Imagine if there were one self-care activity that lowered your stress levels, boosted your immune system, improved your heart health, balanced your hormones, regulated your blood sugars, reduced inflammation, sharpened your memory, and gave your body the time it needs to repair damage.
Sounds too good to be true, right?
Well, it is not.
Sleep provides your body with all of this and more. Which is why, if you are going to do one thing for your own self-care, the best place to start is with improving the quality and the duration of your sleep. A large portion of the adult population struggle with their sleep on a regular basis. This seems to get worse with age, although research suggests that we continue to need at least seven hours per night to meet our sleep needs. So, if you are not getting sufficient sleep, how do you go about getting more? Here are seven suggestions to get you started.
1. Go to bed and wake up at the same time most days
Sleep is governed by our circadian rhythm, essentially an internal body clock. Having a consistent bed and wake up means the body can follow its natural rhythm, providing you with sufficient sleep hormones in the lead up to sleep and winding those back so you wake up naturally alert in the morning. The more consistent you are with sleep and wake times, the more consistent your circadian rhythm will become. Some people will have a natural early to bed, early to rise cycle while others will feel better rising later and going to bed later. If you can follow your body’s natural rhythm, do so.
2. Pay attention to those earlier tiredness cues
Our body will begin to signal that it is nearing sleep time with waves of fatigue that leave us yawning and rubbing our eyes. Many people push through those early signs and miss the opportunity to get more sleep, in favour of getting more things done through the evening. Whenever you can, listen to those earlier signals that it is time to climb into bed. This will not only help you get more sleep but will also improve the quality of your sleep.
3. Avoid caffeine and alcohol late in the day
Caffeine has a long half-life in the body. If you are having it after midday, you may unwittingly be preventing yourself from getting enough sleep. Alcohol on the other hand, can make you sleepy, however, studies show that it impacts your body’s ability to drop into the deep sleep stage of your sleep cycle. This can mean a restless sleep or a greater risk of waking up through the night and struggling to get back to sleep.
4. Exercise in the mornings
Daily movement and exercise have been shown to be beneficial to sleep. However, as adrenaline (a stress hormone) can be a by-product of exercising, it is ideal to exercise in the mornings or at least to avoid it two to three hours before bed.
5. Have your largest meal at lunchtime
An overly full digestive system can impact on the body’s ability to drop into a restorative sleep. So, if sleep is a concern to you, try to have your largest meal at lunch and finish the day with a lighter meal.
6. Start an evening ritual to help you winddown
An evening sleep routine or ritual can help get your circadian rhythm flowing by signaling to the body that sleep is not far away. Keep house lights dim and avoid backlit screens all of which emit blue light that destroys your sleep hormone melatonin. You may like to have a ritual of reading a book in bed until you feel sleepy or listen to a meditation or relaxation track to prep your body for bed. Try these evening sleep rituals for more ideas.
7. Avoid late afternoon naps
Naps taken after 3pm can prolong sleep cues in the evening so it is best to take them earlier in the afternoon if you do need one. Ideally try to cap naps at 20 minutes.
