Feeling stressed and low energy? Always hungry and not sure why? Having difficulty making decisions because your mind is a bit fuzzy? Not sure why you cannot drop a few pounds?
Let me ask you this…how is your sleep? Sleep is the Holy Grail. Sleep affects how we look, our overall health and how we function in our everyday lives. Ideally, you want 7-8 hours of sleep daily…how are you doing?
Why is sleep so important? When we sleep our body is strengthening our immune system, balancing appetite hormones such as leptin and ghrelin and stress hormones. Sleep is the opportunity to give our brains and body a chance to reenergize. Getting a good nights sleep is the only way to truly take care of yourself.
What can you do? Improve your sleep hygiene. (I did not make that up – it is a real thing!) Try to incorporate some of the points below into your routine to get you sleeping through the night so you can restore yourself and wake up feeling ready to go.
– Most important is getting into regular sleep and wake pattern. Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time. Just like a newborn baby – the more routine the better.
– Avoid stimulants such as alcohol, caffeine and nicotine too close to bed time. Some experts say 4-6 hours, some say 2-3 hours. Find what works for you and your body so it doesn’t affect you falling asleep.
– Using alcohol to fall asleep? I hear this all the time. While alcohol will help initially, it often causes you to wake up in the middle of the night and disrupts the sleep cycle due to the extra work the body has to do to metabolize alcohol. If you want to enjoy a drink at dinner, go for it but then have water as your get ready for bed.
– Notice what you eat for dinner. Spicy, fatty, sugary or large meals may affect your digestion and cause difficulty sleeping through the night.
– Associate your bed with sleep. Avoid doing work, watching TV, using your phone, reading or having serious conversations once you are in bed.
– Make your bedroom a relaxing place. Research shows that the room should be cool (not cold), sheets should be soft and soothing and the room should be dark. Also get all TVs, computers, lights and all things techy out of the bedroom.
– Consider white noise – using a sound machine can help set the tone for falling asleep.
– Keep a pad of paper and a pen near your bed – if your mind starts racing or you have an idea that you don’t want to forget, write it down and then go back to bed.
– Consider meditation, breathing exercises or stretching as part of your night time ritual to slow your mind down.
– Exercise daily…but not too late in the day. Exercise is shown to improve sleep, but if you get a good workout in too late in the day it will likely keep you awake. Find what works for your body.
I am getting tired just writing this. Have fun in bed tonight!