I feel if you ask anyone if they love to sleep the answer is yes. However, we may not be getting enough of it. With living non-stop lives, we may think we don’t have time to sleep. You need to workout, take the dog for a walk, drive to work, drop off the dry-cleaning, make dinner, clean the house, catch up on the latest Netflix show. How do we even have time for sleep!? Not only does the lack of sleep make you feel fatigued, it plays a huge role in our optimal health and well-being.
What’s so important about good sleep?
There are 3 main things that happen to our bodies when we get proper sleep:
- Our internal organs rest and recover. Tissue repair and muscle growth happen during this time. If you’re just getting back in a workout routine this is detrimental. This allows you to wake up feeling refreshed instead of feeling like you can barely walk. Of course, you are going to feel slightly sore, sleep can’t cure all!
- Hormones are released that help regulate appetite, stress and metabolism. Do you ever have a poor night of sleep and the next day you’re craving foods filled with sugar? Your body didn’t get those hormones it needs to regulate what your body needs. Or even worse, you start snapping at anyone and everyone who even looks at you the wrong way.
- Memory consolidation occurs. If you’re trying to learn something new or get ready for a big presentation, you may think you need to stay up all night to prepare or study, but in reality you’d be doing your body a disservice because it won’t remember the items you’re working so hard at anyway. The best option, which isn’t always the easiest, would be to prepare in advance. Give yourself time each day to prepare for your task ahead so your mind has time to process it all.
How Your Body is Affected by the Lack of Sleep
- Weight Gain: when you’re up longer hours you tend to be eating later as well. At 10pm you might think you’re hungry again if you had dinner around 6pm. So you reach for the Oreos or a bag of chips to finish your latest Netflix binge. Shortly after, bedtime is happening but your body hasn’t had the chance to burn off your food as fuel. This means your body now has to focus on trying to burn off the food but also get you to sleep.
- Increased Anxiety: Let’s be real, we already have enough of that going on with just the state of the world! Your body is having a hard time keeping your emotions in tact which may cause some unpleasant outbursts.
- Increased risk of Accidents or Injury: Your mind isn’t working as sharp without the sleep it needs. Tasks that you do daily could end up being done without as much care. You forget the cupboard is open and you hit your head against it. Now you’re in pain, annoyed and sleep deprived. Not the ideal situation!
How to Get a Good Night’s Rest
Don’t worry, even if you’ve had a few nights where you think sleep may never come easy to you again it will happen. Here are a few ways to get back on track and give your body the rest and recovery it deserves.
- Nutrition: Think about eating a variety of nourishing foods throughout the day. This includes fruits, vegetables, carbs (not highly processed though), protein and fat. If you’re fueling your body with nutrients it craves you’re less likely to have a dip in your energy levels. This allows you to be productive without that 4pm cup of coffee. If you’re going to have caffeine try and have it no later than 2pm.
- Environment: You want your bedroom to represent a place of relaxation and peace. If there’s dirty clothes all over the floor, light flooding in from outside and your laptop open on a desk it’s no wonder you can’t sleep. Try to keep electronics away from your bed, get some thick curtains to keep the light out and make sure the dirty laundry actually ends up in the laundry basket.
- Reduce “Busy Brain”: Do you notice that as soon as your head hits the pillow a million thoughts start running through your head? Keep a journal and pen near your bed so once this happens you can jot down what’s on your mind. This allows it to get out of your head and be replaced with a clear and calm mindset.
I hope you all have found some helpful tips to get a good night’s sleep! Sleep is so important in our lives it’s definitely worth trying different ways to find just the right routine to get you set for a night of good sleep. Share with me your night time rituals that you swear by!
