If you want to be healthy, then sleep should be up there in your priorities along with diet and exercise. A whole lotta important stuff goes down whilst you nod off.
A bit of R’nR – Recovery
Your internal organs rest and recover after a day of awakeness. Tissue repair, muscle growth and protein synthesis primarily occur during sleep.
Control yourself – Hormones
Certain hormones are released. These help to regulate appetite control, stress, growth, metabolism and other bodily functions.
Makes you smart – Memory
Memory storage occurs, allowing for the formation and storage of new memories. All essential for learning new information.
We agree with Arianna Huffington when she said ‘Burnout is the disease of our civilisation’. We’re depriving ourselves of sleep to “get ahead” or to prove we can do it all. In reality, too many bad decisions are made when you don’t get enough shut-eye. Your brain power is on a go-slow, impacting your mental performance, therefore impairing your ability to process new information and memories. Making you moody, unfocused and a little bit stupider tbh.
But I can’t catch those ZZzzzzzz
We know it ain’t as easy as just hopping into bed and nodding off. There’s too many distractions and stimulants out there bidding for our undivided attention. But we’re only human and we can’t process it all. So the brain gets overloaded and confused.
Screen Curfew
Put the phone away. And the laptop, tablet and TV. The screen stimulates your nervous system and keeps you hyped up. If you seriously can’t part with it before bed, then at least set the ‘night-mode’ (iPhone) or download an app that shuts out the blue light.
If you need your phone for an alarm in the AM, put your phone on aeroplane mode while you’re sleeping. This avoids cellular and wireless signals, which disturb your sleep. Don’t worry, all your precious whatsapps and snapchats will come flooding in the next morning waiting for you.
Food Curfew
Try not to eat a heavy meal within two hours of going to bed. When you sleep, your entire body is resting. If you try to sleep on a full stomach, your body becomes confused. It doesn’t know whether to digest or sleep. It’s tough to do both at once, and going to bed immediately after eating will likely cause interruptions in both digestion and sleep.Sleepy Foods
Sleepy Foods
When you do eat, however, make sure you eat the right food and avoid the wrong ones.Avoid: Caffeine (duh – it’s a stimulant), sugary sweets, chocolate, simple carbs, juice or high-glycemic fruit as they can spike blood sugar, boost your energy and you can wake up feeling hungry.
Avoid
Caffeine (duh – it’s a stimulant), sugary sweets, chocolate, simple carbs, juice or high-glycemic fruit as they can spike blood sugar, boost your energy and you can wake up feeling hungry.
Try
A banana. This seems wrong as bananas are known for giving you energy. But bananas are high in potassium and magnesium, both of which are essential minerals for getting a deep night’s sleep.
Nuts’n’seeds. A handful of nuts are a great bedtime snack because they help boost serotonin levels in the brain and are an excellent source of magnesium and tryptophan. Walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds contain the highest levels of the natural sedative.
Warm Plant-based Milk. Raise your internal body temperature, helping you to relax and unwind, making you sleepy. Add in some turmeric, cinnamon and raw honey for added sleepy aids and taste.
Nut butter. A spoonful of your nut or seed butter of choice (almond, peanut, pumpkin seed, tahini, etc.) can help to regulate your blood sugars throughout the night so you don’t wake up starving.
Supplements
If you really can’t sleep there are some natural remedies to consider.
Magnesium. Pretty much most people in the world are deficient in magnesium. Stress and the decline of it’s availability from food sources over the years has us all crying out for some!
Try a magnesium spray (for better absorption than oral types). A cheap and effective option is to buy magnesium flakes (BetterYou) and a spray bottle.
Add about 2 tablespoons of magnesium to 6 tablespoons of water (or a 1:3 ratio of magnesium: water), shake up and spray all over your body in the evening. Bes if you do it after a shower as your pores will be open. If you don’t have time for a shower or even a full-body application, just spray a few squirts on the soles of your feet for fastest absorption.
Ultimate Magnesium – These sachets are a great blend of some effective ingredients to help support both physical & emotional stress and manage energy levels, in turn helping you to sleep throughout the night.
Dormeasan – This is an effective herbal sleep remedy by A.Vogel made from extracts of freshly harvested, organically grown Valerian root and Hops. Valerian is what valium is made from, so you can get an idea of how this would aid sleep.