Does counting sheep help you fall asleep? This fable is an old wives’ tale. Some studies have revealed this practice could have a reverse effect, taking you longer to fall asleep. Counting sheep (or other such methods) can be tedious and lead to disrupting thoughts to the mind and avert you from being able to fall asleep. With any luck this drill is not a part of your nightly routine.
A good night’s sleep will allow you to perform your daytime activities, ensure a better mood and reduce stress. Continuing sleep deprivation can cause health problems, such as mood swings, depression, high blood pressure, food cravings and weight gain. Developing a sleep habit is just as important as your daily dietary and physical activity patterns. Appropriate rest permits your body to recharge, detox, and prepare itself for the next day. There is a direct correlation that better sleep leads to better health. As your sleep enhances your health betters, and vice versa.
The typical adult needs 7-10 hours of sleep. Factors, such as pregnancy, menopause, medications, and current health conditions, sleep aids, sleep apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome or other sleep disorders can alter your adequate sleep time. You may need 7 hours, and others may require 8 or 10. Work towards the better sleep habit right for you, which means you wake up at the same time every day and go to bed the same time each night. When practiced each night a sound sleep habit will be developed, without the demand of an alarm clock or any other aids.
Your sleep may become less fulfilling and less recuperative, the older you get. While the natural aging process plays a role in your sleep habit, the amount of sleep the average adult gets has been decreasing over the last decade. With the pace of your daily life, and working towards your healthy dose of work life balance, somehow sleep tends to be the one thing that gets left out and is one of the largest factors in maintaining your overall health.
Your nighttime contentment will cause your daytime activities to flourish. Ensure you start with a balanced breakfast and drink water/liquids each morning. Then, to avoid your sleep being distracted with a visit to the bathroom, eat your evening meal about 2-3 hours before your bedtime and cut off liquid intake about 90-minutes before. Here’s to better sleep, better Zs and a Better You!
Thanks for joining us on this journey of wellness and self-awareness. Here’s to 2017 being prosperous and good for you! Experience the Meliora difference; experience our pursuit of better. Visit us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/meliora-technology-llc