- Set a regular bedtime. Go to bed at the same time every night.
- Wake up at the same time every day. If you’re getting enough sleep, you should wake up naturally without an alarm.
- Nap to make up for lost sleep. If you need to make up for a lost hours, opt for a daytime nap rather than sleeping late.
- Fight after–dinner drowsiness. If you find yourself getting sleepy way before your bedtime, get off the couch and do something mildly stimulating to avoid falling asleep.
- Take a high-protein drink a couple of hours before you go to sleep. Sunwarrior’s Warrior Blend can provide the L-tryptophan needed for your melatonin and serotonin production.
- Create as much darkness as possible in your bedroom.
- Sleep in a cool room- research shows that sleeping in a room that is between 60 to 68 degrees will give you the highest quality sleep. A bedroom that is too hot or too cold can interfere with quality sleep
- Before bed, do not watch over stimulating movies like horror flicks or high suspense or action. Watch or read material that is calming and will help you to relax.
- Avoid caffeine and stimulants like drugs and alcohol- they will keep you from reaching the REM healing sleep that your body needs to clean and rejuvenate.
Sleep Deficit Lowers Immunity, Increases Pain Disorders, and Weight Gain
" It is during REM sleep (deep sleep) that the body poduces growth hormones which speed the absorption of nutrients and amino acids into your cells and aids the healing of tissues throughout your entire body. Melatonin, often called the sleep hormone, is also produced during sleep. This hormone inhibits tumors from growing, prevents viral infections, stimulates your immune system, increases antibodies in your saliva, has antioxidant properties and enhances the quality of sleep.It seems obvious, but the immune system performs better when the body is properly rested. Sleep researchers at the University of Chicago exposed sleep deprived students (allowed only 4-6 hours of sleep per night for 6 nights) to the flu vaccine; their immune systems produced only half the normal number of antibodies in response to the viral challenge. Research recently published in Cellular Physiology demonstrated that sleep deprivation can aggravate chronic inflammation by altering the production of the bone marrow. Tired bodies simply do not produce enough white blood cells to properly fight infection.Levels of cortisol (a hormone associated with stress) rose, and the sympathetic nervous system became active, raising heart rates and blood pressure. Subjects also showed insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition that affects glucose tolerance and produces weight gain. When restricted to only 4 hours of sleep a night, an 18 year old will function like a 60 year old in terms of their ability to metabolize glucose. Sleep deprivation will increase carbohydrate and junk food cravings. Those subjects deprived of sleep had reduced levels of leptin, a molecule secreted by fat cells that acts in the brain to inhibit appetite. Researchers believe that sleep deficit may be responsible in part for the obesity epidemic in the United States.People who get enough sleep (about 7-9 hours a night) have a much higher productivity level, have more energy throughout the day, and have far less stress? Sleep is crucial for concentration, memory formation, and repairing and rejuvenating the cells of the body. Both mentally and physically, a good night's sleep is essential for your health and your energy.Recent research from Norway indicates a “strong association between sleep disturbance and fibromyalgia risk in adult women," study researcher Paul Mork, PhD, associate professor in the department of human movement science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes pain and tender points throughout the body. Women, especially women who had the most severe sleep complaints had a greater chance of developing fibromyalgia. The exact cause of this association is unexplained, but the results are compelling. Sleep is essential to combatting physical pain.Sleep deficit is not only a personal problem, sleep deprivation can be dangerous. Even small losses in sleep can cause cognitive deficiency. A study done at the University of Utah showed in driving simulations, that incidence of accident increase progressively as total sleep decreased. In fact, drowsy driving was equally dangerous to drunk driving. In high-order cognitive tasks, sleep deprived people performed as poorly as or worse than intoxicated people.Children are especially affected by sleep deprivation. Contrary to what one might expect, the results of sleep deficit in children are irritability and hyperactivity. With all the school and athletic activities starting earlier and ending later, children are becoming sleep deprived. Many children are on drugs that promote wakefulness, like Ritalin, for hyperactivity when all they may need is proper sleep.If you are have trouble sleeping, try some of these quick tipsrn
