Sleep is a vital part of our recovery. Our tissue health, hormone balances and over-all brain function require a certain amount of deep sleep.
Your body's required amount of time for deep sleep changes with many varying factors (such as exercise, learning, eating habits, destressing habits and more).
Many times people find themselves with many health, mental or tissue issues despite their healthy lifestyle. One controllable factor will be to take a look at your sleep habits. To stay on a healthy circadian rhythm it's a great habit to sleep by 10:00pm. Want some ways to help?
Here are 5 helpful habits:
ELECTRONICS
Give yourself 1 hour of NO electronics prior to going to bed. This means TV, Phone, Tablet, Computer, really anything that is backlit and requires a battery to operate. Those flashy lights and constant scrolling tell your brain to stay active and awake which keeps you from naturally going into your circadian rhythm.
LIGHTS
House hold lights will also activate the mind.
Dimmer switches are one way to calm the bright light. Another way is to turn off all unnecessary lights. Perhaps light a few candles to help ease the mind and set the mood for
your body to begin the process of making melatonin.
TEA
Did you know that coffee stays in your system for 8-12 hours? Caffeine can be apart of the reason you are not able to fall asleep. Finish a cup-o-joe by or before noon will help. To top that off; consider sipping on some warm Chamomile, Moon Milk Tea or Golden Tea (recipe in my resources page). Either way, sipping on a warm soothing beverage will help calm the
entire self.
AN OLD BOOK
Now What?! We've taken away all electronics and given you tea with candle light... but you're not yet sleepy!
That's when I ask you to turn to a book you've read a million times over. When you engage in an activity where there is no guessing and no surprises your brain says "BORING" and thus
you begin to yawn. Your eyes fall heavy and just like a charm
...you're tired!
INSOMNIA vs SLEEP DEBT
First I want to differentiate Sleep Debt (chronic sleep deprivation) and Chronic Insomnia (which incurs sleep deprivation). Sleep debt is a lifestyle where a person disregards the need for adequate sleep. Chronic Insomnia is a bit more complicated and I am no professional to speak on the matter. Sleep Debt is a matter of choice. I know how fun it is to stay up late with friends, how ever are you considering how many tireless nights you are working just to have that fun weekend? That is where Sleep Debt occurs. No matter how many late nights you put in for work purposes, when you begin to have sleep debt your mind and body will begin to break down causing many more issues than you realize. So I implore you to make wise evening choices so that your fun nights can be extra fun with no strings attached.