Supercharge Your Sleep

by | Aug 17, 2021 | General Health

Breathing, drinking, eating, sleeping and moving. These are the basics but it seems we don’t give them the importance they deserve. There has been a shift towards the more “modern” essentials which can distract us from our primitive and most important foundations. The cornerstones that nourish our body functions, those that keep us focused, healthy and in a stable balanced mood, yes, I’m talking simply about food, water, sleep and movement.  

Thankfully more considerations are being built around healthy eating habits. Each day, people are getting more interested and informed about what their bodies need in order to function optimally. Gone are the days of experimenting with various diets and detox programs and here are the days of nourishing ourselves mindfully. 

Exercise has experienced a huge boom in the last decade with gyms and yoga studios popping up on every corner, not to mention that on Tik-Tok, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube you can consume exercise videos, workouts, stretches and dances for hours and hours

However, we don’t get to see conscious videos about how important SLEEPING is! Sleeping the correct amount of hours is key in  order to balance all the other essentials. If we don’t sleep well our eating habits suffer, we may crave processed foods high in sugars while our body sends out emergency signals in the form of cravings. These signals trigger a feeling of imbalance, which most of the time, we don’t even know how to control, so we actually do very little thinking and let autopilot take over. 

Sleep (or at least proper sleep) has 5 stages. From stage to stage, the body relaxes more and more, blood pressure lowers and so does our body temperature. Our brain processes all the information gathered that day and this leads to both learning and memory building. 

Let me break it down for you: If you managed to get your 7 to 8 hours each night for just 4 days in a row, you would begin to feel energized, focused, positive and simply happier in a balanced and maintainable way. Lack of good sleep for a prolonged time can lead to a weak immune system, heart problems, depression, obesity, diabetes, anxiety and even certain kinds of cancer. But on the other hand, good sleep improves your mood, your immune system, your appetite, it reduces stress, helps you concentrate more and stay focused. All of this allows you to have more energy for your loved ones, your work and your favourite hobbies.

Good sleep gives us so much and yet we pay so little attention to it. It’s important to me to understand optimal health and the steps we can take towards it. I love educating myself, my loved ones and my clients and helping people achieve a healthier balanced life. I’m happy to share with you 10 great tips to help you fall asleep. You don’t have to implement all of them at once, but try to make them your habits, one piece at a time. Hopefully you will find some are already in your routine!

 
1. Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and nicotine 
These three are big enemies of sleep, but if you do use them, make sure it’s at least 4 to 6 hours before going to sleep, it will make a difference. However the best, is none!
 
2. Don’t eat right before bed 
When we eat, our digestive system has to work and when we try to sleep we are trying to shut our body’s functional systems down.  Give your body and it’s systems a break by not consuming food directly before bed.
 
3. Don’t drink too much water right before bed
This doesn’t have much to do with whether it’s healthy or not, but more with the fact that you may have to go to the bathroom in the middle of your deepest sleep stage. This means, when you come back to bed, you will have to start over again and shutting down our bodies twice or more is taxing on the system.
 
4. Don’t Exercise right before bed
Try to workout at least 3 hours before bed, the earlier the better so you can get back to a calm state easier.
 
5. Be regular on your bed times
When we don’t have a set time for going to bed we let our body decide when it is tired and when not. This may be influenced by many things (like stress.) It’s best to try to set a time that doesn’t vary more than 1 hour each day so that your body knows it’s time to calm down (stressful thoughts included). It really works.
 
6. Avoid screens and use blue light blocking apps (or glasses)
Blue light suppresses the body’s release of melatonin, a hormone that makes us feel drowsy. Blue light blocking glasses have specially crafted lenses that are said to block or filter out the blue light given off from digital screens. Most phones and tablets have the option for blue-light blocking too.
 
7. Make sure your room is comfortable
Don’t forget how important this topic is, give yourself a sleep upgrade if needed, like new pillows or a newer mattress, you deserve it and your body and mind will thank you when they’re finally getting the rest they need. Noise, light and temperature comfort are very important as well.
 
8. Get some sunlight
Sun reinforces your body’s circadian rhythm, which is a process that regulates the sleep – wake cycle. Plus, sunlight makes us feel happier and healthier.
 
9. Try a soothing tea before bed
Get your hands on fresh herbal teas like lavender or chamomile and try to drink them at room temperature, so your body temperature doesn’t rise too much before sleep.
 
10. Be patient

If you’ve had troubles with sleep, getting it balanced may take a while. Trust me, the less you stress about it, the less time it will take. There are a great amount of sleeping apps and guided meditations available online, I’ve used headspace with great success.

I wish you the best in this sleep-improvement process, and really I hope you find a happier, more energized and healthier life within it! Don’t forget if you need guidance and assistance in creating simple and consistent health changes in your daily life, I am here to help. I have over 15 years experience in healthcare and I’m your ally, ready to support you with biofeedback testing, bioenergetic resonance and my Loving Kindness Method.  

Be well,

Lisa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is not meant to replace treatment with a licensed health care practitioner. It is for informational purposes only. Consult with a licensed health care professional to determine which treatments are safe for you.

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