Address These Four Things and You'll Sleep Like a Baby
Getting proper sleep is absolutely essential for any exercise program to be successful. When you give your body enough sleep, it gets a chance to repair itself and produce the hormones that you'll need when you're awake. It's also a time for your digestive organs to take a break and for your mind to process everything that happened during the day.
Not getting enough sleep can have a negative impact on your mental, emotional, and physical health. So, if you're having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, there are a few things you can do to improve your sleep hygiene and overall well-being.
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1) Nutrition
First off, be mindful of your diet. Consuming excess sugar and carbs throughout the day can cause your blood sugar to fluctuate, making it difficult to either fall asleep or stay asleep. Skipping meals or eating at irregular intervals may also cause blood sugar fluctuations. How you balance your meals can be a factor as well. Eating too few carbohydrates in the evening can make you feel energetic at the time your body should be relaxing.
2) Caffeine, Alcohol & Recreational Drugs
Additionally, relying too much on caffeine to get through the day can make it hard for your body to wind down in the evening, especially if you consume caffeine after 12 noon.
Alcohol and recreational drug use can significantly interfere with both the quality and quantity of sleep. While alcohol may initially make you feel drowsy and help you fall asleep faster, it disrupts the natural sleep cycle. It reduces the amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is crucial for cognitive functioning and memory consolidation. As a result, you may experience fragmented and less restorative sleep, leading to feelings of grogginess and fatigue upon waking. Similarly, recreational drugs can have various effects on sleep. Stimulant drugs like cocaine and amphetamines can inhibit sleep by increasing alertness and suppressing the sleep drive. On the other hand, drugs like marijuana and opioids may initially induce drowsiness but can disrupt the sleep cycle, resulting in decreased overall sleep quality. Regular use of these substances can lead to chronic sleep problems and potentially exacerbate sleep disorders. It's important to prioritize healthy sleep habits and avoid alcohol and recreational drugs to ensure optimal sleep and overall well-being.
3) Electronics
Another factor to consider is the blue light emitted by electronic devices like televisions, phones, and tablets. This light actually wakes up your body by increasing the production of cortisol and decreasing the production of melatonin and serotonin, which are hormones that help us fall asleep naturally.
4) Lighting
The lighting temperature and brightness in our surroundings play a crucial role in regulating our sleep patterns and overall well-being, especially in the evening. Cooler lighting temperatures, measured in kelvin, have a higher amount of blue light compared to warmer colors. This blue light stimulates the production of cortisol, a stress hormone that keeps us alert and awake. When exposed to high-kelvin lighting in the evening, such as the "daylight" or "cool white" bulbs, our bodies may mistake it for daylight, hindering the natural winding-down process before sleep. Additionally, bright overhead lighting, regardless of its color temperature, can be overstimulating, disrupting our natural circadian rhythm and suppressing the production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for promoting sleep. It's important to prioritize softer, warmer lighting in the evening and reduce overall brightness to create a more conducive environment for relaxation and better sleep quality.
Create Your Healthy Sleep Hygiene Strategy
Now, let's talk about some practices you can adopt to create a healthy sleep hygiene routine for yourself:
Create a sleep-friendly environment: Make sure your bedroom is cool, dark, and comfortable. You can use blackout curtains to block out any extra light that might disturb your sleep. Keeping the temperature between 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit can also help because your body temperature naturally drops as you fall asleep. And don't forget to keep your sheets clean and fresh smelling. You can even make a spray with specially formulated essential oils and witch hazel to give them a pleasant aroma.
Limit exposure to blue light: Try to avoid screens and TVs for a few hours leading up to bedtime. Installing a blue light filter on your devices can help reduce their impact on your sleep. It's also a good idea to use light bulbs that emit a warm, soft light instead of the bright "daylight" or "cool white" ones.
Incorporate white noise: Consider using a box fan or a sound machine to create a soothing background noise. Even if you may be used to it, avoid using a television or radio as they can be more stimulating than relaxing.
Explore the power of scents: Using an essential oil diffuser can introduce calming fragrances into your sleep environment. Scents like frankincense, ylang ylang, myrrh, chamomile, sandalwood, and lavender are known for their relaxation properties. You can even find specific sleep blends online and in specialty stores.
Take a bath or shower: If you have the time, indulge in a bath and add some Epsom salts to provide magnesium sulfate, which can help your body relax. If a bath isn't possible, a shower can still be refreshing and contribute to a peaceful night's sleep.
Incorporate relaxation techniques: Just a few minutes of stretches, breathing exercises, or meditation before bedtime can work wonders in preparing your mind and body for sleep. If none of those ideas are appealing, try reading a not-too-exciting book or magazine (printed, of course).
Remember to keep these additional tips in mind to improve your sleep:
Avoid consuming caffeine after 12 noon, and try to limit your overall intake to 200 mg per day (approximately 2 cups of coffee).
Include some slow-digesting carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, beans, plantains, or bananas in your evening meal.
Get some sunlight exposure early in the day. Spend around 10-15 minutes letting the sun shine on your face during a walk or by sitting near a favorite window.
Eat at regular intervals during your day and avoid skipping meals. Irregular feeding times throw off the body’s internal clock, making it hard to get restful sleep.
Consider intermittent fasting. By shortening the window of time in which you eat, you may notice improvements in your sleep quality.
By incorporating these practices into your routine, you'll be well on your way to establishing healthy sleep hygiene and setting yourself up for success. Sleep tight!