Top 10 Sleep Tips and Facts from this past year!
Did you know this upcoming week is Sleep week? Starting with Daylight Savings, going into National Napping Day and ending on our favorite, World Sleep Day. And one way we are celebrating this glorious sleepy week is by sharing our community's favorite sleep tips and facts from this past year! For those of you not following us on our social media channels, we share sleep tips and facts weekly to help our community get the sleep you need.
1) Fall Asleep in 10 seconds with the Military Method:
- Relax your entire face, including the muscles inside your mouth.
- Drop your shoulders to release the tension and let your hands drop to the side of your body.
- Exhale, relaxing your chest.
- Relax your legs, thighs, and calves.
- Clear your mind for 10 seconds by imagining a relaxing scene.
- If this doesn’t work, try saying the words “don’t think” over and over for 10 seconds.
- Within 10 seconds, you should fall asleep!
2) Ban work from the bedroom:
Beds should be used only for sleep and sex — nothing else. Bringing work into the bedroom is a surefire way to discourage quality sleep.
It is best to take work materials, computers and televisions out of the sleeping environment. If you associate a particular activity or item with anxiety about sleeping, omit it from your bedtime routine.
3) In bed breathing exercise:
There’s a reason we pant when we get excited or nervous. Mouth breathing stresses your body, while nasal breathing keeps your body in a steady, more relaxed state.
Tune in to your nasal breathing with this yoga breathing control technique known as nadi shodhana. Sitting up, breathe in through one nostril while you gently block the other one by pressing your finger against it. When you exhale, release your finger and breathe through the other nostril, blocking the opposite nostril.
4) Exercising regularly makes it easier to fall asleep:
Exercising regularly makes it easier to fall asleep and contributes to deeper sleep. However, exercising sporadically or right before going to bed will make falling asleep more difficult.
5) Don't go to bed hungry or stuffed:
In particular, avoid heavy or large meals within a couple of hours of bedtime. Your discomfort might keep you up. Nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol deserve caution, too. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine take hours to wear off and can wreak havoc on quality sleep. And even though alcohol might make you feel sleepy, it can disrupt sleep later in the night.
6) Dim the lights before you go to bed.
Exposure to bright lights just before bed might negatively affect your chance of getting quality - and quantity- sleep. Light suppresses the secretion of melatonin, the hormone that influences your circadian rhythms and tells your body it's time to sleep. Also, consider changing your light bulbs to ones with 'color temperature' of less than 3,000 kelvins. These soft/warm varieties can reduce the light's effects on your nervous system.
7) Most of the population is deficient in essential nutrient magnesium:
Reduce stress and improve your sleep with a magnesium supplement or magnesium-rich food like almonds, dark chocolate, and spinach.
8) Try a relaxing bath or shower before bed:
Studies indicate that they can improve overall sleep quality and help people — especially older adults — fall asleep faster. In one study, a hot bath 90 minutes before bed improved sleep quality and helped people get more deep sleep.
Alternatively, if you don't want to take a full bath at night, simply bathing your feet in hot water can help you relax and improve sleep.
9) Evaluate your room:
Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep. Your bedroom should be cool – between 60 and 67 degrees. Your bedroom should also be free from any noise that can disturb your sleep. Finally, your bedroom should be free from any light. Check your room for noises or other distractions. This includes a bed partner's sleep disruptions such as snoring.
10) Sleep debt is cumulative:
The average grown-up who misses a few hours of sleep a night in a row will suffer similar effects of someone who has missed a full night of sleep.
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This week we are also offering 15% off Gravity Products**, use code SleepWeek at checkout to redeem.
