7 best Strategies For Improving Your Sleep
Reasons Why Sleep is Beneficial
To begin with, let me give you the reasons why sleep is beneficial for your health especially when you are trying to achieve pregnancy.
I believe that sleep belongs to the top pillars of health, along with nutrition and movement – it is a basic part of our overall health and wellbeing.
Sleep affects all aspects of our health and, conversely, it is affected by everything that is going on in our mind and body, as well as in our surroundings. That’s why we must investigate our sleep problems and search for solutions.
We must realize that sleep makes up one-third of our lives, this is big – yet, we hardly pay any notice, unless our sleep is disturbed. Some of us would wish we could skip over this part of life, or try to sleep less, thinking we’ll be able to be more productive or have more fun.
Nothing is further from the truth! That’s because sleep isn’t an option or a luxury; it’s a necessity. If we don’t get enough, our productivity and fun times will suffer.
Sleep impacts all of our body systems – cardiovascular, muscular, nervous, endocrine, skeletal, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and most especially the reproductive system.
Sleep also affects our metabolism, and is closely linked to weight gain and loss. Poor sleep also has been linked to cancer, injuries, poor brain health and even an increased risk of glaucoma.
Doesn’t something this important deserve our attention?
Subsequently, getting enough sleep is vital for maintaining optimal health and well-being when trying to achieve pregnancy naturally.
Like exercise and a balanced diet, sleep may help prevent a range of health issues, including heart disease and depression.
Modern-day living in the United States and many other countries does not always embrace the necessity for adequate sleep. Yet, it is important that we make an effort to get enough sleep regularly.
other benefits of improving your ZZZ's
Let’s investigate some of the many benefits healthcare providers associate with getting a good night’s rest.
Researchers noted that sleep has links to several brain functions, including:
- Memory: Sleep disruption may affect memory processing and formation.
- Performance: Our performance at work, school, and other settings is affected by sleep disruption. This includes focus, emotional reactivity, decision-making, risk-taking behavior, and judgment.
- Cognition: By affecting stress hormones, sleep disruption may affect cognition.
There have been several studies throughout the years that have linked obesity and poor sleep patterns.
A 2018 studyTrusted Source suggests that people who regularly sleep less than seven hours a night are more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI) and develop obesity than those who sleep more.
Researchers suggested sleep deprivation is associated with higher levels of gherlin (the hunger hormone), salt retention and inflammatory markers. They also noted that decreased sleep results in increased fatigue, which may affect a person’s desire or ability to exercise and maintain a healthful lifestyle.
Similarly to gaining weight, there is evidence to suggest that getting a good night’s sleep can help our body take in fewer calories.
Did you know that a 2022 clinical trial found that overweight adults who increased their sleep duration took in fewer calories compared with a control group?
The adults increased their sleep by 1.2 hours on average, and took in around 270 calories fewer than the control group. The researchers suggested that improving and maintaining healthy sleep duration could help with weight loss and obesity prevention.
4. Better
endurance, accuracy and reaction time
As Adults, we need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night. Get this sleep now, when you get pregnant, this would be hard to come by.
Sleep is important for those of us who are participating in strenuous activities because the body heals during sleep.
Other benefits include:
- better endurance
- more energy
- better accuracy and reaction time
- faster speed
- better mental functioning
One risk factor for heart disease is high blood pressure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source, getting adequate rest each night allows the body’s blood pressure to regulate itself.
When we get a good night’s sleep, we can also reduce the chances of sleep-related conditions such as apnea and promote better overall heart health.
Sleep has links to our emotional and social intelligence. If we do not get adequate sleep, we will more likely have issues with recognizing other people’s emotions and expressions.
For example, a 2022 study looked into the relationship between sleep quality and duration and emotional intelligence.
477 participants were asked to complete questionnaires about sleep habits and emotional intelligence. People who routinely experienced higher quality sleep tended to perceive themselves as having better emotional intelligence, such as doing well in social interactions, maintaining relationships, feeling positive and controlling impulses.
The association between sleep and mental health has been the subject of research for a long time. A 2016 meta-analysisTrusted Source concluded that insomnia is significantly associated with an increased risk of depression.
The review suggests that sleep loss may result in cognitive alterations that lead to depression risk.
Sleep disturbance may also impair emotional regulation and stability, as well as altering neural processes, which may all lead to symptoms of depression.
There is a link between getting adequate sleep and reducing inflammation in the body.
For example, a 2019 study found a significant positive association between greater sleep inconsistency and higher levels of inflammation, particularly in women.
The study suggested that inconsistent sleep, where a person goes to bed at inconsistent times or wakes up at different times each night, can disturb the body’s process of regulating inflammation during sleep.
Sleep helps our body repair, regenerate, and recover. The immune system is no exception to this relationship. Deep sleep is for our body to repair itself and strengthen our immune system.
here are 7 strategies to improve quality of sleep which I incorporate personally
1. First, Sleep is a time for assimilation of food and thoughts, so limit heavy meals and heavy discussions within the three hours before sleep. This allows digestion of ideas and food to be completed during waking hours, and the path is set for utilization and storage during sleep.
2. Then, Wake up at the same time every day, including weekends and vacations.
3. Equally important is to develop a calming, quiet, relaxing bedtime routine or ritual to act as a buffer from the stress of our day. Consider reading a book, taking a warm bath, or drinking herbal tea like chamomile or lemon balm.
4. Next, minimize non-sleep activities in bed (e.g., watching TV).
5. In addition, exercise releases tension that builds up in our body during the day, while also using energy. This sets the stage for our body to slow down and be tired when it is time for sleep. Get exercise during the day to help you get to sleep faster and sleep longer.
6. And Invest in a blackout curtain. Make your bedroom environment comfortable: keep the room temperature cool, minimize noise and light, and keep your clock out of clear view to prevent clock watching.
7. Finally: Meditation, relaxation techniques, breathing exercise. As we inhale, notice a faint sensation of coolness at the openings of our nostrils. Our lungs will warm that air, which will create a gentle sensation of warmth in the nostrils as we exhale. As we focus on the coolness of the airflow during inhalation and the warmth of the airflow during exhalation, the mind becomes quiet—its conversations cease.
To wrap up, we learn that sleep is vital to our lives. Why?
Because sleep isn’t an option or a luxury; it’s a necessity. If we don’t get enough, our productivity and fun times will suffer. . Like exercise and a balanced diet, sleep may help prevent a range of health issues, including heart disease and depression. And Sleep helps our body repair, regenerate, and recover.
What are some of the strategies to help us get some quality zzz’s?
We should limit heavy meals before sleep, then sleep at the same time each night, develop a relaxing bed time ritual, get a blackout curtain and put it in your bedroom and finally, meditate and practice deep breathing exercise.
Going after your goals without a plan and support is like getting in the car to drive
to a destination without plugging in your GPS first…
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