When life gets busy, is sleep the first thing you give up? Too many women are saying yes, and it’s affecting every area of our life.
As women, we can sacrifice our sleep easily thinking we can catch up at some point. Studies are showing we can’t.
I read something very powerful stating how important sleep is. It said, “There is no tissue within the body and no process within the brain that is not enhanced by sleep, or demonstrably when you don’t get enough.”
That really left an impression on me about how important sleep is!
Are you feeling the effects of sleep deprivation? Do you just feel “off”, short-tempered, no energy, more emotional, and experiencing increased brain fog? More achy feeling? Are you experiencing “no sleep” headaches?
If you said yes, you need more sleep! Easier said than done though if you’re in the cycle of can’t fall asleep, can’t stay asleep, restless, nervous, and full of anxiety. If you are having trouble sleeping three times a week or more, and this has been going on for about month, you are experiencing insomnia. It can last for years if it’s not dealt with.
How can you feel human again and not dread going to bed?
Let’s talk about why sleep is so important for health, aging, and longevity and find some answers that can help you get more rest starting tonight!
First let’s see what is going on internally, and emotionally when we don’t sleep well.
What lack of sleep does to our bodies
- 7 hours or less of sleep affects your attention span and can lead to depression
- Lower immunity. You’re more susceptible to getting sick more often, and you seem to catch every germ that is going around
- Makes you hungrier which leads to weight gain.
- Never feeling rested and your emotions feel on edge all the time
- You cry more easily
- You feel like your aging quickly
- Increases the stress hormone cortisol. Your hormones just feel out of whack
- Raises blood pressure and harder to regulate your blood sugar
- Increase of inflammation which makes you more susceptible to disease
- Decreased cognitive ability which can slow down your reaction time. Like driving your car
Common causes of insomnia
- Stress, anxiety, worrying
- Pain in the body
- Having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night
- Hormones/Hot flashes
- Allergies
- Too much caffeine during the day. Caffeine can stay in your system for 6 hours or more! My cut off for coffee used to be 3 pm. It’s now noon and that has helped me sleep much better.
- Restless leg. This can be a sign of a magnesium deficiency as well
- Eating too late at night. Wakes up your digestive system
- Medications
- Exercising too late at night. Aim for no vigorous exercising after 7 pm. Relaxing yoga would be great though!
- Phone use. This is a biggie!
- Not enough natural sunshine. Your Vitamin D levels are low. Once you know what your number is for your D level this can be an easy fix with supplements. Optimal D levels will help with your sleep
Benefits of getting better sleep
- The body recovers itself. Think of an internal spring cleaning! Getting rid of cell waste happens when you sleep
- Researchers believe that with sleep the protein beta-amyloid is cleared out of the brain which can protect you from Alzheimer’s
- Your more energetic which can lead to more exercise and better food choices
- Skin is brighter and aging is slower. Skin goes through a repairing and rejuvenation process at night. Good sleep speeds up the results!
- Stronger immunity which means your sick less
- Lower inflammation which is a disease protector
- Better mood and just feeling like yourself again
Ready to feel more rested?
Number one. Phone off. If you can pick one thing to target sleeping better, start with this.
Electronic devices emit the same wavelength of light as the morning sun. Its called “blue light”. This has been getting A LOT of attention lately in the news. Studies are showing the negative impact that our phones are having on our health and how it is impacting our sleep. When you are looking at your phone late in the evening you are telling your brain to wake up, and it’s giving your brain the message that it’s not bedtime. Yikes!
There are now blue light glasses that you can wear in the evening if you’re on your devices. They are very affordable and the science supports the benefits. Amazon has a lot of choices. Fewer headaches, better sleep, less eye strain, and overall better health! Definitely worth checking out!
Sixty to ninety minutes before bed try and put your phone away. Silence it, put it in a drawer, whatever you have to do to keep you from looking at the screen. Try it for a week and see if you don’t feel less anxious and your sleep is improving! This has helped me the most. I used to look at the news a few times a day and especially in the evening. I could feel myself getting anxious with all that’s going on in the world. No news in the evening and putting my phone away 60 to 90 minutes before bed has helped me sleep a lot better.
Try a new routine!
- Develop a wind-down mood in your home a couple of hours before bed. Music, lower lights, etc.
- Use essential oils. I turn on a diffuser in my room a few hours before bed with a nice Calming Relaxing blend.
- Read 30 minutes before bed. This can be tricky though! If the book is really good, it may keep you up at night thinking about it! Been there, done that!
- No sugary late night eating.
- A warm bath soak is magical for better sleep! Just 10-15 minutes can have you yawning and ready for bed.
- Journal. Get your anxious thoughts down on paper, and not running through your mind.
- Pray. Helps to calm your soul and relieve worry and anxiety. Lay it all at God’s feet and receive His peace
- Get your magnesium. Calms your nervous system, and especially helps with restless leg syndrome. I like the powdered product called “Calm”. I take a teaspoon every night in water about an hour before bed
- Get your sunshine! Helps to balance your melatonin and cortisol levels naturally
- Take turmeric. It helps to relieve pain with no harmful side effects so you can sleep deeper
- Stretch your body. Loosens up your muscles so your body feels more relaxed
- Dark bedroom and a cool temperature in your room. Being cooler helps you sleep better
If you can’t remember the last time you had a good nights sleep, try and implement some of these changes. Even if it’s just one thing, it could really make a huge difference to reset your sleep cycle. Sleep is so important for health and just overall better quality of life. It’s true when they say that “Sleeping can add years to your life.”
Start tonight taking some steps to guard your sleep. Make it a priority as part of your self-care. I hope within a few days you’re on your way to sleeping better and feeling more energetic because you had a great nights sleep!
Until next time, sleep well,
~pat
*Resources: How To Make Disease Disappear (Dr.Rangan Chatterjee)
