5 Tips for Better Sleep
Today we are going to tackle sleep in our blog. That elusive little piece of the wellness puzzle. Of course nutrition and physical activity are incredibly important to wellness, but I’m going to argue that sleep is an equally important component of wellness. While we sleep, our bodies are going through an incredible process of physical and mental recovery. So, it goes without saying that if you are noticing recurrent physical pain, struggling with mood swings, or even doing all of the fitness/nutrition things and still struggling with weight loss - it might be time to assess your sleep!
Most adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. While there are some exceptions of people who function well with closer to 6-7 hours of sleep, most need more than that. Of course there are also some adults who function best when they are closer to 9-10 hours of sleep. Every person is unique, but when you start to find your ideal amount of sleep, you’ll know it because your body and mind will function better.
I called sleep the elusive piece of the wellness puzzle, because this is an area where many people can have difficulty with falling asleep, or waking at night and having difficulty returning back to sleep. Here are 5 tips for trying to improve your sleep:
Physical activity
Make it a priority to take at least a 20-30 minute walk each day, or find another physical activity that you enjoy. It may be best to do this earlier in the day, however, as exercising within 2-3 hours of bedtime may actually make it more difficult to fall asleep.
Journal before bed
If you are a person who has difficulty “turning off your brain” at bedtime, journaling may be a great addition to your bedtime routine. Keeping a notebook and pencil or pen near your bed, so that you can write down your thoughts about the day, worries on your mind, reminders for tomorrow, or maybe a few things you are grateful for in your day. Try journaling with a hard cover notebook, then make a conscious decision to snap the book shut when you are finished. This can be a physical and auditory cue to signal to your brain that it is time to “close the book” and go to sleep.
Turn off the screens
We have all likely heard this one before - turn off the TV in your bedroom, close the laptop, put down the iPad, and stop checking your phone at least 1 hour before your bedtime. The light emitted from these screens can be interpreted by your brain that it is daytime, which can make it more difficult to fall asleep.
Take some deep breaths
Practicing some diaphragmatic breathing (belly breathing) for a few minutes right before bed can also help you wind down and make it easier to fall asleep. Often without realizing it, throughout our daily routine we start to move into a breathing pattern where we are moving our upper chest during breathing rather than allowing our belly to expand and actually moving our breathing diaphragm. When this occurs, our body is experiencing a sympathetic nervous system response (fight or flight) and staying in a stressed state. Practicing some deep belly breathing for a few minutes can help us move into the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) state. As you can imagine, practicing this breathing for a few minutes in our bedtime routine may help us fall asleep easier.
Protein/carb snack before bed
It is a good idea to avoid large meals, alcohol, and caffeine for a few hours before bedtime. However, sometimes having a small snack within 1-2 hours of bedtime can actually help you stay asleep. If you’re hungry when you go to bed, it is likely you will wake earlier than you’d like because your body is looking for the next fuel source! Ideally, a snack before bedtime will be small, and it would contain some amount of protein and carbohydrate so that you satisfy your hunger and stay feeling full for longer during the night. Here are a few options of foods to try in the evening: a small amount of trail mix with nuts and dried fruits, a small glass of milk and a half of a banana, or half of an English muffin with nut butter.
Give these tips a try to see if you can improve your sleep. There are a lot of natural and behavioral things to try to get your sleep on track before you check out supplements or additional medical interventions. Consistency is key with making changes to your sleep, so stick with the new behaviors for a few weeks consistently. Just changing your habits for a few days will likely not make a huge difference. Happy sleeping to you all!
Written by: Renee Hancock, Physical Therapist
