early bird or night owl?
Do you sleep enough? Is it good quality if you do? How can you improve it? Is it really important?
Why good natural sleep is so important –
Did you know, that recent research into sleep has shown that the REM and Non-REM (deep) sleep that you drift in and out of during a night's natural sleep, is now understood to be storing your memories like a filing system (Non-REM) and balancing your emotions and mental state (REM) by living out and dealing with situations or feelings and helping you come to terms with life situations, and helps reset and balance hormones and mood? As well as resting the body and of course growing and repairing those trained muscles while the body releases those night growth hormone and processes essential amino's. Still, so many of us don’t sleep enough. There is still loads to learn about sleep by scientists, but it isn’t quite the total mystery it used to be.
When in REM, your body is totally paralysed and is limp. This is to stop you physically acting out your dreams, as REM sleep is the dream state, helping you deal with those emotions by re-living them through dream and finding ways to handle by experiencing them in different ways.
When in Non-REM you are in deep sleep, but the body is no longer paralysed and muscles are no longer limp but just resting. Your brain is totally asleep in this state busy storing and filing your memories to the large hidden hard drive and making room for more in the front CPU so to speak. Both are as restorative and important as the other.
So if you don’t get a night of natural sleep, and/or even worse long term under-sleeping can cause hormone imbalances and mental and memory issues, which has been linked to illnesses like Dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Why good natural sleep is so important –
Did you know, that recent research into sleep has shown that the REM and Non-REM (deep) sleep that you drift in and out of during a night's natural sleep, is now understood to be storing your memories like a filing system (Non-REM) and balancing your emotions and mental state (REM) by living out and dealing with situations or feelings and helping you come to terms with life situations, and helps reset and balance hormones and mood? As well as resting the body and of course growing and repairing those trained muscles while the body releases those night growth hormone and processes essential amino's. Still, so many of us don’t sleep enough. There is still loads to learn about sleep by scientists, but it isn’t quite the total mystery it used to be.
When in REM, your body is totally paralysed and is limp. This is to stop you physically acting out your dreams, as REM sleep is the dream state, helping you deal with those emotions by re-living them through dream and finding ways to handle by experiencing them in different ways.
When in Non-REM you are in deep sleep, but the body is no longer paralysed and muscles are no longer limp but just resting. Your brain is totally asleep in this state busy storing and filing your memories to the large hidden hard drive and making room for more in the front CPU so to speak. Both are as restorative and important as the other.
So if you don’t get a night of natural sleep, and/or even worse long term under-sleeping can cause hormone imbalances and mental and memory issues, which has been linked to illnesses like Dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Facts and tips to be aware of and may help improve your sleep –
• We need at least 7-8 hours’ sleep per night. Most of us don’t get anywhere near this. Once you miss a quality sleep, you can’t ‘catch up’, those memories are gone and so are that nights chance to balance hormones and emotions. You can’t bank a good sleep. Try to give yourself a decent sleep ‘window’. Which is why a life of bad sleeps can be so detrimental to mental and physical state. If your window of sleep is 8 hours, you know the chances of getting 8 hours is low as we wake to go to the loo, may take time to get off and so on. So make sure your window sufficient to get a good 7-8 hours. 9 hrs would be ideal. Do you really need to finish that phone game or watch that last tv show? |
• We work off our own circadian rhythm which is our bodies own unique sleep pattern or routine. Some of us are ‘Larks’ so function best going to bed early and getting up early. Some of us are ‘Owls’ preferring to go to bed late and getting up late. We actually can’t help these patterns and should try to work with them. A lark going to bed late and getting up late may feel out of sorts and sluggish, just as an Owl will if they go to bed early and get up early will feel the same. Work with your own circadian rhythm. And you will feel better during the day and get a better quality of sleep by doing what your body wants to do naturally.
• Avoid Alcohol and sleeping tablets – These do not encourage a normal REM and Non-REM sleep. You will be ‘sedated’ instead of properly sleeping. And losing all the good effects of natural sleep. If you regularly drink or take tablets before bed, and decide to stop to improve sleep quality, be aware, you will go through a period of withdrawal, and sleep will get worse before it gets better as you are used to sedation, until natural sleep can happen. This can take time. (I do suggest you see your doc before coming off any prescribed medication.) But it my be worth trying to get back to natural sleeping as soon as you can where possible.
• Try to give up Smoking – This is an addiction and can disrupt sleep. As can often cause restless and early wakes when craving strike.
• Indoor Lighting – The lighting in Phones/TV’s/Light bulbs etc can fool your eyes into it still being daylight, not releasing and blocking the melatonin that signals you to feel tired. Stop using TV’s, laptops and phones and dim your lights an hour or two before you go to bed. And try and go for block out light curtains/blinds in bedrooms and keep tv’s etc to the lounge.
• Caffeine – Some people can metabolise caffeine quicker that others. However, it can still affect the quality of your sleep, even if you get off to sleep quick and are a caffeine drinker, the quality could be disturbed. Caffeine generally has a 7 hour ‘half-life’ which means 7 hours after drinking caffeine it could well be still having 50 % of its affect in your system. So try not to drink caffeine after lunch to help encourage a improved natural sleep.
• Eating late – This too can disrupt your sleep as hormones can be disrupted as they are needed to metabolise foods when you should be resting. As can the digestive system still be busy working when you are trying to sleep. Try not to eat within 3-4 hours of going to bed.
• Drinking Fluid – Try to avoid drinking too much fluids 2-3 hours before going to bed, to reduce loo visits. But remember to get all your fluid requirements in before then. Hydration is still important, as you don't want this to wake you in the night.
• Room Temperature – Your body doesn’t like to be too warm when getting off to sleep. A bedroom should ideally be around 18 degrees. Going to bed a little chilly, or having a cold shower before bed, helps your body set its own core night temperature. Your core will warm up your cold skin drawing away any excess heat to naturally get to your core temperature. Rather than it being too warm and unable to cool down. You could change your heating settings to turn off earlier to cool your place down before bed. And if waking up too early is a problem, is your heating coming on too early?
• Don’t nap – If you are a troubled night sleeper, don’t take daytime naps. Sleep pressure builds up throughout a day to a peak. Napping could make it harder for you to get off if you find this difficult. However – If you are a good sleeper, naps can top up the good nights of sleep.
When you sleep your brain solves its problems and restores itself. Philosophers have solved problems unsolvable during wake time when sleeping, musicians have perfected a piece unplayable during wake time when they are sleeping, famous song where claimed to be written when sleeping and how many times have you found the answer to a work issue/query when sleeping on it? Refresh your body and brain and make an effort to get in more sleep.
I hope this helps with your resting patterns. And helps with some tips to get you having a good night sleep.
Sweet Dreams...
Terri Zzzzzzzzz
Reference - Why we Sleep - Matthew Walker
• Avoid Alcohol and sleeping tablets – These do not encourage a normal REM and Non-REM sleep. You will be ‘sedated’ instead of properly sleeping. And losing all the good effects of natural sleep. If you regularly drink or take tablets before bed, and decide to stop to improve sleep quality, be aware, you will go through a period of withdrawal, and sleep will get worse before it gets better as you are used to sedation, until natural sleep can happen. This can take time. (I do suggest you see your doc before coming off any prescribed medication.) But it my be worth trying to get back to natural sleeping as soon as you can where possible.
• Try to give up Smoking – This is an addiction and can disrupt sleep. As can often cause restless and early wakes when craving strike.
• Indoor Lighting – The lighting in Phones/TV’s/Light bulbs etc can fool your eyes into it still being daylight, not releasing and blocking the melatonin that signals you to feel tired. Stop using TV’s, laptops and phones and dim your lights an hour or two before you go to bed. And try and go for block out light curtains/blinds in bedrooms and keep tv’s etc to the lounge.
• Caffeine – Some people can metabolise caffeine quicker that others. However, it can still affect the quality of your sleep, even if you get off to sleep quick and are a caffeine drinker, the quality could be disturbed. Caffeine generally has a 7 hour ‘half-life’ which means 7 hours after drinking caffeine it could well be still having 50 % of its affect in your system. So try not to drink caffeine after lunch to help encourage a improved natural sleep.
• Eating late – This too can disrupt your sleep as hormones can be disrupted as they are needed to metabolise foods when you should be resting. As can the digestive system still be busy working when you are trying to sleep. Try not to eat within 3-4 hours of going to bed.
• Drinking Fluid – Try to avoid drinking too much fluids 2-3 hours before going to bed, to reduce loo visits. But remember to get all your fluid requirements in before then. Hydration is still important, as you don't want this to wake you in the night.
• Room Temperature – Your body doesn’t like to be too warm when getting off to sleep. A bedroom should ideally be around 18 degrees. Going to bed a little chilly, or having a cold shower before bed, helps your body set its own core night temperature. Your core will warm up your cold skin drawing away any excess heat to naturally get to your core temperature. Rather than it being too warm and unable to cool down. You could change your heating settings to turn off earlier to cool your place down before bed. And if waking up too early is a problem, is your heating coming on too early?
• Don’t nap – If you are a troubled night sleeper, don’t take daytime naps. Sleep pressure builds up throughout a day to a peak. Napping could make it harder for you to get off if you find this difficult. However – If you are a good sleeper, naps can top up the good nights of sleep.
When you sleep your brain solves its problems and restores itself. Philosophers have solved problems unsolvable during wake time when sleeping, musicians have perfected a piece unplayable during wake time when they are sleeping, famous song where claimed to be written when sleeping and how many times have you found the answer to a work issue/query when sleeping on it? Refresh your body and brain and make an effort to get in more sleep.
I hope this helps with your resting patterns. And helps with some tips to get you having a good night sleep.
Sweet Dreams...
Terri Zzzzzzzzz
Reference - Why we Sleep - Matthew Walker