Upgrade Your Sleep Habits for Better Health
I talked last week about how lack of sleep, which is often caused by cell phone usage, can wreak havoc on our hormones and our health. [Missed it? Catch up here!]
Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night, and most Americans don't get that. But do we really need that much?
YUP. (And trust me, I need to hear this, too!)
Benefits of sleep include:
Helping our brain process things and create new neural pathways
Facilitating learning, memory, and decision-making while awake (ever noticed how sometimes things seem WAY more terrible at night than in the light of day?)
Healing and repairing the heart and blood vessels, which decreases risk of heart disease, stroke, etc.
Repairing our muscle tissue after workouts so we continue to have positive training adaptations (aka gains) and avoid injury
Improving immune response and the ability to fight off illnesses and infections and heal injuries
Regulating hormones
How to get more sleep (apologies to new parents, y'all hang in there!):
Set a bedtime and actually go to bed.
"Voluntary bedtime delay" is the biggest culprit for sleep deprivation among adults today. It's doing things like watching just one more episode, scrolling social media and losing track of time, forcing ourselves to stay up late and answer emails or finish work projects, etc. Most things CAN wait until the next day.Create a sleep plan with a wind-down ritual. It's hard to prepare your mind and body for sleep when they're still active. Try dimming the lights before you're ready to go to bed, reading instead of watching tv, putting your electronics away 1-2 hours before bed so the blue lights don't interfere with sleep, and/or taking a bath or shower. If you have a lot on your mind, get it out. Use your pre-bed time to journal or just thought dump...and use pen and paper! Typing on your device exposes you to more blue lights, which do not facilitate sleep.
Use your environment to promote better sleep. Avoid watching tv in bed "to help you fall asleep." Instead, keep the room dark and quiet, and set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature. Cooler temperatures usually foster better sleep, but each person is different. Using a sleep mask, ear plugs, a fan, and/or a white noise machine can all help you to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Seek help. If you routinely struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep due to sleep disorders, shift work, or being the parent of a new baby, seek additional support. Consult your physician about possible causes of sleeplessness and restlessness. Seek counseling for anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns. If you're a new parent, try to split night shifts with your partner or, if you have resources available, invest in infant-care so you have time to sleep or nap.
I once saw a social media post from a fellow coach that compared people to smartphones. We only have a finite amount of battery capacity before we can no longer function, and the more apps we have running at once, the sooner we're going to need to recharge.
This week:
Treat yourself as you treat your phone and recharge when you're running low or there's nothing left.
FURTHER READING:
Go to Bed! -- JCH Coaching Blog
The Power of Sleep -- Precision Nutrition
Sleep Deprivation & Deficiency -- National Institutes of Health
