SLEEEP !!!
Raise your hand if you love to sleep! You've been hearing a lot about how important sleep is for your body. Disclaimer: These facts are from a book I am reading called 'Herbs & Nutrients for Neurologic Disorders' by Sidney Kurn MD and Sheryl Shook PhD. "The body and mind of a healthy sleeper exhibit balance, vitality, creativity, alertness, resilience, and equanimity." Read that again. Who wouldn't want to feel or experience a life with those qualities? "Poor sleep interferes with the proper function of all your body's systems." "Not getting enough sleep, about 8 hours for adults, means impaired memory, diminished learning, and increased depression and anxiety." Experiencing any of those? How are you sleeping? Did you know sleep deprivation kills brain cells? The one area in the brain called the locus coeruleus actually can speed up the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's. You also need to sleep to remove metabolic 'brain waste' which are associated with AD when not removed by enough sleep! Hormonal processes occur while you are asleep too. A healthy human can actually put themselves in a prediabetic state and have insulin resistance from just having 4 days of poor sleep. Sleep deprivation leads to inflammation, oxidative stress, and cardiovascular disorders because of how it predisposes you to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and hypertension. The following is a Stanford Sleepiness Scale. Use this to determine what level of seriousness your sleep debt is. 3 and under is optimal 1. feeling active, vital, alert or wide awake 2. functioning at high levels but not at peak; able to concentrate 3. awake, but relaxed; responsive but not fully alert 4. somewhat foggy, let down 5. foggy; losing interest in remaining awake; slowed down 6. sleepy, woozy, fighting sleep; prefer to lie down 7. no longer fighting sleep; sleep onset soon; having dreamlike thoughts 8. asleep ~~~~~~~~
Here is another scale you can use to determine your sleep debt. This one is called the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. To figure, you are going to answer each question with how likely you are to dose off during the situation listed. Here is the scale 0 = no chance of dozing 1 = slight chance 2 = moderate chance of dozing 3 = high chance of dozing Situation sitting and reading watching tv sitting inactive in a public place as passenger in a car for an hour without a break lying down to rest in the afternoon when circumstances permit sitting and talking to someone sitting quietly after a lunch without alcohol in a car, while stopped for a few minutes in traffic Evaluate 0 to 5 slight or no sleep debt 6 to 10 moderate sleep debt 11 to 20 heavy sleep debt 21 to 24 extreme sleep debt ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now what can you do to improve your sleep?
Your circadian clock is real and so important to you getting to sleep at a good time and waking up at a regular time every day.
To begin, when you first rise, get sun on your face to set your circadian rhythm. When it was warmer, my morning routine involved walking outside as soon as I got up and made my coffee. I love listening to the morning birds and the quietness of the morning. Get some exercise. Avoid caffeine after 2 p.m. I personally can have caffeine up until 5 p.m. because it'll feel like I have insomnia. Avoid alcohol within 5 hours of bedtime. I guess we're day drinking!!! lol just kidding. Quit smoking cigarettes, vaping and nicotine. If you can't quit, quit 5 hours before bed. Take a 10 to 20 minute nap before 3 p.m. I personally have a hard time falling asleep fast enough for a 20 minute power nap but I will some days try but even if I just lay, or meditate for 20 minutes, should be better than nothing. If you're always waking up to pee like me in the middle of the night, elevate your feet and do heel and toe raises during the day to absorb fluid that would be processed at night by your kidneys. This is one I'm excited about trying lol. Talk to your doctor about the medications you take and how they impact your sleep.
Before Bed
Have a bed time ritual. Just like you do with your babies and toddlers to help them ease into sleep. Take a bath. Meditate. Read. Turn off phones and TVs as well as bright lights as this interrupts your melatonin and confuses your circadian rhythm. At least 1 hour before bed. Eat a light snack (no sugar). Minimize fluid intake at least an hour before bed. And pee before bed. Do 3 minutes of a relaxation exercise, such as counting your breath while meditating.
While in Bed Keep room completely dark. I like my room really dark when I sleep but something about having blackout curtains worries me that I wouldn't wake up naturally to sunlight shining through my windows. If you don't fall asleep within 20 minutes, sit up and read or listen to calming music or an audio book. Keep the thermostat at 65 to 72. Do not do work in bed. You know which activities should only be performed in bed. Shoot for 8 hours of sleep. Do not aim a digital clock at your face or check the time on your phone if you wake up. If you wake to pee, don't turn on any bright lights. I like having a dimly lit salt lamp for a night light. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
I hope these tips helped. I would love to hear what your biggest obstacle is when it comes to initiating any of these ideas. Quality sleep is definitely on my priorities list! How about you?