It’s the heart of summertime and this can mean we have more energy for
everything. And that's great! But with our increased energy and all the
summer activities available to us we may not take enough time for rest and
may not get enough sleep. What compounds this even more is if we have
difficulty sleeping in the first place.
One of the best books I’ve read on sleep is "Say Goodnight to
Insomnia: The 6-Week Drug-Free Program developed at Harvard Medical School"
by Gregg Jacobs. This is a complete program for improving your sleep. For
myself I found the piece on switching ‘negative sleep thoughts’ to ‘neutral
or positive ones’ very helpful. If sleeplessness is an issue for you, get
this book. Also, check out Perfect Sleep by Deepak Chopra. Now, some
Tips for Sleep
Early to Bed - Our bodies do a majority of their recharging from
11PM to 1AM, especially the adrenal glands. So if we’re not sleeping during
that time, fatigue begins to build. You might say, ‘but I’m a night person.’
But night people (myself included) are really a product of electricity and
habit. Have you ever noticed if you’re camping (or on a vacation without TV,
etc.) the tendency is to go to bed early and wake up early? So at least aim
to go to bed earlier, ideally around 10PM.
Be Consistent & Get up Early- Have a regular bedtime and waking time.
If you sleep in on the weekends, it throws off your internal clock and can
make Sunday nights tricky.
Determine Your Needs - People need differing amounts of sleep. In
Ayurveda, there are 3 primary constitutions and each one requires a
different amount of sleep ranging from 6-9 hours.
Warm Your Feet - Believe it or not blood flow i.e. warmth in hands
and feet is the best predictor of the body's readiness for sleep (Mercola).
So warm your feet and then put socks on and/or sleep with a hot water bottle
by your feet.
Lights Out - Make your bedroom as dark as possible (i.e. no street
light, nightlights, etc.). You may also want to wear an eye covering to keep
out stray light. The reason this makes a difference is that even the tiniest
bit of light can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your production of
melatonin and serotonin. (http://mercola.com)”
Regulate Your Body's Thermostat - Exercise (done preferably early
in the day) impacts our body temperature and therefore helps us sleep
better. But hot baths too close to bedtime impact our body temperature in a
negative way and make it difficult to sleep.
Food and Drink - Refrain from eating and drinking a couple hours
before bed. You may however want to have some chamomile tea or hot milk.
Also check your supplements because a lack of calcium may be a problem.
Misc. Sleep Aids - Apply lavender essential oil to your feet
(available at health food stores). You may also want to listen to sounds of
nature, or a guided meditation CD. (A number of people have told me they use
my CD to help them go to sleep).
Snoring? - If you are not waking well rested or you’ve been told
you are a snoring machine, you may want to check with your Doctor to see if
you have sleep apnea. If you do, then you may be waking up 100’s of times
during the night. A sleep mask for apnea sufferers often does the trick.
Women in Their 40's and 50's Plus -You may want to see a natural
medicine physician to address hormonal changes that may be interfering with
sleep.
Enjoy the Summer, Have Fun and Sleep Well.
Lisa
