Sleep
As a clinician, the most important thing that I do is help my clients experience efficiency and vitality in their lives. Doing something efficiently means we can do it often, and doing something with vigour means we extract true meaning out of the things we do. I feel we are all, in some way, in search of this experience in all aspects of our life – be it our work, our family life, our hobbies and in our community interaction.
If you have ever under-slept, you will undoubtedly have felt that these uplifting experiences feel WAY out of reach that day. Ensuring you get a great night’s sleep consistently is THE most important thing you can do to achieve optimal health, and with our current restrictions seeing us at home more than ever - this is the perfect time to tune in to the best tool to maximise your performance.
Sleep is something we are always told that we need to get ‘more’ of, however for all the information on the internet about what sleep IS, we are often at a loss for actionable items to help get a good night's sleep.
So…. What does a good night’s sleep feel like?
You should wake up more days than not, relatively pain-free. Feeling energetic, refreshed and ready to step into your day. Mentally, there is a feeling of clarity and focus, and we are able to hold this energy throughout the day.
Does this sound like your experience?
If not, this series is for you.
Sleep… What’s in it for me?
In our culture, waking hour productivity is prioritised above all else. However, everything from mindset optimisation books like ‘Psycho-Cybernetics’ to popular Scientists like Matthew Walker and experts like Shawn Stevenson, to peer reviewed literature will tout that sleep deprivation will see us work slower, commit more mistakes, and take on the burden of poorer health to boot.
Sleep provides the opportunity for:
· Restoration of mental processes so we make fewer errors
· Peaks our ability to focus throughout the day
· Physical recovery from bouts of strenuous exercise
· Regulation of hormones
· Enhancing the function of our immune system
· Enhanced weight loss
…. and much more.
Great! Sleep really does a lot for me…. So where do I start???
People often think the first part of getting a good night’s sleep begins with the mechanical position they sleep in. Although comfort is a factor, particularly with musculoskeletal conditions, spending upwards of $5000 on a mattress when there are so many things we can change, for free, that will have a much more meaningful effect on our sleep is often not the best place to start.
Here are 3 things you can do for free, right now, that will greatly improve the quality of your sleep:
1. SUNSHINE
Wait, sunshine? Yes. Getting to work when it’s dark, spending the day in office lighting and spending the evening falling to sleep with the TV on is like throwing a grenade into the hatch of our normal biology. Sleep operates on a circadian rhythm, and this rhythm needs to be set up right to allow us to ensure the right hormones are released at the right time, to allow us to fall asleep. Sunlight plays a large part in this.
We can set this rhythm up right with an easy 20 minutes of sunlight in the beginning of the day, or on our lunch break, to start this hormone cascade.
2. CAFFEINE CURFEW
You knew this one was coming. I love coffee, more than any other taste. Coffee ice cream, coffee in the morning smoothie, or a sneaky 10am double espresso. But coffee has a ½ life of 5-8hrs. Meaning that ½ of it is still in our system 5-8hrs later. Having a potent stimulant in our system as we are nodding off isn’t the best recipe for a smooth fall into deep sleep.
We don’t have to give it up, but just watch the timing. Limit your coffee intake to before midday and you will see a world of difference.
3. SLEEP SANCTUARY
The bedroom is your sleep sanctuary. The minute we invite a television, our smartphones, our laptops in, it just becomes another work desk or couch. Look at your bedroom – does it make you feel calm, at ease and peaceful? When you walk in, are you winding down ready for sleep, or are you thinking about the movie you want to watch, the emails we have to send, or catching up on social media?
Having a bedroom that aesthetically puts you in a relaxing mood, and mentally is a boundary from the world we live our day in and the ‘sleep world’, is a very important boundary to have and will greatly improve your quality of sleep.
The team at Be Well Health Group in Grovedale are always available to discuss these strategies within our consults. To make a booking, please call (03) 5244 0063 or book online.