How to improve your SLEEP! ZZZZZZZ

How are you?

If you are like a lot people and find yourself constantly telling others how tired you are when someone asks you the typical, "How are you?" greeting, then this blog is for you! Or if you are tired of looking into the mirror and seeing two dreaded dark circles around those beautiful eyes of yours

then read on!

Gym Life

I work at a kickboxing gym in the morning and like most gyms we open EARLY! I am not a morning person in all honesty, but too have my evenings free is well worth it! As you can guess, sleep is crucial to my success. And as someone who has been hospitalized in the past with mental health issues, sleep is even more crucial. 

When I first switched to morning shifts I was a complete wreck. I literally felt like I was living outside my body some days. I was getting extremely fatigued and my mental health was declining. My sugar binges were getting out of control as a side effect. Less sleep equals more hunger* which was leading to more sleepless nights. I would get so stressed out the night before a shift that I wouldn't sleep well, waking up every hour or so wondering if my alarm was broken and if I would be late. Does this sound familiar? 

Unfortunately, in today's society this is all too common. In fact, not getting enough sleep is  considered a badge of honor. People actually brag about all that they are accomplishing on only four hours of sleep a night. Woof! This needs to change people!  It's not something to be proud of! 

Take a look at some of the problems that lack of sleep causes...

Increased risk of car accidents	Increased accidents at work	Reduced ability to perform tasks
Reduced ability to learn or remember	Reduced productivity at work	Reduced creativity at work or in other activities
Reduced athletic performance	Increased risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease	Increased risk of depression
Increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease	Decreased immune function	Slowed reaction time
Reduced regulation of emotions and emotional perception	Poor grades in school	Increased susceptibility to stomach ulcers
Exacerbates current chronic diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and cancer	Cutting one hour of sleep a night increases the expression of genes associated with inflammation, immune excitability, diabetes, cancer risk and stress19	Contributes to premature aging by interfering with growth hormone production, normally released by your pituitary gland during deep sleep

This graphic was taken from an article by Dr. Mercola who is a health mentor to me even though he doesn't know I exist. I've been following him for years and I consider his material to be outstanding in it's detail and accuracy. His vision for seeking truth has 100 % changed my life! Sign up for his email send outs! 

https://blogs.mercola.com/sites/vitalvotes/default.aspx

The list is actually quite a bit longer than that graphic! But those are just a few.

Now lets look at 3 keys to SLEEP SUCCESS!

The 3 Keys

Enjoying consistent, successful sleep lies in 3 key areas: Routine, Melatonin 

production and letting go of control. 

Keys 1+2: Routine and Melatonin Production

The first two keys go hand in hand since your nighttime routine can either aid or inhibit your melatonin production. First I will break down my routine and then I'll throw in a couple of extras for you to try! 

Step 1: I put on my BLUE LIGHT blocking glasses

Have you ever noticed how quickly and easily it is to fall asleep when you are out camping? You can't stay awake it's so hard!

Why is this you might ask? Three words, NO BLUE LIGHT.  

Blue light is a spectrum of light that comes from the sun, TV, computers, cell phones, lamps, alarm clocks, hell even my laptop charging cord emits blue light. It's everywhere in our modern electronic society and unfortunately too often at the wrong time. Blue light tricks your brain into thinking it's daytime, therefore stopping your brain from producing Melatonin. A key brain chemical that is necessary for quality sleep. Most Americans end their day with Netflix or scrolling through Facebook while lying in bed. This is a recipe for disaster! Especially without blue light blocking glasses or a device that allows you to turn of blue light. (Check your phone, laptop, TV settings for the option to turn off blue light) 

It will take you that much longer after your Netflix, Facebook time is complete to fall asleep and will generally lead to poor quality sleep overall. Not to mention the dreaded torture of laying in bed thinking, and thinking, and thinking for what feels like hours!

 https://www.amazon.com/Uvex-Blocking-Computer-SCT-Orange-S1933X/dp/B000USRG90
Link to buy glasses from Amazon! $10 bucks

Step 2: I Drink a 8 ounce glass of water with Magnesium and Lemon

Water is always good before bed since most of us don't get enough during the day anyway and we are about to go 8 hours without any. However, if you are a big water drinker then don't overdue it since it might cause you to wake up to go the bathroom in the middle of the night. Or you might have stressful dreams about needing to go the bathroom! I would recommend drinking water at the beginning of your routine so by the time you are ready to jump into to bed you can get a quick pee in. 

Magnesium is an essential electrolyte that most of us don't get enough of either. It naturally lowers your heart rate which is great for those that struggle with anxiety. It helps two folds:

First it lessens physical anxiety symptoms, which will help improve your mental state. Secondly, the effect of heart rate lowering will also lower your body's temperature. If your body temperature is to high than it can prevent you from sleeping and studies show that between 60-68 degrees is the temperature you want to set your thermometer at for optimal sleep. 

The lemon is mainly to make my drink tasty since it can be a little strange with just the magnesium and water. However, as we all well know lemon is a great source of vitamin C and can help balance your body's PH (your body operates optimally with a certain amount of acidity) so it's a great addition. 

Step 3. Brush my teeth

Pretty self explanatory. I actually make my own toothpaste out of coconut oil and essential oils to avoid consuming fluoride (it's a poison) that is in many name brand toothpastes. 

I try and keep the light off when I brush or dim the lights so that I am not taking in too much BLUE LIGHT. The glasses don't block everything. 

Step 4: Make my bed

Don't you hate that feeling when you try and pull your covers up higher and then your feet are exposed? Then you spend the next few minutes playing twister trying to get it all set up right. Yeah lets avoid that. 

Step 5: Read my kindle

Yes reading! Believe me it helps. And it has to do with Key # 3; Letting go of control (keep read below)

Kindle's do emit some blue light, so I either keep my BLUE LIGHT blocking glasses on or I turn the overall brightness way down. After a few minutes of reading I can't stay awake! I set my kindle down and I am usually asleep within a few minutes! WHOO! Success!

Also, I want to mention BLUE LIGHT isn't inherently bad, the sun emits blue light and you absolutely need it during the day! But past a certain time it becomes harmful to your sleep!

Other Options for your Routine

• Take a warm shower at night an hour before getting in your bed

-This will abruptly drop your body temperature when you get out putting you in the right temperature range for quality sleep.

• Listen to an audiobook or podcast while lying in bed

-I find that podcasts are a little bit too stimulating for me personally and it actually keeps me awake, but for some it's great.

• Drink hot herbal tea

-I add this in occasionally especially during wintertime since I'm already cold enough at night to be in the right temperature range. During the summer sometimes it makes me feel too hot. Chamomile/Peppermint herbal (no caffeine) work well. 

• Meditation

-Guided meditation podcasts works great, Google "Kaiser Meditation Podcasts" for some awesome free ones I use all the time! Or you can do self meditation breathing exercises. 

• Stretching

-Personally I find stretching increases my body temperature too much to be in the optimal range, but as I'm literally writing this I just realized I could start with stretching earlier in my routine! Duh me!

Letting Go of Control

Can you guess what thoughts keeps most people up at night lying in their beds?  

People worrying about when and if they will fall asleep, or the ramifications if they can't fall asleep.

The truth is you don't have any control of when you fall asleep. You can control all the variables above to put your body in the best possible position to fall asleep, but ultimately your body decides. This can be scary for some, but also freeing for many. What's the point of worrying? Worrying creates what's called a "Self-Fulfilling Prophecy"  We don't fall asleep because we are worrying about it. In essence worrying is us trying to control something. It's a subtle form for fear. It's the same reason economy's have recessions. If enough people believe a recession is happening then a recession will happen. Not because there was an actual recession happening, but because enough people "Believed one did" aka Self-Fulfilling, or group-fulfilling in this case. Our sleep is the same. We don't have control, but if we "believe" we do then we will worry about not succeeding, because we humans, fail at things. No matter what though we can count on our bodies forcing us to sleep at some point. We can enjoy and trust that our bodies will make us sleep. It's going to happen, it's inevitable. It's survival for our bodies, so it will do what it needs to do, regardless of how you feel. We don't ever have to worry, because we are not in control. And that is a good thing! 

By deciding to read, listen to an audiobook or meditate you are making an active choice. You are choosing to believe that you are not in control and it's not worth your time attempting to worry yourself into sleeping.  Once your mind is clear of worry then you'll find yourself nodding off and you can't keep yourself awake!  

Hope you enjoyed this blog, please subscribe or comment below or contact me so I can add you to the email list!

Here are some articles about sleep from Dr. Mercola if you want to learn more!

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/09/08/sleep-deprivation-brain-health.aspx

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/03/27/sleep-deprivation-risks.aspx

*https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/12/14/chronic-sleep-deprivation.aspx

Quick note:

-If you are an employee reading this make sure you advocate for yourself to work consistent morning shift times. Make your bosses read this if need be! Or if you do graveyard shifts then make sure you are extremely well compensated because long term it's very harmful and only do for short spurts at a time. 

-If you are a boss please prioritize not only your own sleep but that of your employees. Happy employees lead to happy customers and not the other way around. Keep morning shift times consistent and don't pressure employees to work the graveyard shift all year round. Please and thank you!