Oh how much I love my sleep! There is nothing more rewarding then crawling into a comfy bed after a long day and recharging. Sleep is something that everyone needs, yet it is something that we typically feel we can skimp out on. In college I use to pull all nighters to study for my big tests! Now, I’ll shave off an hour or two of sleep to get things done around the house.
Some people seem to function normally off of five to six hours of sleep while others seem to need way more. I personally feel like I need a full eight hours of sleep or I’m just dragging the next day! So what’s the deal with sleep? Is it really as important as people claim it is? And if so, how can we maximize our sleep?
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Why Is Sleep Important?
Not only does adequate sleep help us feel like we can take on the day, but it also allows our bodies to prepare for another day. Here are a few ways that sleep aids in our health:
Brain Health
When we sleep, our brains detox. Different levels of sleep allow our brains to detox in different ways. Also, when we sleep, our brains prep themselves for the next day. They create new pathways and prepare the brain to learn and digest information. It’s actually really amazing how much the brain needs sleep to be able to properly function the next day. If you want more in depth information on brain detox and sleep, I would highly recommend the Organic Olivia podcast episode #1. You can find it here!
Heart Health
Another thing our bodies do when we are asleep is repair blood vessels. This is incredibly important for heart health. When we sleep, the blood vessels around and near are heart are repaired for optimal heart health.
Hormone Regulation
While we are busy counting sheep, our body is regulating our hormones. If you are a women like me, you know just how off you can feel when our hormones are off! It’s not fun! Hormone function can also affect males too so, don’t think you are off the hook if you have a Y chromosome.
Daily Function
It’s no secret that when we get adequate sleep, we function better. We focus better, are able to retain information better, learn easier, create better judgements, and so much more.
How To Get Better Sleep?
Moral of the story, get better sleep and we have better health. Below I have included the ways I have found that help me.
Routine
This has been the biggest help when it comes to getting better sleep. When you set and follow a routine, your body gets into a groove that it wants to follow. So when you set a routine prior to falling asleep, your body already starts to anticipate it’s time to sleep and goes into a sequence of making you sleepy. I try very hard to keep the same routine every night. My routine goes something like this:
- Get the kids ready for bed and in bed
- Pickup and clean the kitchen
- Wrap up whatever work I have
- Skincare routine
- Brush teeth
- Get into bed, watch TV with husband
By the time I get into bed to watch TV with my husband, my eyelids are already heavy and I can barely keep my eyes open.
Go To Bed Early
This is a very unpopular opinion, but research has shown that people are not night owls. During the day we have so much to stimulate our minds and so many distractions that it’s really hard to focus. At night, many of these distractions are minimized which makes us think we are more productive and get more done at night. In truth we are just less distracted. Our bodies want to wake when the sun comes up, our ancestors did it for centuries. So when we stay up late, we have to force ourselves to sleep later into the morning to get adequate rest or we simply just get less sleep if we have to be up early. So by going to bed earlier and reducing our distractions during the day, we are really allowing ourselves to get better sleep.
Destress
If you are anything like me, stress can ruin your chances of falling asleep and staying asleep. It is so important to find a healthy balance in your life and reduce stress as much as possible. Not only does stress affect our sleep, but it affects our bodies and way of life. If you want to learn more about stress, check out my blog post here! My favorite way to de-stress before bed is to do a gratitude dump. Not only does this force my brain to think of all the good things that happened during the day, but it also distracts my mind from stressful things which keeps that stress out of my dreams.
Diet
Your diet can actually play a big role in falling and staying asleep. Caffeine and alcohol are two big items that are heavy in people’s diets and are terrible for sleep. Caffeine is a little obvious. It keeps you up and stimulates your mind. This clearly makes it hard to fall asleep. Alcohol is a little different. It gives you a false sense of sleep. You think that it’s helping you but really you aren’t getting a sound nights sleep and your body isn’t detoxing.
Food can also affect sleep. Large meals should not be eaten close to bedtime. When you eat too close to falling asleep, your body has to work to digest and clear your food instead of repairing and recharging your body. Instead eat your meals at least an hour before bed and don’t over load!
Blue Blockers
Screens are everywhere! We have our phones, tablets, watch screens, televisions, and computers to name a few. All of these are remitting blue lights which blocks the release of melatonin in our bodies. Melatonin is used to naturally put us to sleep. So when it’s late at night and we are looking at these screens, melatonin is not being released. It’s hard not to look at screens once the sun goes down so I would suggest blue blocker glasses. You can find so many cute blue blockers on Amazon! I have a couple pairs! Since I am typically on my phone, computer and watch TV after dark, I pop my blue blockers on once the sun has gone down.
Supplements
When all else fails and you still find yourself having a hard time sleeping, I would suggest taking some supplements. I was having the worst time sleeping so I started to take melatonin. It definitely helps me fall and stay asleep. I typically just grab a bottle from my local grocery store, but you can find a ton on Amazon as well! Another supplement I like to take for sleep aid is magnesium. Most people are deficient in magnesium due to over farmed lands and over processed foods. Once again I typically use my local grocery store’s organic magnesium but another great non-toxic magnesium supplement is this one!
Sleep is so important for us and for the body. I would challenge everyone to get a good nights sleep this week and see how much better you feel! If you have any great sleep tips drop them in the comments!