Most of us sacrifice the one item we need most of all to have a balanced life — sleep. It has a tremendous impact on our health! I know it’s often easier said than done, especially if you have children, a demanding job, or multiple jobs, but it needs to be a priority, even if you just make baby steps towards getting more sleep.
Studies now show just how important sleep is, and we should be aiming to get 7-8 hours ideally; more if you have an autoimmune disease or adrenal fatigue. I have both, so sleep must be a priority for me. After years of abusing sleep and treating it as an afterthought, it has now become a non-negotiable part of my life.
Here are some great tips from Kirk Parsley, a sleep doctor, about the process of gearing up for bedtime.
Kirk refers to this process as Sleep Hygiene – “Sleep hygiene is anything that you can do to ensure that you have the right environment for your body/brain to do what it needs to do to put you to sleep, and having your environment conducive to staying asleep, and getting quality sleep”.
Something that has helped me improve my sleep is wearing orange glasses two hours before I go to bed. There is a lot of research showing that blue light after sunset can disrupt your circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin production. Computers, TVs, tablets, and phones are especially high in blue light. I wear BluBlockers other options include Swannies & Uvex.
Here’s an article about the science behind orange glasses from Dr. Mercola.
For those who need a little help falling asleep, Dr. Michael Breus, aka The Sleep Doctor, suggests drinking Banana Tea before going to bed. It is high in magnesium, which helps calm our nerves.
Recipe:
Rinse the banana peel, cut off the ends, and cut it in half keeping the banana in its peel. The peel has three times the amount of magnesium as the fruit alone. Add it to 3 cups of water and bring to a boil for 3-4 minutes. Strain and drink.
Wishing you a very good night’s sleep!!
Keep well and thanks for reading!
