Good Sleep and Bad Sleep
Do you get a good night's sleep or do you struggle falling or staying asleep? I have struggled but I have found some things that affect my sleep and I wanted to share them with you!
Let's start with the bad:
1- Sugar Before Bedtime Sugary foods before bedtime keep me spinning and awake on a sugar high. Then my blood sugar crashes later in the night and I feel awful when the alarm goes off in the morning. I have no energy and I feel sluggish and it takes me a long time to get fully awake the next morning.
2- Caffeine Caffeine does a weird thing to me. While I CAN actually fall asleep if I have coffee or tea before bed, I will wake up at 2 or 3 a.m. Then I get really tired mid-morning and need naps during the day. I find that I need to keep coffee as a morning beverage to feel my very best. If I do have an afternoon coffee then I know to just expect my sleep patterns to be off that night and the next morning.
3- Phones and Electronics I know there have been studies that say looking at a phone before bedtime keeps you awake, and for me it's TRUE!!! If I am dozing off and happen to look at that unexpected text or social media message, I come fully awake and have to unwind all over again. I have to turn my do-not-disturb option on at night so my phone will not buzz or ding at all during the night.
4- Staying Up Late Consecutively I need a schedule. Our bodies really do have internal time clocks and they thrive on consistency. I like to set a time to hit the hay every night so I can plan on getting between 7-8 hours. If I stay up past that set time for too many nights in a row, then the next night I want to go to bed early, I may fall asleep but I will be wide awake in the middle of the night. I suggest figuring out how many hours of sleep your body needs and then work backwards from your morning wake up time. So if you need 8 hours of sleep and need to wake up at 6a.m., then try going to bed by 10p.m. every night. Do this for at least one week and see how you feel. But just remember, your diet (sugary, caffeinated, or high fat foods) can and will effect your sleep!
5- High Fat or Spicy Foods Acid reflux and indigestion can play a huge role in sleep interference. Foods high in fat such as burgers and fries or a huge pizza slows the digestion process and can cause heartburn or reflux in the middle of the night. Salty foods can make you thirsty causing you to wake up and need to get water. I cannot stress it enough....stay away from those greasy and fattening foods. They affect more than just weight gain. Your total quality of LIFE is at risk; including a good night's rest.
6- Alcohol While having a glass of wine or a beer may relax you, it will most likely cause you to wake up pre-maturely causing you to NOT get a full night's rest. Alcohol will most likely cause you to feel sluggish the next day as well and you won't have any pep in your step or feel fully refreshed.
So what can we do to ensure a GOOD night of sleep?
1- Exercise daily. Get your body moving with exercise! Research has shown that regular workouts not only lower your stress but will improve your sleep quality. Work hard, rest hard!
2- Eat a well balanced diet. Your body needs fuel to stay alert and active during the day. The more active you stay during the day, the more your body will need rest at night. Fueling your body will boost metabolism and keep you feeling fabulous and ready to wind down at night. Work hard and rest hard and eat healthy......that's the way our bodies function best. Plus, eating healthy foods will help you avoid the heartburn and reflux I talked about earlier.
3- Turn Down the Heat Did you know that your body needs to turn down it's temperature to get a better night's rest? Try turning the temp down a few degrees and see if you feel more snuggly and cozy under your bed covers.
4- Read a Book or Your Bible I love to end my day reading a few verses from the Bible before turning out the light. The phone goes silent and the Bible comes out. Then I have something wholesome and meaningful to think about and meditate upon as I drift off to sleep. No need to count sheep when I am meditating on God's word.
5- Lavender or Soothing Lotion Sniffing Lavender essential oils or rubbing a soothing scented lotion helps to calm me down and give me a good night's rest.
6- Get Back Up?? Some people advise getting back up if you don't fall asleep after 20 minutes or so. Ummm....I usually never have this problem so I don't know. :)
7- No TV in the bedroom. The bedroom is for sleeping. Turn your bedroom into a restful "sanctuary" of sorts. Remember all of the electronics and commotion will only confuse your brain and make you think you should be awake and alert. Just turn it all off and relax in your comfortable bed and read instead of ramping up your brain with tv or other devices.
Do you have other advice? Leave them in the comments!!
