Health coaches Michele Periquet & Firouze Zeroual share simple tips for enjoying deep and restful sleep. Let all the Goddess who read us know that sleep is VERY important to maintain your beauty.
1. Eat dinner at least three hours before bedtime. Eating late may leave food undigested in the stomach which interferes with sleep.
2. Avoid sweets, chocolates, juices or sweet drinks, especially at night. Sugar, among other things, upsets the body chemistry and may impair sleep. It causes your blood sugar to increase and then decrease rapidly as your body releases hormones to bring the levels under control. This may cause you to toss and turn or to get up hungry in the middle of the night.
3. Be consistent. As much as possible try to get to bed and wake up at the same time daily. Our bodies function best on a regular schedule.
4. Avoid stimulants, especially in the evening. Stimulants such as coffee, caffeinated tea, soft drinks, chocolate and sugar in any form provide a short-lived, “fake” burst of energy, but you end up feeling more tired afterwards – which brings us to the next point.
5. Avoid becoming overtired. Believe it or not, when one is overtired, one may have trouble sleeping. This is because the adrenal glands are overstimulated. If one stays up, the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal glands will assist you in staying up by secreting adrenal and thyroid hormones. So, when you do decide to go to bed, you cannot sleep well as you are overstimulated.
6. Unwind effectively! If you have trouble sleeping, reduce mental activity in the evening.RELAX. Try meditation as a way of relieving stress, calming your mind and encouraging a sense of tranquility. Just like your body, your mind needs to wind down before sleeping. It is never too early to learn how to meditate!
7. Avoid mental stimulants such as violent movies or tv shows that induce fear, worry, or anger (which are all stimulants). Consider light reading instead or watching tv shows that are relaxing.
8. Turn off electronic appliances in the bedroom, or sleep at least 8-10 feet away from wifi, cell phones, tvs, computers and other sources of EMF (electromagnetic fields.) Wifi should not be near your bed. Keep the router, modem and other components in other parts of your home.
9. Make your bedroom your own Sleep Oasis. Make sure it is dark. Darkness stimulates the production of a hormone, melatonin, which plays a crucial role in our physical and mental well-being! Turn off anything that has glowing lights such as clock radios, televisions, and phones. Even a small amount of light can affect the quality of your sleep.
11. Silence is golden. Remove from your bedroom items such as ticking clocks, vibrating phones, and make sure to turn off the television. Even if a noise does not completely wake you, it can disrupt your sleep.
