Top 5 Tips for Deep, Restful, and Satisfying Sleep

Beautiful young woman sleeping after practicing the Top 5 Tips for Deep, Restful, and Satisfying Sleep

It’s time to optimize your sleep to not only stay vibrant and healthy, but to help you achieve greater levels of energy, efficiency, and productivity.

While there are endless treatment options to help you achieve quality sleep, there are many things you can do every day to help. I was surprised at how much better I slept after implementing some seemingly small changes to my routine.

Top 5 Tips:

1. Reserve your bed for sleeping & sex only

• Yup, you heard me right! Working or studying in bed can associate your bed with stress and prevent you from falling or staying asleep

2. Have a sleep routine

• Choose a relaxing activity that you can do for 30 minutes before bed. Some options include:
  • a hot bath
  • stretching
  • listening to music
  • deep breathing
  • meditation
  • grounding exercises
  • reading a novel
• Avoid using electronics for 30-60 minutes before bed as the light they emit can decrease melatonin production and make it more difficult to fall asleep

3. Darkness at night and Natural Light exposure first thing in the morning

• Any amount of light in the bedroom can activate receptors in your brain and inhibit the production of melatonin, which is necessary to fall asleep and to stay asleep. You can eliminate all light from your room by placing cell phones face down, removing any other light sources, and using black out blinds if possible. Sleep eye masks are another option.
• On the other side of the spectrum, exposure to natural light first thing in the morning helps your hormone levels to adjust to awake mode more efficiently

4. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day

• Consistency trains your body to feel more alert when you wake up and to be able to fall asleep at night.

5. Set your alarm based on how many sleep cycles you have time for

Knowing what we know about how lack of sleep can negatively impact your health, making some small changes to improve your sleep not only improves your efficiency and productivity, but will also help to strengthen your immune system and prevent unwanted health concerns.

You can read more about planning your sleep on your body’s natural sleep cycles here: How to wake up rested, refreshed, and alert.

 Information can be empowering, but we all have unique health profiles and needs. The information in this post is intended for education purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for a visit with your primary care physician. For more information or individualized treatment, consult a Naturopathic Physician, or book Motus Mobile Clinic to come to you. www.motuswellness.com