5 Tips To Improve Your Sleep Right Now!
SLEEP
Insomnia is not just the inability to fall asleep; it can also be expressed in difficulties staying asleep. Even when you are sleeping for enough hours each night, you may not be getting appropriate restful sleep that is vital for your body and brain. A healthy night of sleep typically consists of several 90 minute cycles where the different lobes of the brain pass through stages of low and high activity. When these cycles are interrupted it is not possible to function at optimal levels.
Everyone can suffer from sleep deprivation here and there in life. This is normal and is not a big concern to long-term health unless it persists for an extended period of time. If you have had troubles falling asleep, staying asleep, or you do not feel well rested for a period of time that is longer than a month, you should consider ways to improve your sleep.
Evidence from research shows that insomnia can affect many mental, emotional and physical functions. Alongside the more obvious effects on attention, memory and physical ability, research has shown that lack of restful sleep increases risk of illness, infection, heart disease, and high blood pressure. And don’t be fooled- it is not only children who get cranky when they don’t get the sleep that they need. Emotional problems from sleep issues are going to take their toll on your personal and social life as well.
There are several ways to treat insomnia. Medications, including over-the-counter drugs such as melatonin, all have side effects. These should only be used on a temporary basis (especially prescription drugs) and these should never be mixed with alcohol. Other ways to help sleep patterns include exercise, yoga, medication, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine.
There is another powerful option as well. Neurofeedback showed significant decreases in insomnia in ALL participants! Yes, 100% of the patients reported lower levels of insomnia after sessions, as well as in a one-month follow-up. 100% of them showed significant improvements in sleep.
Tips To Improve Your Sleep
One of the fastest ways to restore health is to get more sleep. SO simple, right? At one time or another we've all felt run-down, or worse, utterly exhausted.
There are life stressors and medical conditions that can knock us flat, and we are left to stumble through the day with foggy minds and listless bodies. Here are a few tips to help you sleep more, sleep better, and allow your body to create the healing hormone (HGH) that it only releases when you’re fast asleep in dreamland.
Neurofeedback often helps to clear the clutter in the brain however it is important to continue to make changes in your sleep routine. Make this a daily practice.
5 things you can do tonight to improve your sleep.
1) Have a consistent sleep schedule - wake up time turns out to be more important then the going to bed time. If you wake up at 6:30 during the week it is best to keep that same schedule on the weekends. I know that this is not going to be very popular but that's what the experts suggest. It turns out the your internal clock (your circadian rhythm) resets itself in the morning. Resetting your clock at the same time each day is linked to improved quality of sleep.
2) Do not drink caffeinated drinks after 2:00 pm - it turns out that caffeine has a 1/2 shelf life of 6 - 8 hours. So if you stop at 2:00pm about half of that caffeine will be out of your system by 10:00pm and this will allow you to fall asleep better. Having said that, I know a lot of people who say "I can drink coffee just before bed and sleep fine". Here's what I am going to tell you, different people have different caffeine sensitivities, however, if I was to put sensors on your head, you might fall asleep but you will likely not get into deep deep sleep. This is the restorative sleep that makes a difference.
3) Alcoholic Drinks - I am not going to say don't drink alcohol. But, a couple things to think about. It takes the average human body 1 hour per alcoholic beverage that you drink to digest and metabolize it out. If you are going to drink, give your body time to metabolize it out before going to bed. You may want to stop drinking 3 hours before you go to bed.
4) Get out and move - the single biggest way to improve the quality of your sleep is to exercise. 20 minutes of daily exercise can improve that quality of your sleep.
5) Get 15 minutes of sunlight every morning - It turns out that when sun comes in and hits the optic nerve it bounces around and resets your circadian rhythm and reset your brain by turning off the melatonin faucet. Remember that melatonin is the key that turns on the engine for sleep.
It is so exciting to have 5 points that will assist you in getting a better night sleep. I hope you take on this challenge. If you do, let me know how it went for you.
Wishing you health and happiness,
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