10 strategies to help you get better sleep.
You need approximately 8hrs of uninterrupted sleep everyday. Fact.
If you are getting less than 8hrs and waking up more than once per night then this is an area of your lifestyle that needs improving.
Lack of sleep can:
- Drive up inflammation within your body. Inflammation is something you do not want more of as it can aggravate other conditions and diseases. It can also deteriorate health all on its own.
- Reduce your sensitivity to insulin and raise your stress hormone cortisol. Insulin and cortisol are on a delicate balance to stabilize blood sugar. Ever noticed that after a restless night sleep you crave carbohydrates and sugary foods?
- Make you more likely to overeat. Lack of sleep can increase your hormone ghrelin responsible for telling you that you are full.
Get better sleep
First of all go to bed early enough so that you can get 8hrs of sleep
We recommend creating a sleep strategy that helps prepare you for sleep. The objective of a sleep strategy is to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest & digest), helping you to get better sleep:
- Diaphragmatic breathing
- Take a 20minute bath
- Practice yoga nidra
- A 30minute phone, laptop & TV free period before bed
- Read a book (nothing to do with work)
- Install blackout blinds
- Reduce Caffiene and have midday as your cut off time
- Reduce alcohol intake
- Write down your thoughts/plans for the following day so you don’t need to remember them
- Higher carbohydrate meal in the evening
