The benefits of sleep
May prevent weight gain
Improve memory
Increase productivity
Increase sports and exercise performance, lack of sleep can impact hand eye coordination
Boost your immune system
Repair the body
Better mood
Increase libido and testosterone
We all know sleep is crucial for our health but I believe most of us forget it sometimes, do you find yourself going to bed later than you would like these days? Have you been telling yourself you will go to bed before 10pm but end up still awake on your phone after midnight? These habits can affect our sleep and health, so I hope this blog on sleep helps you put sleep as a priority so you can be more energetic, improve your productivity and perform at your best.
Quality sleep is very important, a good quality 5 hour sleep can have you feeling better than a 9 hour low quality sleep.
Tips from Shawn Stevenson, the author of 'Sleep Smarter' to help you get a better night sleep
Make your bedroom as dark as it can be. Did you know? Our skin has photoreceptors that pick up light. One study demonstrated that even the smallest amount of light behind somebody’s knee in a darkened room was enough to take them out of their normal stage of sleep!
“Photoreceptors pick up information and send it to your brain to secrete more daytime hormones, namely cortisol. Your neighbour’s porch light, streetlights outside, this unnatural light [has] been dubbed light pollution. Getting your room pitch black can keep that stuff out of your room. [Be wary of] internal lights too. An ugly alarm clock staring at you has the same effect.” –Shawn Stevenson
Go to sleep around the same time every night and wake up naturally. Your body will thank you for it and you will feel more energetic.
Research shows that for the greatest increase in pre-bedtime melatonin (and a deeper sleep) the perfect bedtime seems to be between 10:00 PM and 2:00 AM. (Depending on when you have to wake up in the morning, of course.)
“Experts say that there is twice as much value per hour in this window, and people will notice it. If this doesn’t fit your lifestyle, stack the other conditions and do the other things, because the timing matters [as our] body’s wired up to work with nature.” –Shawn Stevenson
Sleep between 16-20 degrees
“Your body goes through a process called thermal regulation every night around 9:00 PM on average. It does this to lower your core body temperature to create the ideal environment for deep sleep — essentially your body cools you off to sleep better.” –Shawn Stevenson
Cut back on caffeine. Caffeine has the ability to affect the nervous system for up to eight hours, affecting the normal stages of REM sleep and deep sleep, so do your best to avoid it or only drink it in the mornings. -Shawn Stevenson
Wake up earlier
Get outside, get some sun and daylight
“When melatonin’s high, cortisol is low, so make sure you’re getting some exposure to sunlight every day to help you sleep better at night. Getting natural light [where you work] helps set your circadian cycle [the sleep-wake cycle].”–Shawn Stevenson
Avoid screen time at least 2 hours before bedtime
A study found that just two hours of your device usage before bed was enough to suppress melatonin secretion. You can go to sleep or pass out, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting that rejuvenating sleep. This is why a lot of people are sleeping eight hours, but they’re still tired when they wake up in the morning — because their melatonin is suppressed due to being on their device right before bed. - Shawn Stevenson
Your goals this week should getting better quality sleep and making better sleep habits
You can find more info in the link below or search up Shawn Stevenson on google
.https://lewishowes.com/podcast/shawn-stevenson-sleep/ .
Anvani- The thirst in wellness
