lady sleeping

Getting enough sleep?

 

Do you get enough sleep?

It’s ironic that I’m asking you that question as I’m ending a week of sleep deprivation due to a big project that I needed to complete. Sadly, that’s not an unusual experience for me. How about you? Do you have a plethora of commitments that keep you from getting adequate sleep on a regular basis?

As a career woman and parent, I’ve experienced many nights of shortened (or not any) sleep. In the busiest part of my career, I conditioned myself to function well on five or less hours of sleep each night.

That’s not a good habit!

Most of my previous wellness posts have focused on developing healthy habits in our nutrition choices and the importance of regular physical activity. Those are two VERY necessary factors in living a long and healthy life.

But, sleep is very important, too!

We tend to take sleep for granted. It’s just something that we do. And, if you’re like me, it may be something that you don’t do enough!

Do you sleep seven or more hours each night? Adequate sleep is essential for our body to rest and rejuvenate. It’s not just a physical rest for us–sleep is a mental break as well. Our brain really needs those seven or more hours per night to allow our guidance system (our brain) to have recovery time.

So, along with our body systems getting some relaxation (our skeleto-muscular system, cardiorespiratory system, and metabolism slow down when we’re sleeping), our brain craves that nighttime rest to rejuvenate and prepare for the next day.

Tips for better sleep:
  • Try to set a regular schedule for sleep, by going to bed and getting up at approximately the same time (even on week-ends!) Our body likes to have a regular schedule.
  • Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol for at least 4-6 hours before bedtime. (For good heath, it is best to avoid nicotine altogether and limit alcohol).
  • Eat a healthy diet (lots of my previous posts provide guidelines for making healthy nutrition choices).
  • Exercise regularly. Aim for 30-60 minutes, four or more days per week. This doesn’t have to be done all at one time, but can be broken down into short increments during the day. Again, previous posts under the Fitness or Healthy Heart categories can provide additional helpful tips for exercising.
  • Avoid activities in bed that you usually do awake–television, electronics, eating, studying, telephone, etc. are best accomplished somewhere other than bed.
  • Avoid naps during the day (there may be a few exceptions such as young parents that need to grab a nap when the baby is finally asleep). But, for the average person, naps can really disrupt our nighttime sleep routine.
  • Set you sleep environment–quiet, dark, not too hot. Use ear plugs or something to mask sounds if noise is an issue.
  • If you do have trouble falling asleep because of worry or some other issue, don’t stay in the bed, awake for longer than 20 minutes. If you cannot fall asleep, get up and read or do a boring task. Go back to bed only when you feel sleepy.
  • Sleep preparation rituals–A bath, sitting quietly in meditation and prayer, reading or some other bedtime routine, may be useful in preparing you for sleep.

I’m going to try to do better about getting enough sleep to help my body and brain be healthier and happier, now and into the future. I’ll be praying for you, too!

Happy sleeping!