Get adequate, restful, fit sleep

Sleep, like many things in life, impacts everything; the way we look, the way we feel, work, eat and most of all function. How different do we feel when we go to bed early, and get a good nights sleep? We wake up rested and we feel great! Sleep is the time where your body recovers and repairs itself. According to the www.sleepfoundation.org the average adult aged 18 to 65 need seven to eight hours of sleep. How much are you getting?

In order for our bodies to fully recover, we need to begin implementing little habits that will make a big difference. Sleep is a healthy habit that you develop and create for yourself. Do you struggle to make yourself go to bed a tad earlier? Try asking yourself these questions in order to pinpoint why exactly you can’t or won’t go to bed earlier than you want….

• When was the last time you stayed up late? What kept you up?
• Did you spend too much time on your cell phone, laptop, watching television, etc.?
• Did you stay up to watch all the shows you missed on TV? Or was it a movie you just had to see the end of?
• Caffeine right before bed?
  • even 4 hours before bed will still be in your bloodstream.
• Are you burdened with stress? or your next day’s to-do list?
• Is there a dip in your bed? (we are not referring to your significant other, be nice)

Now that you have become aware of your problem, you can decide what you have the power to change…and you can change it.

• Stayed up late to watch TV?
  • Do what so many others do and DVR it or use Demand.
• Coffee or Tea to late in the day?
  • Try to be aware of what you eat and drink and what time it is.
• Stress keeping you up?
  • Try some lavender lotion, essential oil, or shampoo before bed to help relax you.

Take Notice of your Sleep:

• When you eat earlier and have a better meal do you sleep better?
• When exercising and losing weight, does your quality of sleep change?
• There are many great apps for this, but Sleep Cycle is an app that helps you wake up at the right time – not between your cycles, but at the end of the right cycle.

Sleep as a Tool: Did you know that the best time to study is right before bed? Pick something that you want to remember, and make it part of your bedtime routine. Learn a new language, memorize a poem. Remember you are the best you when you take care of you.