CHI TIP: Sleep!
Cypress Health Institute (CHI) offers this weekly tip as a part of our ongoing educational outreach. This week’s tip is about sleep.
Did you know that your body needs sleep as much as it needs to eat, drink & breathe? Sleep is vital in your body’s processes to maintain your health, lower your stress levels & raise your emotional well-being. Here are a few tips to improve your sleep & your health!
Sleep & awake naturally if you can. Sleeping when it gets dark and rising with the sun follows the light sensors on our body that trigger hormonal regulation throughout the day. Limit TV / computer exposure and turn down the lights at home for at least ½ hour before bed to allow for your body to adjust to the natural darkness outside.
Keep things dark. Use blackout curtains or a face mask. Keep electronics out of the bedroom. Even the smallest artificial lights from computers or alarm clocks can disrupt the hormonal regulation of sleep.
Think Goldilocks –Just right. Keep things just right temperature-wise. Too hot will interrupt REM cycles and dehydrate you. Too cold keeps you shivering and unsettled. If REM sleep is interrupted, you have to start all over with Stage I sleep again.
You need more sleep than you think! Eight hours should probably be the bare minimum. Each hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after.
If you follow these few tips, you should see an improvement in mood, clarity & energy in a very short time!
“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”
Thomas Dekker