Nutrition Savvy Blog

Savvy Tips for Healthier Sleep Habits April 25th, 2018

4/25/2018

Sleep Deprivation is Unhealthy and Can Be Life Threatening Over Time

A good night’s sleep is one of the best things you can do to improve your health, energy and brain function. Sleep is the time that our mind and body needs to heal and rejuvenate, and without enough sleep, our health suffers. That means we must find ways to get proper rest. Unfortunately, many people either don’t get enough sleep or can’t sleep. Today, one-third of all Americans get less than 6 hours a night. Per the National Sleep Foundation the average adult needs 8.25 hours of sleep per night. Reducing sleep by 1.5 hours a night reduces alertness by about one-third.

A night or two of sleep deprivation can make you groggy, unfocused and sluggish. These changes are accompanied by slower reaction times, increased appetite and being more emotional. Many of us compensate for these symptoms with caffeine or sugar. Just a week of too little sleep can increase our risk for diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure and depression. Living on less sleep is not a habit we want to keep.

Poor Sleep Habits are Often to Blame for Sleep Deprivation.

We stay up late to complete a work project, get up early to get work and school on time and over-stimulate ourselves with substances and activities. Learning and practicing good “sleep hygiene” for ourselves is essential for our health and the health of our families. Good sleep hygiene habits seem like common sense but putting them into practice takes commitment and planning.

Savvy Tips to Help Improve Your Sleep

Movement – Yep, getting regular exercise and staying active can help you in getting a more restful night. Aim for at least 30 minutes per day to improve your sleep. Don’t exercise too close to bed time or it may keep you awake.
Get out into the sun—even in the winter. Exposure to natural light helps maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle.
Avoid drinking too much alcohol. You may fall asleep quicker but for many, the alcohol will wake you in a couple of hours and prevent you from falling back to sleep. Leading to a restless night of sleep. Alcohol also prevents you from entering the deeper stages of sleep and that is where your body does most of its healing.
Avoid stimulants and coffee. If you can’t live without, limit to 1 – 2 cups in the morning. Caffeine sticks around in the blood for 5 – 10 hours.
Invest in a sleep or sound machine. This will help to prevent those odd night noises from waking you up.
Avoid drinking water 2 – 3 hours before bed. This will help to limit any night-time bathroom visits.
Keep electronics out of the bedroom. TV, phone, computer…
Turn off all electronics an hour before bed. The blue light from TV, pads, phones… tells your pineal gland that it’s time to wake up by blocking melatonin secretion. Grab a real book or a black and white kindle instead. You can also invest in some blue light blocking glasses. You can find them online starting at $10.
Sleep in a very dark room. It is very important to sleep in as close to complete darkness as possible. It’s not the easiest to block out every stream of light so consider getting an eye mask.
Don’t eat after dinner. After dinner snacks and treats will raise your blood sugar and delay sleep. Later in the evening, your blood sugar can drop, this can wake you and leave you unable to fall back to sleep.
Avoid napping in the late afternoon and limit your naps to 30 – 45 minutes.
Go to bed as early as possible and be consistent. Your body does it’s recharging between the hours of 11 pm and 1 am. So it’s key to get to bed by 10 pm. Bonus, go to bed and wake up at the same times each day. This will help your body and mind to get into a healthy sleep pattern.

Tracking your Sleep

Too many things to changes? Consider using a sleep diary to help track your sleep habits for a week to see where you could use a little improvement. Pick one habit that may be interrupting your sleep and try to alter it.

Sleep Diary