Get Better Sleep
"How to get enough sleep" has over 1.1 billion Google hits, which means you are not alone in your quest for better sleep! The importance of deep, restful sleep to your overall well-being cannot be overstated, as sleep is anabolic and is when the rejuvenation of our body takes place. Proper sleep plays a vital role in increasing energy, improving the immune system, balancing hormones, increasing the brain’s clarity, and so much more.
There are many tricks to better sleep, but here are our top five:
1. Get more sunlight
We have a natural circadian rhythm, which means our body needs to recognize day and night to take advantage of that rhythm. When we work under artificial lights, in offices without windows, and rarely see daylight for more than the quick walk from our car to our office, our brain doesn’t process that it is fully daytime. Because of this, our pineal gland doesn’t know when to release melatonin to help us sleep.
Try to get 10–15 minutes of daylight in the morning before your workday begins, and take a lunch break outside or at least near a window with natural light.
2. Get more darkness
This follows the same logic of getting more sunlight, but helps tell our body it is time to wind down. Watching electronics and sitting under bright light tells our body to produce cortisol and stay awake. At least 1 hour before bed, eliminate screen time, and turn off some of your interior lights.
3. Eliminate evening alcohol
It may seem like alcohol can help you relax and fall asleep, but have you ever experienced a 2am wakeup and can’t-go-back-to-sleep episode after a few drinks? That’s because your blood sugar crashes and your body signals your hormones to get to work, which causes a wakeup!
Try alternative ways to relax in the evenings such as a warm shower, epsom salt bath, diffusing essential oils, or stretching.
4. Eat earlier
Going to bed on a full stomach may sound like a cozy idea, but your body isn’t resting while it is digesting food. Try eating dinner at least 2 hours before going to bed. If your schedule doesn’t allow an earlier dinner, try eating a larger lunch and afternoon snack and then a very light, higher-protein meal for dinner.
5. Curb the caffeine
Although you may only use it to help wake up and get your day started, the effects of caffeine on your body last for many hours. Set a caffeine cut-off time to help your body begin to wind down in plenty of time for sleep. Better yet, try to reduce the amount of caffeine you drink by making half-caff coffee or eliminating one caffeinated beverage each day (replace it with water and you’ll gain natural energy!).
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Incorporating better habits to improve your sleep may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be! Implement one of these tricks every 7–10 days, adjust as needed for what is working well for you, and within a month’s time you’ll be sleeping like you were made to do it.