterclass to detox your stress and stressors, you can immediately download the transcript of his talk. Other free ebooks include Reduce Stress. Feel Better, Eat This to Detox, 21 Ways Nature Can Help You Heal, Heal Your Hidden Stressors, and Rewire Your Stress Response.
If you want to better understand yourself, sources of stress and conditioning, along with tools, I offer self-care coaching sessions. We look at your Human Design Rave Bodygraph and based on your current challenges, together we build a practice of simple and effective tools. You can also follow me at Conversational_Space on Instagram for self-care and deconditioning tips and information.
3. General Suggestions to support the Glymphatic System, Sleep & Cognitive Health
- reset your circadian rhythms to regulate your sleep by seeing the sunrise and sunset. The differing sunlight during the day is essential information for the body to regulate biological processes.
- support your Pineal Gland for better sleep.
- enhance your cognitive health with Digital Nootropic. This is a set of quantum encoded audio, video, and digital pictures that transmit amplified energetic signature of nootropic substances, many of which are neuroprotective. These include acetyl-L-Carnitine, bacopa monnieri, and Lion’s Mane mushroom. Try the three-minute demo. The package includes a mild and a regular mandala/app that you can print in black and white or colour or have opened on your devices, a 20-minute audio, a 60-minute audio, a 5-minute silent video, and the 1-minute ultra-strength silent energy track, each stronger than the one listed before.
- increase your Hydrogen gas levels to modulate oxidation and oxidative stress. This is a normal function of healthy microbiome. Part of the anaerobic microflora family, hydrogenotrops convert fatty acids into hydrogen gas. With gut bacteria imbalance and inappropriate diet, the 10 to 12 litres usually produced is reduced which leads to an increase of oxidative stress and in time, chronic inflammation. There are many machines on the market for you to drink hydrogen-gas infused water and to breathe in the gas. We decided on AquaCure. We heard about it on The Higherside Chat when Greg Carlwood’s interviewed George Wisemen. You can also check out the portable 10 oz Echo Go™ Hydrogen Water Bottle from Synergy Science. Founder Dr Paul Barattiero speaks about the importance of hydrogen gas on the Radical Healing Summit. Download the transcript of his talk when you register for this free event.
