Tag: sleep

Sleep Better. Be Stronger. Live Longer.

On By shawntbellonIn mental health, wellnessLeave a comment

What We Do

  1. Start a wind-down time if possible where your evening or time before bed gives you a chance to relax to sleep.
  2. Your bed is for sleeping so treat that space as such so your body will habitually recognize that area.
  3. Stop tech or use blue blockers so you aren’t signaling your brain to stay awake.
  4. Don’t play on your phone in bed. Remember the bedroom is for sleeping and umm other stuff.
  5. Consider an evening bath with some passive stretching to unwind and relax the body.
  6. Avoid naps as much as possible.
  7. Wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day.

What We Eat

  1. Watch your stimulants. Even 300 mg a day can be disruptive to your day AND night. It also can disrupt proper hormone regulation.
  2. Nicotine is a stimulant that won’t actually relax you contrary to prior thought.
  3. Try a calming tea in the evening.
  4. Don’t eat too late so you have enough time to digest your food.

What We Experience

  1. Make your room dark. Blackout curtains are inexpensive and work to muffle sound as well.
  2. Use ambient noise like a fan if you like.
  3. Keep the temperature cool. 66-69 degrees seems to be ideal for the body.
  4. TURN OFF THE PHONE. Set your phone to silent and on a schedule where it can turn on when you are waking.
  5. If you are unable to sleep get up and sit in your living room and read a book. You want to relax the mind while keeping the sacred space of the bedroom for sleeping.
  6. Heavy blankets can help some relax and sleep better
  7. You might need a pillow under your knees or between them for low back comfort

Additional information
https://shawnbellon.com/2018/08/06/circadian-rhythms/
https://shawnbellon.com/2018/09/09/the-lack-of-sleep-is-killing-us/
https://shawnbellon.com/2018/10/12/binaural-beats-for-improving-physical-mental-health/

The Lack of Sleep is Killing Us!

On By shawntbellonIn Uncategorized1 Comment
A “catastrophic sleep-loss epidemic” is causing a host of potentially fatal diseases, according to professor Matthew Walker, director of the Centre for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. In an interview with the Guardian, he warns that sleep deprivation is not being taken seriously enough by employers and everyday people alike — according to his research, there is a “powerful” link between a lack of sleep and cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and other conditions. “No aspect of our biology is left unscathed by sleep deprivation,” he says. “It sinks down into every possible nook and cranny. And yet no one is doing anything about it. Things have to change: in the workplace and our communities, our homes and families.”

Simba knows the importance of sleep!

Why, exactly, are we so sleep-deprived? What has happened over the course of the last 75 years? In 1942, less than 8% of the population was trying to survive on six hours or less sleep a night; in 2017, almost one in two people is. The reasons are seemingly obvious. “First, we electrified the night,” Walker says. “Light is a profound degrader of our sleep. Second, there is the issue of work: not only the porous borders between when you start and finish, but longer commuter times, too. No one wants to give up time with their family or entertainment, so they give up sleep instead. And anxiety plays a part. We’re a lonelier, more depressed society. Alcohol and caffeine are more widely available. All these are the enemies of sleep.”

Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/24/why-lack-of-sleep-health-worst-enemy-matthew-walker-why-we-sleep