It is great to see sleep getting some national attention.
Afterall, it is the critical success factor for health and wellness. We are all sleepers, and dreamers and as adults, should be getting at least 6-8 hours of sleep each night. Have you ever heard someone who had a good night’s sleep say, they slept like a baby? That’s because babies typically sleep 16 hours at birth, and 12 hours at one year. When babies don’t get enough sleep, they fuss and cry, and when adults don’t get enough sleep, the next day their body lets them know about it, too. Have you noticed that when you don’t get enough sleep, it’s harder to exercise, concentrate, and even drive? It can feel like you are dragging your body along throughout the day.
When we lack sleep, our energy is lower, and many of us try to compensate by loading up on carbs, sugars and drinking caffeinated beverages. The vicious cycle continues until we can finally get a good night’s sleep. Sometimes taking a short nap and staying hydrated can help get us through the day, but if you suffer from chronic short or poor sleep, it is wise to seek medical attention.
People who chronically have short sleep, risk serious health issues such as obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and weakened immunity.
The good news is there are easy things we can try at home to improve our sleep hygiene. In 2020, National Geographic dedicated a special on “Sleep, Your Brain, Body, and a Better Night’s Rest.”
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They offer 10 tips for better sleep:
- Keep the same sleep schedule, even on vacation.
- Time your naps (20-30 minutes) and try to have them earlier in the day.
- Establish a bedtime routine: ditch the electronics, take a warm bath, drink some herbal tea, write down three things you are grateful for, let go of things that happened in the past or are troubling you in the future, pray, meditate, do what whatever works for you to make it your sleep practice.
- Don’t bring your work to bed, leave it in your office avoiding the connection between work and sleep.
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Alcohol may help you get to sleep, but it can wake up your brain when it is processing through your system and could interrupt the quality of your sleep.
- Avoid spicy, heavy meals before bedtime. It is also best to stay hydrated throughout the day, so you can taper off drinking a lot of fluids before bed.
- Exercise regularly, but avoid doing it right before bed, because you might feel too stimulated.
- Try lowering the room temperatures between 60-67 degrees to tell your body you’re ready to doze off.
- Expose yourself to bright light in the morning, if possible, to set your natural clock, and avoid bright light especially from computers, phones, and TVs before bed.
- Finally, if you can’t sleep, avoid tossing and turning, and get out of bed and do something in a dim light and then try sleeping again.
This month and beyond, I invite you to focus on the quality of your sleep. If you find you are not getting enough sleep, you can consider some of the above sleep tips to make improvements. I recommend you start by adopting the sleep awareness practice by tracking the quality of your sleep on your fitness tracker, or asking yourself when you wake-up, how did I sleep? Was my sleep good, fair, or poor based on how long I slept, and how many times I got up during the night.
For everything you ever wanted to know about sleep and more, including the top-rated sleep apps, check out www.sleepfoundation.org/best-sleep-apps
Sleep well!
Crow Wing Energized is a grassroots movement dedicated to improving the health and wellness of Crow Wing County residents through a focus on Healthy Choices, Mental Fitness, Workplace Wellness, and Community Connections. For more information about free resources, volunteering, classes and events, go to crowwingorganized.org.
The Dispatch partnered with Crow Wing Energized for a regular column to help motivate health and wellness in the community.
