Are You Sleeping Well?

Sat, 11 Sep 2021 07:13:52 +0000

Do you feel grumpy and groggy after leaving your bed in the morning instead of feeling refreshed and ready to go? Don’t worry! The second scenario is too common in most people these days. And according to the experts, its reason is lack of slumber.

The lack of restorative sleep for a long period dwindles the body’s natural healing process. It results in stiffness and pain in the body. Then people often find it hard to get a few hours of peaceful sleep because of the pain. The way to break this vicious cycle is by maintaining sleep hygiene.

During the daytime, the pain does not remain noticeable but when you lay down to relax, the underlying pain pops up and starts interrupting the sleep. One way to deal with it is taking the help of audio recordings available for sleep problems or insomnia.

You can pick a recording after checking what works for you because these are of different types. Some teach meditation, some play soft music, while some help you imagine being in a state of relaxation and calm. You can also take the help of classes that educate about sleep behaviour.

Never Give Up With Experiments and Experience

The pain in the night flares up, giving a sleepless night. It is because of the absence of diversions, and simply changing the sleep position does not help with this. When it happens, instead of complaining and thinking about pain, try activities that divert your mind. We are not saying these diversions work for everyone, and for you, it might, it might not. But never give up trying.

You can also try other diversions such as reading your favourite book in a quiet room and dim light, organize your drawer, do any activity that numbs your mind. It could be anything that you like.

But never start watching TV, listening to loud music as these activities will make your mind alert, which will prevent your mind from falling asleep. In addition to that, it disrupts the circadian rhythm and melatonin level in the body, which disrupts the internal clock.

On the other hand, when you try mind-numbing activities, it helps you in getting better sleep. After spending some time on these activities, all your mind would want is to go back to bed and sleep.

Prepare Your Sleep Schedule

Insomnia or sleep deprivation is the cause of consistent reduced quality of sleep or lack of sleep. So when you are on the way to treat it, your efforts should also be for a longer time. The first step is to prepare a sleep schedule and follow it. Try to go to your bed at the same time every day, and leave it at the same time, no matter how your night went.

Avoid sleeping in the daytime, consuming stimulants such as tea or coffee before going to bed.

If the persistent pain in your body is hindering your sleep, talk to your doctor and consume medicines right before you go to bed so that you can have a good night’s sleep.

Conclusion – Sleep deprivation can have a negative effect on your health. Therefore, there is no reason you should miss your sleep. If you are missing it, correct your sleep pattern and if it is already too late, check with your doctor or sleep experts.

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‘SLEEP WELL’ to Make Your Dreams Come True!

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 11:57:39 +0000

Bhavna Malhotra

Consultant – Nutrition & Lifestyle

Email: bhavna.nutritionqueries@hotmail.com

Sleep is the most underrated healing and growth process of the body. With our lives revolving around mobiles, TV, laptops, we are mentally engaged not only during the day but late into the night. As a result, we are mentally tired but physically not ready to call it a day. Sleeping hours are being compromised to squeeze maximum benefits out of a 24-hour day. However, we forget that to reap maximum benefits; we need to have a healthy, rested body and sleep is ‘the’ healing mechanism for our body. It prepares us to face the day with more energy and vigour. Eating right, exercising, keeping active throughout the day have always been considered the essentials of maintaining a healthy body and rightly so but with an increase in the metabolic disorders and mental health issues we need to pay attention to this neglected aspect our lives – SLEEP!

Before going any further, let us first understand how do we fall asleep. We all live by a circadian rhythm which is a 24-hour cycle. Our bodies are designed to be sensitive to the light and dark periods of the day. There is a build of some neurochemicals like adenosine throughout the day in parts of the brain, and when this reaches a particular threshold, you feel the need to sleep and get it cleared from your system. Another chemical called melatonin increases in your brain as the sun goes down. This makes you drowsy and prepares you for sleep. Neurochemicals like cortisol and norepinephrine keep you alert during the day. Now that it is amply clear that our circadian rhythms are ‘sunlight sensitive’ we need to ensure that we keep it aligned for good quality sleep.

Why is it important to get good quality sleep? During deep sleep, our mind and body perform a variety of functions for us –

consolidate our memories
processes emotions and learning
physical recovery
balancing blood sugar levels and metabolism
the immune system is energized
the brain detoxifies (adenosine clearing as mentioned above)

Without deep sleep, these functions cannot take place, and the symptoms of sleep deprivation kick in. Studies have proved that sleep deprivation can have many side effects like poor concentration, memory troubles, mood swings, weakened immunity, obesity, high blood pressure, risk of diabetes, lowered libido, depression/ anxiety and even early ageing.

So what do we do to improve our sleep quality? By following some ‘sleep hygiene’ rules:

Have a light and early dinner (3 hours before bedtime)
Stop using screens/ gadgets at least an hour before bedtime. Blue light emitted from the screens keep you alert.
Try to sleep at the same time daily.
Sleep in a dark, cool room
Exercise daily to get physically tired
Practice deep breathing and meditation to manage stress

7-9 hours of sleep is essential for adults to maintain good metabolic and mental health. Children need more sleep than adults at different stages of life. From 16 hours a day during infancy, 9-12 hours during school age to 8-10 hours during teenage years. That said we need to be mindful of the fact that too much sleep on a regular basis is also linked to depression, obesity and heart ailments. Hence ‘balance’ is the key. Sleep well during the night to make your dreams come to life during the day!

The post ‘SLEEP WELL’ to Make Your Dreams Come True! appeared first on .

sleep well Archives -

Are You Sleeping Well?

Never Give Up With Experiments and Experience

Prepare Your Sleep Schedule

Avoid sleeping in the daytime, consuming stimulants such as tea or coffee before going to bed.

‘SLEEP WELL’ to Make Your Dreams Come True!