Step by Step: Restoring your Sleep Cycle

Originally published for Avenues of Wellness.

Do you feel like you get enough sleep each night? A Gallup poll from 2013 found that for four in ten Americans, the answer is a resounding “no.”  Logging too few hours of sleep each night is linked to poor concentration and chronic health issues such as depression, obesity, and hypertension, according to the Institute of Medicine. The outcome of a good night’s sleep extends beyond feeling renewed and refreshed the next day – although those benefits are reason enough to turn out the lights a little earlier tonight. Regularly recording more than the seven hours of sleep that is recommended for adults promotes an improved memory, strengthened immune system, a sharper mental state, a boost in creativity, and an easier time maintaining a healthy weight. Getting additional sleep each night can also lower overall stress levels and help fight depression.

If you who don’t wake up feeling as rejuvenated as you would like, there is hope. Whether you choose to develop a pre-bedtime routine or simply turn on a fan before you turn out the lights, you can improve your shut-eye with a few simple changes:

• Stick to a sleep schedule. Going to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time every day (including weekends!) will train your body to maximize the hours that you spend in bed.
• Develop a pre-bedtime routine that lets your body know that it’s time for sleep. Your routine may include taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, journaling, or meditation.
• Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine before bed. Although alcohol consumption may allow you to fall asleep more quickly, it actually disrupts your sleep cycle and lowers your quality of sleep. Try decaffeinated tea instead.
• If your environment is too noisy for you to easily fall asleep, try wearing earplugs or sleeping with a noise machine or fan nearby. The soft white noise will drown out occasional noises that may disrupt your sleep cycle.
• An hour before bedtime, avoid using electronics – the blue light from your device tricks your body into thinking that it’s still daytime. If you find yourself tempted to check your phone near bedtime, try placing your phone farther from your bed so that it’s out of reach.

This month’s challenge: Pick one of the above tips to improve sleep quality and try it out for three days. See if this helps you fall asleep and notice how you feel when you wake up in the morning. Do you have more energy? Do you feel more focused throughout your day?

Avenues to Wellness was created especially for Inland Mendocino County by the Frank R. Howard Foundation. Visit www.avenuestowellness.org or email atwforhealth@gmail.com for more information and for the upcoming ATW Speaker Series presentation at the Willits Senior Center the first Tuesday of each month.

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Emily is currently serving as a Community HealthCorps Educator for the Alliance for Rural Community Health in Mendocino County. She is a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison, majoring in Kinesiology, and is attending medical school in the fall at the University of Arizona - Phoenix."