In this fast paced world, getting adequate sleep is all that more important. Sleeping enough hours and getting quality sleep is essential to waking up feeling rested.
This post was inspired by a friend who mentioned that she is having trouble sleeping. A few months ago, I started my journey to becoming a health and life coach (an official announcement will come soon). For now, I wanted to share some of the great information that I’ve been learning along the way.
Now more than ever, getting proper sleep is so important!
When we are tired, we are more likely to make poor decisions, doubt ourselves and feel foggy-brained or anxious. Some factors that may negatively impact the quality and quantity of our sleep are: - Eating late at night - Consuming caffeine later in the day - Doing brain-stimulating work before bed - Surfing mindlessly on social media before bed - Charging electronics near your bed - Watching stimulating content - like the news Even though it may seem like some of these activities are helping you wind down from your busy and hectic day, it is very difficult for our brain to “shut down” quickly to allow for deep and restorative sleep. I wanted to share some practical tips to get the best sleep possible. Given this extremely stressful climate, restorative sleep is a necessity! 1. Create a power down hour - one hour before you plan to go to sleep, begin powering down all your electronics and create an evening routine full of relaxing activities - washing you face, journaling, etc. 2. Practice regular sleep rhythms - while you may love excitement, your body craves routine - choose a regular time to go to sleep and try to stick to it. Now that social activities are at a minimum, this should be more feasible than usual 3. Experiment removing all technology from your bedroom - phones, TVs, smart watches 4. Create an aesthetic environment in your bedroom that encourages sleep - serene, restful colors and no clutter - think of a spa 5. Create total darkness and quiet - use a noise machine, eyeshades or earplugs if needed 6. Avoid caffeine, or reduce it later in the day 7. Minimize alcohol - it may make you sleepy, but will result in poor quality sleep 8. Get regular exposure to daylight and fresh air for at least 20 minutes a day - especially important during this lockdown! 9. Eat no later than 2 hours before bed - eating a heavy meal will impede the body’s overnight restorative process and lead to a bad night’s sleep Important Tip - you don’t have to incorporate all these changes at once! Choose one or two things to apply to your nightly routine and you will see how small changes can make a big difference! Let me know what you’ve tried and how it helped! I’d love to hear all about it! Wishing us all a wonderful year, filled with good health, happiness and lots of quality sleep!
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