
3 Tips for Great Sleep
3 Tips to Make Sure You Get All the Sleep Your Brain Needs to Stay Healthy
It seems insomnia is a modern epidemic. Whether you deal with insomnia or you are chronically sleep-deprived, it’s likely that poor sleep is affecting your performance both personally and professionally. These 3 tips will help you modify your sleep practices and help you feel rested and refreshed!
Let’s face it, sleep deprivation feels terrible. You will have noticed if you’ve had a bad night’s sleep, you feel sluggish, heavy, and slow, as though you’re trying to walk through syrup. You’re clumsy and confused, you feel older than your years and nothing seems to go quite right.
As well as making you feel unwell, a chronic lack of sleep can have physical effects on your brain. Sleep deprivation impairs your ability to process and store memories and can even increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Two proteins associated with Alzheimer’s, beta amyloid, and the tau protein, increase with chronic poor sleep. There is some evidence in laboratory tests that sleep helps to clear these proteins from the brain. That’s good news if you’re trying to avoid Alzheimer’s.
More good news is that there are things you can do to improve your sleep health to keep your brain in tip-top shape.
Find Your Own Best Sleep Levels
To optimize your overall well-being and productivity, understanding and adhering to your personal sleep requirements is very important. Historical figures like British leaders Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher are renowned for their minimal sleep habits, often sleeping for just four to five hours nightly. Such limited sleep is generally not advisable for most of us mere mortals. The optimal amount of sleep varies from person to person; while some may feel rejuvenated after seven hours, others might require up to ten hours to feel fully rested.
Determining your ideal sleep duration involves paying attention to your body’s natural responses to different amounts of rest. A key indicator of sufficient sleep is the ability to wake up spontaneously without the aid of an alarm clock, feeling refreshed and alert. This state of natural awakening suggests that your body has completed its necessary sleep cycles, including both deep and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stages, which are essential for cognitive function and overall health.
Another sign of adequate sleep is maintaining a consistent level of energy throughout the day without relying on stimulants like coffee. If you find yourself dependent on caffeine or other energy boosters to combat daytime drowsiness, it may indicate you’re just not getting enough rest. Additionally, a well-rested mind typically exhibits improved concentration, mood stability, and cognitive performance, further highlighting the importance of identifying and meeting your individual sleep needs.
It’s also worthwhile to consider lifestyle factors that can affect sleep quality. These include stress levels, diet, and physical activity. Creating a conducive sleep environment and establishing a regular sleep routine can really enhance the quality of your rest. By experimenting and observing your body’s reactions to different sleep durations, you will be able to identify the optimal amount of rest needed to help you function at your best, leading to improved overall health and well-being.
Improve your Sleep Hygiene
The period immediately preceding bedtime greatly influences the quality of your sleep. Many studies have highlighted the impact of activities during this window, emphasizing the need for a pre-sleep routine that promotes relaxation and prepares your mind and body for a good night’s sleep!
One of the most important steps in your routine is minimizing exposure to blue light, which is emitted by devices like smartphones, computers, tablets, and televisions. This can be a tough one as who among us isn’t inclined to take one more stroll through Twitter (X) or Facebook before bed.
The fact is blue light is particularly disruptive to our natural sleep cycles because it inhibits the production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep-wake cycles. By using these devices until bedtime, you effectively signal your brain to remain alert and awake, and you hinder your ability to fall asleep easily. To manage this, it’s advisable to stop using your devices at least an hour before bedtime. This simple change alone can significantly enhance the quality of your sleep by aligning your body’s internal clock with its natural rhythms.
Instead of engaging with electronic devices, adopting calming activities can greatly benefit your pre-sleep routine. Reading a book, for example, is an excellent way to wind down. It not only diverts your mind from the day’s stresses but also engages your brain in a soothing, non-stimulating activity. Alternatively, taking a warm bath can be incredibly effective. The rise and than fall in body temperature post-bath can promote drowsiness and signal to your body that it’s time to sleep. Similarly, listening to calming music can have a tranquilizing effect, reducing stress and anxiety levels, and facilitating a quicker transition into deep sleep.
Incorporating all three of these activities – reading, bathing, and listening to music – can create a powerful, holistic pre-sleep ritual. This combination really engages your senses in a relaxing manner, allowing both your mind and your body to unwind and transition into a state that will be conducive to restful sleep, and isn’t that what we all want and need? By establishing a routine like this, you significantly improve not just the ease of falling asleep but also the overall quality and restfulness of your sleep.
Don’t Lie There Trying to Sleep
The next of these 3 tips for great sleep is if you find yourself unable to sleep after lying in bed for about ten minutes, it’s advisable to get up and engage in a different activity. Honestly, this is a tough one for me; I don’t want to do anything but go to sleep! The truth is continuously staying in bed while struggling to sleep can lead to a cycle of stress and frustration, negatively impacting your sleep quality and potentially leading to insomnia. This situation is often exacerbated by the tendency to brood over the day’s events or dwell on unresolved problems, creating a mental state that is far from conducive to restful sleep.
Instead, it’s beneficial to leave your bedroom and engage in a calming activity. Engaging in relaxing tasks like reading a book or practicing meditation can significantly aid in transitioning your mind into a state of relaxation and drowsiness. Reading, for example, allows your mind to divert from stress-inducing thoughts, while meditation can help calm your mind and reduce anxiety. It’s important to choose activities that are low-stimulus and don’t involve screens or intense mental engagement, as these can further disrupt your sleep cycle. That means you’ll want to save that Kindle book for reading tomorrow.
It’s perfectly acceptable to repeat this process multiple times throughout the night if necessary. The goal here is to get your brain to associate your bed with sleep, and not with the stress of lying awake. By consistently reinforcing this association, you gradually condition your mind to view your bed as a place of rest, which can greatly improve your ability to fall asleep more quickly.
One other caution is to avoid stimulants before bed. Caffeine, chocolate and alcohol may be comforting while you are enjoying them, but the fact is they can have a negative impact on your ability to get to sleep and stay asleep. Opting for a cup of non-caffeinated tea instead will be a more soothing choice.
I hope these 3 tips for great sleep will help you. Good sleep hygiene plays a critical role in your overall health and well-being. Adequate quality sleep is linked to improved mood, enhanced productivity, and even long-term benefits like a reduced risk of developing chronic conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. By adopting strategies that promote restful sleep, you’re investing in your mental, emotional, and physical health, leading to a more balanced and fulfilling life.
I always love to hear from you, and you can reach out to me with questions at cheryl @ thinstronghealthy dot com
Helping You Achieve Major Wellness!
Cheryl
Cheryl A Major, CNWC
I’m author, health coach, and entrepreneur Cheryl A Major, and I would love to connect with you! If you’re new to the world of creating better health, both mental and physical for yourself, please check out my training on how to get gluten out of your diet. Becoming Gluten Free Me is where to check it out. Learn how gluten affects us and how to go about reducing or eliminating it from your diet. You don’t have to suffer with Celiac Disease to benefit from getting gluten out of your life!
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