This is the element of healthy living I absolutely, without a doubt, am the worst at executing. I am a night owl and love staying up late. I am more productive and creative at night. I always have been. I also hate getting up early. I keep thinking something’s gonna give but it hasn’t yet.
Who’s with me? Who else struggles with getting enough sleep?
The CDC reports as many as 1 in 3 Americans are sleep deprived. A host of studies and reports have linked insufficient sleep to depression, ADHD, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s.
The National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute has tons of good info, including these strategies for getting more sleep:
You can take steps to improve your sleep habits. First, make sure that you allow yourself enough time to sleep. With enough sleep each night, you may find that you’re happier and more productive during the day.
Sleep often is the first thing that busy people squeeze out of their schedules. Making time to sleep will help you protect your health and well-being now and in the future.
To improve your sleep habits, it also may help to:
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. For children, have a set bedtime and a bedtime routine. Don’t use the child’s bedroom for timeouts or punishment.
- Try to keep the same sleep schedule on weeknights and weekends. Limit the difference to no more than about an hour. Staying up late and sleeping in late on weekends can disrupt your body clock’s sleep–wake rhythm.
- Use the hour before bed for quiet time. Avoid strenuous exercise and bright artificial light, such as from a TV or computer screen. The light may signal the brain that it’s time to be awake.
- Avoid heavy and/or large meals within a couple hours of bedtime. (Having a light snack is okay.) Also, avoid alcoholic drinks before bed.
- Avoid nicotine (for example, cigarettes) and caffeine (including caffeinated soda, coffee, tea, and chocolate). Nicotine and caffeine are stimulants, and both substances can interfere with sleep. The effects of caffeine can last as long as 8 hours. So, a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night.
- Spend time outside every day (when possible) and be physically active.
- Keep your bedroom quiet, cool, and dark (a dim night light is fine, if needed).
- Take a hot bath or use relaxation techniques before bed.
(Sourced from: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency
About 5 years ago, I heard Arianna Huffington (founder of the Huffington Post) speak at an event on the heels of the release of her book, The Sleep Revolution. She collapsed from exhaustion while checking emails in 2007, woke in a pool of blood and a broken cheekbone. The wake-up call led her down a path of examining our relationship with sleep and how we all landed here, sick and tired.
The book drastically changed how I view sleep and made me realize that I had rarely gotten a sober night’s sleep free from any kind of substance since I was in my early teens. I was in my early 30s at the time. That’s two decades of not allowing my body to properly reset, repair, grow, etc. I had never slowed down to think about it.
Now, at over 4 years sober, I am careful about taking any substance to aid sleep, even melatonin, because once your brain is chemically dependent on being aided in the process by a natural or unnatural substance, it becomes dependent.
I also find that REST, like GRATITUDE is tightly interwoven with the other pillars of health. When we are rested, we are more grateful, have more self-AWARENESS, more likely to make healthy choices like CLEAN EATING, and getting enough EXERCISE is directly related to getting enough sleep.
Today’s assignment is simply sharing your favorite habits that help you get enough zzzzz’s. I want all the sleep tips!!
Dancing Dem TN 