Sleep Week - Part 1

So why sleep week?  Why all of a sudden am I spending so much time talking about sleep?

I'll just be honest - I'm a pitiful sleeper.  Wait, that's not quite accurate.  I do sleep well, WHEN I actually sleep.  But the problem is I don't sleep enough.  I have habits of staying up late and getting up early on my work days.

Over the last 6 weeks, I've begun my journey towards healing myself and my health.  And SLEEP is one of the most important habits that I'm working to change.  And let me tell you, it's a daily battle with myself and my brain!  

You know those feelings at night when you just can't turn your brain off because of all that happened during the day?  As a Pharmacist, my brain is "ON" at work for my ENTIRE 12 hour shift, non-stop, dealing with distractions from all directions, constantly thinking and analyzing.  I've decided that this is why I'm struggling to turn my brain off each night :-) 

And those feelings of thinking that you'll just stay up to catch up whatever work needs to be done at home and then catch up your sleep on your day off?

These are all "those" things that are keeping me up too late at night!  But each day, I'm making a conscious effort to change my bad sleep habits.  I'm also working each day to create new sleep habits that will serve me as I'm on my journey towards healing!

All of these reasons are why I've declared this week - SLEEP WEEK!
This week on my social media.  I'm sharing tips to help all of us get a better night sleep and create healthier sleep habits.

First, I'll share some helpful tips for good sleep habits that we can start to create each night for ourselves.

1. Stick to a sleep schedule.  Sleep & wake at the same time each day.  The "money time" for sleep is between 10 pm and 2 am.  These are the most crucial hours for our body to get the most benefit from the rejuvenating effects of sleep throughout our body, beneficial hormone secretions (human growth hormone, melatonin & cortisol), rest and recovery AND to allow our body's to detox and heal from the day.

2. Create a relaxing bedtime schedule.  Start 30 minutes to 1 hour before bed with relaxing habits such as reading a paper book, warm bath, yoga, journaling, listening to calming music, etc.  Doing the same routine each night allows your brain to begin to realize naturally that it's time for sleep.

3. Turn of all electronics at least 90 minutes before bedtime.  The blue light emitted from devices negatively effects our body's natural melatonin production.

4. Sleep in a cool, super dark room that feels relaxing to you.

Food before bed - the truth.

1. Close the kitchen after supper – if you’re feeling snacky, have some herbal tea (non-caffeinated).
2. Try not to eat fatty foods or too much protein at suppertime.  This causes our digestive system to work overtime during the night.  Nighttime is when our digestive system should be resting to allow other healing, recovery and detox functions to work in the body.
3. Try not to eat high carb foods or high sugar foods because this will cause a spike in blood sugar immediately disrupting natural feelings of sleepiness.  Also during the night you’ll have a blood sugar crash that will disrupt sleep.

Here are some more ideas for evening habits that you can add to your nighttime routine.

1. Stretching before bed – to help relax our body, increase flexibility and muscular strength, calm our brains and begin to unwind from the day.  
2. Planning our day the night before – this helps take everything that we want/need to do out of our brains.  A brain dump each night.  Once we have everything on paper, our brain can relax and not think about trying to remember everything.  
3. Journaling – yesterday I mentioned this as a good habit before bed.  This can help you work through all that happened over the course of the day, you can think about how you feel, work through emotions that you’re having, etc.
4. A warm bath 1 ½ to 2 hours before bed helps with temperature regulation.  You’ll initially increase core temperature during the bath, but by the time you go to sleep, your core temp will drop to a more conducive temperature for better sleep.

And the last topic for part 1 of Sleep Week is caffeine!

When is the best time to have coffee?

Caffeine has really interesting effects on our body’s nervous system and endocrine system.

When caffeine effects our endocrine system, it causes release of 2 anti-sleep hormones: adrenaline and cortisol. These tend to help us be more alert during the day, but we don’t want an imbalance of these hormones at night when we should be sleeping.

Tip for helping yourself have a better night sleep: 

Set a caffeine curfew for yourself. 

Consume all caffeine (coffee, chocolate, tea) before 2:00 PM each day.

Thanks for checking out the blog today!

*Disclaimer: The entire contents of this blog are based upon the opinions of Kristin Ratliff, PharmD. The information on this website is not intended as medical advice, nor is it intended to replace the care of a qualified healthcare professional.  Always consult your healthcare provider before changing your healthcare regimen.  *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.