Month Two: Week Two: Time to Focus on Sleep!
Hello again all! I hope you are doing well and keeping up with resolutions and ideas. The second month of our New Year, New You idea is February and it is all about getting better sleep and trying out different ways to relax like meditation. The first part of this month should be all about turning off devices that might make your sleep be not as good as it could be. These devices include T.V.’s, cell phones, tablets, anything that has a bright light that might be keeping you awake when you need to be giving yourself the necessary time to sleep. Sleep is so important because this is the time for your body to rest and relax, the time for rejuvenation and giving your body the time it needs to be able to work better for you. Experts say that you should be getting at least 7 hours of real, true sleep and rest in order for your body to be able to work at its best. This is why sleep is so paramount for you and your family-you need to get enough sleep in order to function. Remember a time when you were so tired you could barely keep your eyes open, remember how badly you wanted to fall asleep-chances are that half the time your eyes probably weren’t even open during this time because of the heavy eyelid feeling (feeling so tired that your eyes get droopy and you have to force yourself to keep them open), how can anyone possibly function during this time? This alone should be reason enough for you to make sure you get ENOUGH of one of the things that your body needs most: SLEEP!!!
There are other ways to help you sleep better, other than shutting off all devices at night. You could stop drinking caffeine. Caffeine is included in most sodas, all coffee (except if it is decaf), quite a few teas (unless it says caffeine free), and even trace amounts are in chocolate. I personally cut off all caffeine (for the most part-no soda or coffee and not a ton of chocolate) and I will tell you, it has been difficult-we bought a bunch of Dr. Pepper because our other brother, Josh (Karyn’s husband) is coming to visit next month and he is a Dr. Pepper fiend! (more so than me and I ADORE the stuff) and it has been staring me in the face. Well, today I moved them to the other fridge in our garage so I am not tempted to break into the stuff. We also don’t have a ton of chocolate in the house and the only coffee I like is Starkbucks’ frapuccinos (yum!). I think i have been doing pretty well so far (34 days so far) and don’t want to mess that up.
If you do not want to go caffeine free, you could try cutting back on it and maybe stopping all caffeine consumption around 5 pm so that it doesn’t affect your sleep so much. Remember, caffeine is a stimulant and any stimulant will affect your overall health and especially your sleep quality. Once you cut back, you will realize how much you were drinking before and how much you rely on something that you really shouldn’t be putting in your body in the first place. You will also soon realize that you don’t need the stuff at all. Just cutting back on the stuff will improve your sleep exponentially, so give it a try! What do you have to lose?
Another thing you could try to improve your sleep quality, other than turning off all devices and cutting back on caffeine, is to try drinking more water and eating better foods like fruits, vegetables, and nuts. These can include dark leafy greens like spinach and Kale, almonds, walnuts, kiwi, drinking caffeine free Chamomile tea, tart cherries, passion fruit, rice, avocado, and bananas. These are just a few and there are many other options so maybe look into what you like and see if they are proven to help with sleep promotion.
The final idea for better sleep we have here at splendidly sisters, is to try some bedtime yoga or meditation. These exercises will help to clear your mind and help you to relax just in time for bedtime. There are many applications and Youtube videos about yoga and mediation and these will certainly help you to be able to calm yourself, find your center, and get your mind prepared for the journey of restful sleep. Below, I have included links to a bedtime yoga (the first one) and also a mediation video (the second one) both on Youtube. I like both of these, but there are thousands of different types on there so feel free to find one you like.
Even if none of these tips sound like really your thing, give them a try-you never know how they might work out! If nothing else, try just shutting all devices off and quieting your mind at night for a more restful night’s sleep; trust me: you’ll be glad you did!
Don’t forget to keep up with your resolutions and try something new each week! New Year, New You!
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