Good morning ladies and gents! Figured I’d give a shout out to the
men today, since this post is quite unisex!
Today I wanted to share some tips with you that I picked up during my first year of college at Sussex County Community College in Sussex, New Jersey back in 2008. I had many sleepless nights thinking that I could accomplish everything and never sleep. And, well, I did…but my health wasn’t too great, and I got fed-up after my third semester! I did a lot of research and came up with the TOP 20 tips (that actually work!) for AH-MAZING sleep & energy to help you get the most out of your day!
I want everyone to know that you CAN get everything done and
have time for sleep! Sufficient sleep is more about quality, not quantity- so don't fret! You
can get better if not AMAZING sleep, whether you’re in college, working and
going to school (like I have done most of my college career), you’re a mommy,
daddy, business woman or man, or whatever else keeps you busy! Feeling
well-rested IS a possibility, and will allow you to better serve yourself and your
loved ones! :-)
Here goes!
1)
Eat your last meal before 3 hours prior to
your bedtime, & if you need a snack, make it a low-sugar fruit or vegetable
variety!
· Eating before 3 hours prior to bedtime and only noshing
on low-processed foods within 3 hours before bed will allow the body to devote
less time to digestion/boosting metabolism, and more time to winding down! Our
body's vital energy will then focus more on vital maintenance tasks while we
sleep (such as tissue repair and rejuvenation), rather than keeping our energy
levels up. Thus, any further disruptions in physiology
will be prevented while our bodies are attempting to sleep. The result? Less overall sleep is
needed to leave you feeling awake and alert in the AM!
2) Eat
a satisfying lunch, medium breakfast, and light dinner!
·
Eating progressively smaller meals as we get closer to bedtime allows our bodies to calm down when
it’s time to unwind a few hours before bed. Did I mention this tip also promotes healthy
weight loss?! Win, win!
3) Fit
in 20 minutes of exercise or more a day!
·
Exercising regularly boosts the body's energy during
the day, and allows for an easier time falling asleep at
night! Aim for a consistent time slot every day, rather than only 3 or 4 times
a week and you will see the benefit! Not to mention exercising improves so many
other things, including your sex life! :-o
4) Save
the last 45 minutes before bedtime to prepare for the next day, wind down your
thoughts, and do something relaxing that you enjoy!
·
Some suggestions include reading a book that you
haven’t had time to get your hands on in a while, studying some flash cards for
class, taking a bubble bath, meditating or doing 15 minutes of yoga, getting your
planner/plans together and ready for tomorrow &/or the rest of the week,
packing your lunch for the next day, or reading a favorite magazine/article
that you have been holding off on for a while.
5) Use
all electronic devices (other than your cell phone, for obvious reasons) before
the last 45 minutes prior to bedtime.
·
Whether most would like to believe it or not,
staring at lit up monitors and stimulating our brains on the computer and/or
with TV sends signals to our brain to stay awake. Save this type of
stimulating activity for the hours prior to bedtime and you will find that it
is much easier to fall asleep at night!
6) Keep
your work out of the bedroom!
·
I used to be so guilty of this (and still
sometimes am!). A lot of people do not realize the disturbance that comes from
blending your work environment with the environment that you are supposed to
use for sleep. This sends signals to our brain to think about our work before
bed, which causes us to toss and turn with thoughts on our mind (*cough* my
to-do lists *cough*) before we can peacefully fall asleep. Avoid this pitfall by
recognizing and practicing that the bedroom is for sleep, and sleep only! You
will find that over time it is much easier to fall asleep at night!
7) Reserve
a dark & quiet room for your sleeping quarters!
·
As much as we would all like to believe that we
can sleep with the TV blasting, our Ipods on, and lights on in our room, our
bodies simply cannot get thorough and restful sleep at maximum capacity in a
room lit up with noise! These disturbances send messages to our brain that
signal the body to stay alert, leading to a light and often easily disturbed,
and un-satisfying sleep! Keep the TV and computer viewing to an hour prior to
bedtime, and definitely keep it out of the bedroom!
8) Get
nose strips for your snoring sleep partner and invest in some good earplugs!
·
For those of you that have snoring roommates
(luckily, I do not! :-) ),
get some Breathe Right strips to keep the noise to a minimum, and invest in a
good pair of earplugs. I am not a light sleeper, but I can instantly become one
in a room full of loud snoring! Regular earplugs at the supermarket or your
local Walmart are pretty decent and usually block out around 30 decibels of
noise, but opt for better noise reduction with some silicone earplugs if you
need great sleep before a big event. Silicone earplugs better conform to each
individual ear shape, and thus provide for better noise reduction overall!
9)
Keep your sleeping environment more cool than
hot!
·
Although most of us would like to believe that
cuddling up in a big & fluffy blanket and sweating profusely in our
self-made "blanket burrito" is much better than being exposed at night, sleeping in a
cooler environment is much healthier! While we sleep, our body’s core temperature
increases by a degree or two as we settle into sleep and our dreams and bodily
repair ensue. Sleeping in a cool environment (70 degrees and below) allows our
bodies to cool more efficiently and facilitates breathing. Being one of the top
countries with nationwide sleep apnea also argues this point. Cool air at night
time is a must!
10)
Smile and reflect on all of the positive
things in your life!
·
It may sound cliché, but most people do not take
enough time out of their day to appreciate all of the good things they have
going on in their lives! Focusing too much on the bad things tends to give us
more stress, and thus can keep us up at night tossing & turning in an
effort to get restful sleep. I am a big vouch for this, being a perfectionist;
I tend to pick out all of the areas in my life that need improvement. Such a
personality trait can be both a strength and weakness. With maturity comes the
realization that there is a “time and place” for this trait, and
that it does not belong in every aspect of our lives! Appreciating all of the
positive things nurtures our inner peace, encourages a sense of well being, and
recharges our mental battery for the next day!
11)
When you wake up, drink a med.-lg. glass of
water or juice!
·
When we wake up, whether we realize it or not,
our body’s first thought on its mind is hydration. Going 7-8 hours (on a good
night, ha!) without water & asking our bodies to rebuild and repair is
cruel!!! Would you expect a motor to run efficiently for very long if it was
not properly lubed?! Drinking one glass is usually enough to awaken your entire
body, will help to get the blood flow going by breakfast time, and will help to
move away any wastes and replenish lost fluids before the start of your day.
12)
Eat a good breakfast!
·
For those of you that have not yet jumped on the
bandwagon of eating a healthy, balanced breakfast before starting your day,
shame on you! No matter how hard you try to convince yourself that your engine
runs perfectly fine until lunchtime with no fuel, you are living in denial! Eating a
healthy, balanced breakfast with both carbs & protein helps to boost the
body’s energy first thing in the morning without the mid-afternoon crash, helps our bodies maintain steady blood sugar levels throughout the day, and keeps our
metabolism up and running! Have you ever heard of the caveman theory that the
human body goes into starvation mode when there is a lack of food, and turns to
storing fat? Yes, well, IT’S TRUE! All of the people that I have met that are advocates of their
"3 squares a day" do not nearly feel and look as good as those who eat 5-6 smaller
meals throughout the day (and make time for breakfast)!
13)
Rise & check out at the same time every
day, including weekends!
·
I know that this is difficult for a lot of us to
do, but if you want to know how some people just hop out of bed every morning
and dive into the shower at the first sound of their alarm, sticking to a sleep
schedule is likely how they do it! Rising and checking out at the same
time every day, including weekends, keeps our Circadian Rhythm on track
(our sleep/wake cycle regulated by the brain), and prevents that feeling of
Monday morning jetlag! In the beginning, it can be too easy to fall off track,
so I suggest that you get up at the same time every day for at least 30 days.
If you feel compelled to sleep in on weekends, you are probably doing something
wrong. Remember, it should feel good to get up early!
14)
Develop a pleasant morning routine!
·
It is important to have something to look
forward to that makes you eager to get out of bed in the morning. Have
important things planned and see how much easier it is to rise and shine!
15)
Use a peppermint or citrus body wash!
·
This is a great tip that I established on those
mornings where sleep just was not an
option the night before! I should address, however, that nights like those should
not become a habit if you are managing your time correctly! Anyways, cleansing
in a shower full of invigorating and awakening scents gives you no option but
to wake up and smell the rosesss! My favorite morning body wash is Dr. Bronner’s
magic soap in Peppermint. Yumm!
16)
Dress up!
·
Feeling better about yourself has a magical way
of giving you more energy! Put just a tad more effort into looking and feeling
your best and you can bet you will want to get out of the door in the morning!
17)
Take a nap mid-day, and then get the rest of
your work done!
·
A mid-day snooze can get things back on track,
rather than trying to lag through the rest of your day taking twice as long
trying to accomplish things. Set your alarm for 45 mins. later or whatever nap
time makes you feel the most energized, and then get back to work!
18)
Limit your caffeinated beverages to a maximum
of 2 a day!
·
I know that many of you might be closed-minded
to this idea, but it works- and you cannot argue with the facts of human
physiology! Too much caffeine has the opposite effect on our brains. It
dehydrates our bodies, sending signals of fatigue to the brain, it maxes out our
neurological ability to gain any further benefit from more cups of coffee
throughout the day, and sets our bodies up for a midday crash that has us
reaching for more caffeine, thinking it’s the solution. If you’re a hardcore
coffee drinker, try replacing every other cup of coffee that you normally drink
with one cup of your tea of choice for 4 weeks until you can get down to two caffeinated
drinks a day! If you realllly love your java, switch to Maxwell House Lite
coffee with ½ the caffeine. It is a blend of Maxwell House’s regular and decaf
coffees with all of the full and robust flavor, but with ½ of the caffeine!
19)
When you wake up, go and stand outside for a
few minutes, or enjoy your morning beverage in some sunlight!
·
Early morning sunshine does a fantastic job of
waking up our bodies and giving us energy. Like the TV and computer monitor
theory, science tells us that light triggers the brain to wake up. Try it and
see for yourself!
20)
& Last but not least, wake up and smile! :-)
·
Nothing starts your day off right better than
waking up to happy thoughts about your life. Choose to see the positive of
every situation and watch every area of your life blossom and bloom!
I hope everyone has a fabulous day!
Xo -Jess
I love this post! So interesting.
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