Happy National Sleep Awareness Week! This week is dedicated to bringing awareness to sleep – one of life’s best luxuries. This year’s theme is “Begin with Sleep” which highlights the importance of good sleep health for individuals to best achieve their personal, family and professional goals. I know that most of you, including myself, take a good nights sleep for granted. With the clocks springing forward last week, everyone I speak to, including myself, mentions that their sleep schedule has been slacking. This may be due to the time change, but also life’s everyday hectic schedule. Sleep makes you feel better, but its importance goes way beyond just boosting your mood and banishing the designer bags under your eyes.
I am always trying to get as much accomplished every day as possible. I’ve found that I’m actually able to achieve more not by staying up late into the wee hours of the morning but ensuring that I get a full night’s rest. Adequate sleep is not just important for being able to tackle your to-do list every day, rather it is a key part of a healthy lifestyle and can benefit your heart, weight, mind, skin health and so much more. I believe what we should all focus on is controlling the amount of sleep we get, by increasing the quality and density of our sleep when sometimes the quantity isn’t available. Waking up for early work, meetings, and travel, or just not knowing when it is the right time to disconnect from social media at night can all be contributed to disrupting our slumber. I am the first one to admit that it is difficult for me to disconnect from my screen because my job relies so heavily on it. If you’re feeling the same way, don’t get worried. I’ve put together some of my top tips and behaviors, that I have implemented in my daily/nightly routine to help me wake up feeling more refreshed, energetic and happier to take on my day
With that being said, I would love to share some of my favorite tips/behaviors that I have practiced in my daily/nightly routine that have me waking up feeling more refreshed, energetic, and flat out happier every morning due to an increase in the QUALITY of my sleep. I also want to share some of the surprising health benefits you will receive, once these tips have been implemented.
SLEEPING TIPS:
Limit Caffeine After 4 PM
Cut down on your caffeine consumption- that doesn’t mean you have to drink less coffee, just try to lay off the caffeine after 4 PM. If you are having a tough time falling asleep, start to acknowledge how much caffeine you’re consuming throughout your day. I’m not trying to cut your lifeline off here people, I just think this is an important tip that will drastically change the way you sleep. What I like to do is substitute the caffeine with my favorite herbal teas. I start my day with one cup of green tea and then follow with some caffeine-free herbal teas. You can shop some of my favorite picks below:
Prep for Bedtime
I have a routine that I like to stick to every night before getting in bed. My pre-bed routine includes a cup of chamomile tea, washing and moisturizing my face, changing into my PJ’s, and brushing my teeth. With this preparation, your brain begins to understand patterns when you start to go to bed and if you make a habit or a nightly routine to follow. You will see a boost in your quality of sleep and fall asleep faster once your head hits the pillow, just like you did when you were a kid. A bedtime routine is crucial to a good night sleep. Here are a few things that I like to do before hitting the hay.
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- 8-10 minutes of soft tissue work – I like to stretch, foam roll, or use a lacrosse ball to massage out any soreness of tightness for that day’s workout. You will sleep better if you do this and the feeling can be compared to wanting to pass out after you get a massage. Turn on some relaxing spa music, and you’ll wind down in minutes.
- Cool off your bedroom temperature and body temperature: I know sleeping in a cozy warm room can feel nice, but if you cool off your room to about 62-68 degrees, and you will sleep better! Also, finish your shower with a burst of cool water, to drop your core temperature.
- Sleep in a dark and quiet room: This one is important for me. If there is a single light in your room, your brain will pick up on it and it will disrupt your slumber. An easy way to achieve a dark room is to wear a mask. Here are a few of my favorite eye masks:
- Don’t fall asleep with the TV on: Science has proved that the flickering light from the TV or any screen you’re watching sleepy-time viewing on) majorly messes with your sleep patterns. We’re designed to sleep in dark. When the sun comes up, the light receptors in the retina at the back of the eye tells us its time to wake up by inhibiting the release of melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleepy. So, the light from the TV confuses our brains, preventing us to fall deeply asleep.
NO cell phones in bed
This one is major! You can easily waste 30+ minutes on your phone while laying in bed at night and in the morning. One good step to avoid this is to plug in your phone somewhere other than on your bedside table. This also forces you to immediately get out of bed to turn off your alarm. Turning your phone on night shift mode hours before bed helps to block out the blue light that is emitted from your screen and can delay the release of sleep-inducing melatonin, increasing alertness and reset the bodies internal clock. Turn the “Do Not Disturb” setting on so your phone doesn’t light up in the middle of the night and disrupt sleep. Also, the thought of looking for the phone gives a serotonin boost subconsciously and the brain is looking for it.
Set A Schedule and Stick to It
Setting a schedule and sticking to it is important in all aspects of life, but it will be key to getting a successful night’s sleep. Our work can build up and if you’re like me, it’s probably the single thing that keeps me from getting to bed on time. Recently, I have started to address the most important or hardest task first thing in the morning. That way, by the end of the day, even if I still have a few tasks left undone, I can go to bed with peace of mind knowing that the tough tasks are behind me.
New Mattress, Bedding and PJ’s
My next task is to shop for a new mattress. I think it is time to part with my 20 plus-year-old mattress and take that next step. I have been looking into a few mattress options, and plan to go mattress shopping this week. Something that I have recently shopped for though is some new PJ’s and bedding. I love this set from Raven + Co, which I am wearing in navy and this bedding from Ralph Lauren is heavenly.
5 SURPRISING HEALTH BENEFITS OF SLEEP
I know this seems like a lot right now, but my biggest tip is to start with small changes and then work your way up to improving your overall bedtime routine and sleep cycle. With that being said, if you follow my top tips, here are a few benefits that you can look forward to once you’ve mastered your sleep routine:
- Sleep helps you lose weight, belly fat and inflammation of the body:
A crucial component of your fitness plan is sleep. Getting enough sleep is vital for your metabolism and fat loss efforts. When you’re not sleeping enough, your body is under additional stress, which means it holds onto fat and makes exercising more difficult. When you’re sleep deprived, your body makes more of the stress hormone cortisol. Elevated levels of this hormone can lead to increased stress and inflammation in the body, hurting your overall appearance. So, start catching those ZZZ’s ladies and gents.
- Sleep helps you learn and focus:
Lack of sleep often means lack of focus and function. We come into contact with new information each day, and your brain helps you remember and learn it for long-term use. A lot of the heavy lifting of this process happens when you sleep and is easier for the body to process when it’s running on a full tank. Researchers at Harvard University and Boston College found that people seem to strengthen the emotional components of a memory during sleep, which may help spur the creative process. Get some rest and be thankful for your sharp mental faculties.
- Sleep helps you achieve a more radiant complexion:
turns out when your mother said “get your beauty sleep”, she may have been right. Even while you’re snoozing, you’re getting plenty accomplished. Slumber is nature’s most powerful beauty treatment. If you get in the optimal seven to nine hours a night, your skin will look luminous. Also, many hair, face, and body products are most effective overnight because they penetrate better when you’re at rest. Spend more time in bed and wake up to these benefits!
- Sleep helps to reduce stress:
Stress and sleep have a close relationship. You might be stressed because you can’t sleep, or you might not sleep well because you’re so stressed. On and on the cycle goes, and the bottom line is that getting enough sleep helps you manage and reduce stress on a regular basis. When you’re not well rested, you’re more likely to be irritable and have mood swings, which make minor inconveniences seem like insurmountable obstacles. When you get a full night’s sleep on a regular basis, you’ll naturally reduce stress and return to normal sleep patterns.
- Sleep helps to curb inflammation:
This one was surprising to me because I thought that the food played a huge roll in the inflammation of the body. Who knew sleep was a major culprit for inflaming the body. When you’re sleep deprived, your body makes more of the stress hormone cortisol. Elevated levels of this hormone can lead to increased stress and inflammation in the body, affecting your body. If you get less than 6 hours of sleep, you will have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins than those who get more sleep.
The main goal is to have a sleeping routine and try to do the same thing every night, roughly at the same time. When you put all of this into play, your bedtime and sleep cycle will suddenly start to get much better and you will definitely notice it. So instead of talking about sleeping MORE let’s focus on sleeping BETTER.
I hope you enjoyed this post and took away some key points! Let me know what some of your favorite pre-bedtime rituals that you’ve implemented in your life in the comments below:
Love,
Liv
