Wise words for a good night’s sleep
Sleep is not my strongest point.
I've always had bad dreams and been known to:
A) Kick people in bed
B) Sleepwalk onto my balcony
C) Wake my brother up shouting “the spider’s going to get me!” and
D) Grind my teeth so much that I’ve broken a mouth guard.
Great, eh?
So earlier this week, I went to a sleep workshop and learned lots of things I thought I would share with you.
Did you know for instance that we’re the only animal that puts off sleep? It’s kind of obvious when you think about it, but there’s no other creature that ignores the need to rest to power through ‘one last’ episode on Netflix.
Rest is Necessary.
Again, an obvious comment but one we don’t always abide to. We need sleep to repose and allow the physical body to recover from its day, and our digestive systems to ‘clear out the debris’ (as it were).
Sleep supports our energy, our mood and our weight.
It’s essential for our survival.
Another important reason we sleep is for our brains. We need it to reset our busy minds (note: brain and mind are not actually the same thing but I’m using them interchangeably here) and it’s key to our memories as well. Think how bad your brain fog can be when you are tired: Deep rest helps us retain important information and get our brains ready for further learning whatever form that may take.
Eight hours as I’m sure you know is a good general guideline, but of course this varies from person to person. It’s good to add an extra half hour onto this however, to allow yourself to settle in bed, doze off, have a midnight wee etc. Through trial and error, you will know how much you need to feel refreshed and of course, going to bed and getting up at the same times can help massively.
A few more things you might be interested to know…
😴 Having down-time or rest in the day really helps with sleep: Even if you are tired, you won’t be so wired.
😴 Even if you can’t sleep, lying down quietly and in stillness is still beneficial for you (lots of Shavasana then!).
😴 Guidelines vary, but it’s helpful to stop drinking caffeine eight hours before bed so it doesn’t interfere at night.
😴 Similarly, aiming to stop eating three hours previous gives your body time to digest rather than disrupt your sleep.
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