Secrets To A Great Night’s Sleep

Not only is sleep a luxury, it is also a necessity because it"s when we sleep that our bodies have time to repair and replenish and get us ready to face another day.

Sleeping is essentially the process of rejuvenating the mind and body from the rigors of everyday life.

Not only is sleep a luxury, it is also a necessity because it’s during this time that our bodies have time to repair and replenish and get us ready to face another day. While you rest your organs repair themselves, your body rejuvenates and your brain replenishes itself allowing it to operate at maximum capacity. Sleep has even been shown to be a factor in living longer.

If you toss and turn, get to bed late and wake up early what can you do? Here are some tips to help you get a good night of rest and reasons why this is crucial to your overall wellbeing:

• Loss of sleep can lead to weight gain, which brings with it a unique host of other health issues. If you are deprived of sleep, the hormones that trigger your appetite rise and that tricks your brain and body into believing you’re hungry even when you’re not. Being overweight can lead to diabetes, heart conditions, problems with your joints and others. Research conducted by Harvard School of Public Health found that “adults getting fewer than seven hours of sleep or less are between 30% and 80% more likely to develop heart disease, diabetes and die prematurely.”
• Remember, even though you’re sleeping, your body is not truly at rest. When you sleep, your immune system works to help fight illness and infection, your cardiovascular system slows down and repairs itself and your mind processes what you’ve learned or gone through the previous day.
• The sleep-deprived among us can cause accidents on the highways. Sleep is as crucial to our overall good health as is food and water.

How can you get a better night’s sleep?

• Turn off the lights. Artificial light surrounds us from sources including our cell phones, alarm clocks, television and even night lights. Turning off the lights and sleeping in a darkened room will lead to a better night’s sleep. Don’t keep a computer in the bedroom.
• Make bedtime a ritual that you look forward to and get yourself into a routine. Whether it’s spending quiet time reading before bedtime or taking a warm bubble bath, choose a relaxing routine to give your body time to adjust to the fact that it’s bed time.
• If you’re tired during the day take a nap. A 15 minute nap can give you the energy to keep going and it may also leave you feeling more rested than trying to nap for an hour.

Practicing get-to-sleep routines will help you get in the habit of going to sleep and staying asleep and could ultimately help you live longer!