07 Jun Tired All The Time? Sort Yourself With Sleep.

So how was your sleep last night? What about the night before that? Did you go to bed before 10pm in a cool, darkened room and sleep without waking for 8 gorgeous hours? Did you wake naturally, refreshed, energised, feeling calm and positive? No? Really? Well this sadly is the reality for a very large number of women, who in fact rarely experience this. Unfortunately the complaint of “I’m exhausted all the time” has become a perfectly acceptable state of norm. We are tired all the time. How wrong is that!

Too busy to sleep.
When Ironically the more tired we are, combined with the sleep we are too busy to have, the more we come unravelled…big time!

Burning out.
I can speak from personal experience when I recall a time where anything over 5 hours felt like a bonus. Waking with adrenalin pumping fiercely through my body after only minimal sleep and then heading out in the dark to get my exercise in was a perfectly acceptable existence. I was totally knackered. Wired and tired! I am here to tell you that if you are getting by on minimal sleep and feel like you are coping okay then it is time to take stock. Burning out is not the necessary price for accomplishment and success.

Just getting by.
Sleep is often the first thing to go when we are busy. You think you can just ‘get by’ with five hours sleep and you’ll be fine, right? WRONG! We need sleep to function well. It is absolutely vital for our mental, physical and emotional well-being. Getting good-quality sleep (and enough of it) should be as high on your priority list as regular exercise and a healthy diet.

Why lack of sleep is bad for our health – really bad.
There is a wealth of evidence showing that too few zzzzs can have significant and a very negative impact on our health and wellbeing. Sleep is absolutely key to amazing health. Sleep affects our physical and mental health enormously. A bad night’s sleep massively impacts alertness, concentration, memory, mood and productivity. It can also lower our immunity, contribute to weight gain and increase our risk of serious disease. Without enough sleep, we may well continue to function but we certainly do not continue to function well. Sleep is the key to feeling great and functioning at your personal best.

Today we know more about the science of sleep than ever before and how important it is to every aspect of our wellbeing. However, getting enough sleep seems harder and harder. It’s also the delusion that overwork, stress and burnout are the inevitable prices we must pay in order to succeed.

Tired all the time. Here are some suggestions for getting a great night’s sleep:

Sleep in a darkened room. This supports the body’s natural hormonal patterns to send you off to sleep and keep you that way.

• Get to sleep by 10pm. Most of the body’s repair work is done prior to 3am so the more sleep you can get before this time, the fresher and more vital you will feel on waking
• Switch Off! Computers, televisions and phones interfere with your natural sleep hormones and affect your beauty sleep big time. Ideally have technology free time for an hour before bed.
• Avoid doing work for 2 hours before bed and engaging your brain in this way.
• Avoid stimulants in the afternoon. Eliminating caffeine after 3pm is a good idea.
• Avoid excessive alcohol before bed. Although alcohol is a sedative, it disrupts quality of sleep by causing us to wake when our blood-alcohol levels start to fall.
• Keep the temperature in the bedroom at a comfortable level. Don’t overheat with piles of blankets and keep some fresh air coming into the room during the night.
• Find a way to relax before bed. Often a bath, a cup of herbal tea, a book, some light stretching or even some slow deep breaths can help to clear your mind and enable you to fall into a deeper sleep.

So how much sleep do we need?
Seven to eight hours. Most experts consider this the optimal level of sleep and it should lead you to wake feeling rested and ready for the day ahead.

So it’s about time you got some serious shut eye.
It is so important to schedule maximum (quality) sleep time for yourself if you want to start feeling amazing from the inside out. Rather than trudging through your day, wake up feeling calm, clear, joyful, focused, productive and happy. There is a new kind of normal – just go to bed!

Contact me if you are interested in learning how you can fit more sleep and self-care into your busy life. http://www.chasingsunrise.com.au/contact/