How did you sleep last night?
Couple of questions for you to ponder before I get into things…
Do you find it easy to get to sleep at night?
Do you stay asleep during the night or find yourself waking up regularly?
Do you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day?
Now these are questions I regularly ask myself because I think sleep is a very important part of staying (both mentally & physically) healthy, being productive & feeling your best - Sleep is needed for rest, rejuvenation & detoxification of the brain!
So… heres a couple of things to think about when it comes to sleep…
Calm yourself
Had a rough day? Stressed?
You get into bed…. Stressing yourself out about not being able to sleep? (Cue more stress!)
You lie awake at night stressed… eventually manage to fall asleep in the early hours but your alarm will be going off in a couple of hours… Starting the day tired & stressed out?
…and the vicious cycle starts all over again!
The stress response causes the body to become alert… which is not what you want when you are about to go to bed!
Remember, not enough sleep is a stress on the body too!
But how about if you found a way to calm yourself down, relax and de-stress from the day before you go to bed? (making getting to sleep much easier while also reducing your stress levels as you sleep!)
This could be losing yourself in a book, taking a bath, doing some meditation, enjoying your favourite show on Netflix, putting your work laptop away so you don’t continue working, putting your phone down, having a cup of tea, getting into your comfies (although let’s be honest… I’m guessing a large majority spend their working from home lockdown days in their comfies anyway!)
Recharge & recover
You wouldn’t go to bed at night without putting your phone on charge, right?
If you did then I’m pretty sure these days the battery would be flat and it would be no use the next day! (unlike that good old Nokia 3210 I used to own that lasted about week!!)
So why do we not take the time ensure we let our bodies recharge over night?
Otherwise, let’s face it… we won’t be much use the next day either!
If you train, your body needs that time to recover to get the most out of training.
If you have had a taxing day on the brain, your brain needs that time to recover so you can put your thinking cap back on tomorrow.
Try taking the time to recharge and recover fully with 7+ hours sleep each night - you’d be surprise how much it can really boost your mood and put that spring in back in your step!
Curb those munchies
Ever noticed after a bad night’s sleep that you get the munchies and want to eat everything in sight the next day?
…And say you’re in a calorie deficit trying to lose weight as well… NOT IDEAL!
Sleep helps to balance out our hormones that control our appetite (ie, when we feel hungry and when we feel full)
When we sleep the level of your hungry hormone (Ghrelin) goes down while your “I’m actually not that hungry” hormone (Leptin) goes up - but if you don’t sleep enough then that hungry hormone is staying around to reck havoc and make you want to eat the entire contents of your fridge the next day (to be fair, I need to go shopping so there’s not much in the fridge right now but I’m sure I can find something else in the cupboards when I’m done there… and there’s always the shop round the corner!)
Get your sleep and it can work wonders to regulate your appetite, help you lose weight and keep it off too!!
“Let’s sleep on it”
You must have heard the saying “I’ll sleep on it”
Big decision to make? “Let’s sleep on it”
Had an argument, sleep it off and find you feel much better in the morning?
When we get a good night’s sleep, it can really help clear your head so we become more rational, better at decision making & more productive during your day.
So how can you help yourself to get a good nights sleep?
We always hear about people’s morning routine… but what about your bedtime routine?
Why not try experimenting with finding things that help you wind down before bed in order to create yourself your very own bedtime routine.
Here are a few ideas to get started:
Find a way to relax
Cut the caffeine after mid day
Dim the lights
Put away your phone/computer
Make a hot drink
Take a bath
Meditation
Braindump to clear your head
Prep your bag/clothes for the next day
My bedtime routine
I’m still working on perfecting my bedtime routine to help me get a better nights sleep but here are a few things that I know help me get a good night’s sleep:
One very useful tip my coach once said to me when I was finding it hard to get my arse out of bed in the mornings (and I liked to snooze my alarm… so I ended up getting up late and rushing around or missing my training sessions before work) was to try putting my phone away on charge in another room with your alarm set for the morning - Yes, this did really help me get up in the morning as I had to get out of bed to turn my alarm off (and once you’re up you may as well stay up!); but it also helped me to put my phone away before bedtime so I didn’t end of mindlessly scrolling through social media or replying to messages before bed.
Make myself a cuppa - I have recently re-introduced Valerian root tea into my bedtime routine as it is supposed to help improve sleep - and for me it really has been making me sleep like a baby - Would 100% recommend (but one warning - it can cause headaches for some in the morning when you first start taking it!) - I use Dr Stuart’s Valerian Plus tea bags
If I’m feeling particularly fidgety and need to calm myself down then I run myself a nice hot bubble bath, turn off the light and sit in there with a candle and some relaxing music - works a treat to relax me before getting in my comfies!
I have tendency to think about what I have to do the next day when lying in bed which will sometimes keep me awake so to take a few things off my mind I’ll do a brain dump, plan out my day for tomorrow and note any to-dos that I need to get done.
Find yourself rushing round in the morning? I get clothes out ready for the next day to save me some time in the morning trying to decide on an outfit - there’s another thing off my mind!
First thing I do in the morning is head to the coffee machine and make my breakfast so I like to get things out ready to make my morning coffee and stick some oats in a bowl ready for the morning… again one less thing to do in the morning!
When I’m in bed and finding it hard to fall asleep I stick on one of the sleep stories on the Calm app which does really help me drift off pretty quick!
Hope you have a good night sleep… Sweet dreams x
