How Much Do You Sleep?
Have you heard people utter some of these before (or have you said it yourself): "I'll sleep when I'm dead", "I don't need that much sleep to function", "I'm ok with 5 hours of sleep"?
The challenge with this is that sleep at the root is probably one of the most important things you can focus on to improve your health because it impacts EVERYTHING.
If I asked you if you feel rested when you wake up in the morning, how would you answer? If you're tired all the time, something needs to change. And when we start our day tired, the rest of the day gets impacted and it's hard to get on the right track and make healthy choices.
What happens when you don't get enough sleep or sufficient restful sleep:
Your appetite increases
Your metabolism slows down
The ability for your body's systems (including your brain) to heal and repair overnight significantly decreases. In other words, you increase your risk of illness and disease over time.
If you're trying to make positive changes to your health, sleep should be one of the first things to consider working on. Getting the right amount of sleep--at the very least more than 6 hours but ideally closer to 8 or more--can help immensely when you're struggling with stress, weight loss, maintaining a regular movement routine and/or longevity and overall health. It helps you live a longer, healthier life.
Some reminders to consider to help you sleep better:
Be consistent. Try to go to bed and wake up the same time each day.
Avoid large meals, caffeine and alcohol several hours before bed. I know, easier said than done for many people but even just decreasing the amounts can help
Get to bed incrementally earlier each week. Start at 15 minutes earlier than usual
Keep your room as comfortable, cold and as dark as possible. If your room is a mess, that doesn't set the stage for a relaxing environment
Remember that regular movement/exercise during the day helps you sleep better
Cut down or avoid screen time immediately before bed (also a tough one!)
There are several more ways to improve your sleep hygiene out there to try. If the quality of your sleep is suboptimal or you know you need to shift your habits in order to get a good night's rest, reach out to talk about how I can help.
