Many people in our country are sleep deprived. Our ability to achieve both the quantity and quality of sleep we need is compromised. This leaves us feeling completely and totally exhausted. We are bombarded from every angle with constant disruptions to our bodies’ natural rhythms. The constant screens all day long with blue light that disrupts our bio rhythms. The caffeine throughout the day to keep us awake and the alcohol to relax us at night messes with our bio rhythms. This all creates a vicious cycle which can lead to weight gain, loss of mental clarity, feeling emotionally drained and decreasing our general health and immune system.
We can take steps to help improve our quality and quantity of sleep.
- Avoid heavy evening meals and crowd out late-night snacking with yoga, journaling, reading, connecting with loved ones, a hot bath or calming herbal tea.
- Limit sugar and caffeine intake
- Avoid or limit alcohol
- Remove electronics from your bedroom, charge your phone in a different room in the house and make a time that your phone goes to “do not disturb”. Make your bedroom a cozy sanctuary
- Reduce light and sound exposure by using black out curtains to limit light coming in, use a fan for better air flow and white noise, keep your bedroom at a cool temperature (below 65)
- Create a bedtime routine. Go to bed and wake up at similar times to help get your body in a regular rhythm
- Do a breathing activity such as the 4-7-8 breath to help you calm your mind before going to bed or if you wake up in the middle of the night to help you get back to sleep.
Amy Heflin 