Every year brings us further ways to keep our brains stimulated, from social media and smart technology to podcasts and rage bait news articles.
All this stimulation – on top of the general stresses of daily life – can make sleep elusive. This is bad news for insomniacs, but great news for the sleep wellness industry, with the sleep supplement market alone projected to reach a value of $1.45 billion by the end of the decade.
But what is the science behind the supplements? What is the latest science affecting our sleep aids? And, most importantly, does any of it actually aid restful sleep?
A new approach to sleep science
Most of us are aware of the four stages of sleep we cycle through every night: wakefulness, light sleep, deep sleep, and Rapid Eye Movement (REM). In the past, most sleep science has focussed on these four stages, the macroarchitecture of sleep. However, recently, more attention has been placed on the dynamics within these stages: the microarchitecture.
One of the most important factors in sleep microarchitecture, and one which has become the primary focus of sleep science, is the Cyclic Alternating Pattern (CAP) during non-REM sleep.
CAP is a normal part of sleep, an occasional flurry of brain activity which bridges the gap between deep sleep and semi-wakefulness. By targeting CAP, sleep supplements may be able to help people maintain deeper levels of sleep for longer and reduce sleep fragmentation.
Several unpublished studies have already indicated that certain botanical supplements increase the rate of CAP A1 subtypes, which contribute to more sustained, more restorative sleep, and thus enhanced next day functionality, improving mood, brain function, and emotional balance.
A focus on natural supplements
One of the most popular sleep aids on the market is melatonin.
Melatonin is a hormone which is produced naturally in the brain. Its levels rise in the dark, promoting relaxation and prompting our minds and body to enter ‘rest’ mode.
It’s therefore no surprise that melatonin has been prescribed as a treatment for a host of sleep disorders, from insomnia to jet lag. The issue with melatonin for people with long-term sleep disorders is that the body can build up a tolerance for it, requiring the sufferer to take higher and higher doses to maintain effectiveness.
Too much melatonin can trigger a host of unpleasant side effects, including headaches, grogginess, nausea, and vivid dreams.
To counter this, some supplements are starting to combine a lower dose of melatonin with a botanical ingredient, such as holy basil extract, one of the botanicals shown to increase the rate of CAP A1 subtypes.
By blending lower doses of melatonin, which affects sleep macroarchitecture, with botanicals that affect sleep microarchitecture, sleep scientists hope to target sleep disorders from multiple angles, making it easier for patients to fall asleep and less likely to experience sleep fragmentation.
Quality over quantity
Recent sleep science has tended to adopt a quality over quantity approach.
In the past, the success of much sleep science has been measured purely by sleep duration. The number of hours slept is not necessarily indicative of the quality of sleep achieved. A person may sleep for ten hours straight yet still wake up feeling groggy and unfocused, due to sleep fragmentation.
By focusing more on the microarchitecture of sleep, the hope is that future sleep aids will optimise the restorative quality of sleep, through regulation of the circadian rhythm and by adapting to common sleep stresses. If successful, this approach could even prove useful for expanding our understanding of diseases like Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain conditions.
Sleep science is always adapting to our growing understanding of sleep and its effects. The eternal dream is that one day it will unlock the secret of uninterrupted, high-quality sleep, a dream which is coming closer every day.