Health: Balancing Your Health Part VII - Sleep

Ahhhh! To Sleep, wake, and feel Rested! How well do you sleep at night? How many hours of sleep do you get? Do you feel rested in the morning? Do you feel exhausted during the day or have the post-lunch afternoon time sludge?

Many people overlook how important sleep is to all of us in maintaining a healthy balance and lifestyle. Sleep is just as important as eating healthy, exercising, hydrating, avoiding unhealthy behaviors, etc. All of these things have ripple effects on our overall health.

Sleep needs may slightly vary from person to person, but it is recommended typically for adults to get 6-9 hours of sleep per night. Kids are recommended to have the following sleep recommendations:

Why do we need an adequate amount of sleep every night?

- Feel better and have improved moods

- Decrease dark circles under the eyes

- Decrease risk for depression

- Decrease Stress Levels

- Decrease the Risk for Accidents - how clumsy are you when you are tired? It is easy to make mistakes!

- Help maintain or Lose weight because we burn more fat than muscle when we get enough sleep

- Maintain and improve cardiovascular health

- Improve the Mind

- Increase Memory - we can think and remember while retain information more efficiently when we are rested

- Increase your overall Quality of Life

- Decrease Inflammation - <6 hours a night has been proved to increase inflammation within the body that can result in chronic health conditions such as heart disease, etc in the future.

- Increase Creativity

- Increase Attention

- Decrease Premature Aging

Do you know that studies have shown a shorter lifespan reported for people that sleep <5 hours a night or sleep TOO MUCH?

That's right, not only do we need to get an adequate amount of sleep - we must also avoid too much sleep. Remember we are keeping our body balanced which means too little and too much are not in balance.

How can we fall asleep to have restful slumber?

- Decrease the temp in the room

- Take a warm bath to help relax

- Read a book, not a kindle or computer screen (the light tells your body to stay up)

- Visualize a place that makes you happy or feel relaxed

- Try aromatherapy - a scent that is relaxing to you

- Limit caffeine

- Try drinking a non-caffeinated relaxing tea before bedtime

- Find a comfortable sleep position on a comfortable bed/pillow and with comfortable clothing

- Try acupressure before bed to help your body relax and naturally increase melatonin, GABA, and serotonin levels in your body

- Eat breakfast everyday

- Exercise in the morning rather than after 6 pm

- Avoid having electronics near the bed or looking at electronics 30-60 minutes prior to going to bed.

- Leave the TV off

- Deep breathing exercises

- Avoid too much light (that makes your body feel like it is daytime)

- Try yoga, meditation, mindfulness to help relieve tension, stress, calm the mind and relax the body, enhance melatonin levels and help you worry less

- Don't be a clock watcher

- Listen to relaxing music or sounds

- Avoid high carb meals within 4 hours of bedtime

- Journal - get things on paper so you can let them go mentally

- Unwind 30 minutes prior to bedtime

-Try and keep to a schedule - if we plan meals, activity, work, life, and to sleep 7-9 hours a night (without over focusing on the schedule which may cause some more stress - remain flexible because life happens) we can manage our day, choose healthier options, and set ourselves up for success

- Keeping a schedule as well as a list of things to do may help get those things off your mind onto paper so you can relax your mind and rest easy

- Treat any sleep disorders

* If you wake up feeling tired, unrested, and frequently low on energy or just exhausted it may be a good idea to schedule a check up with your primary care provider to rule out potential medical causes.

* If you feel overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, or feel like harming self or others it may be a good idea to seek help and counseling to help you get through what you may be going through. Contact your primary care provider or call:

- The National Crisis Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 (24 hours a day)

- The Veteran's Crisis Hotline is (877) 742-1771

It is OK to ask for help if YOU need it judgement free! You deserve a healthy and peaceful life the same as anybody. You ARE WORTH IT!