So, those of you who know my history, you may remember how when I went through that dark time in my life, my sleep was affected so badly that my GP wanted to send me to a sleep specialist because I was getting sleep paralysis far too frequently. With everything that was going on at the time, I was sick of yet another thing not being stable in my life. Believe it or not, I ignored every letter referral that was sent to my house and I managed to eventually fix it myself with weight training 4 days a week and cleaning up my nutrition. I couldn’t believe by just changing these into lifestyle habits meant I never had sleep issues again. Regardless of whether you are a night owl or an early bird, it is vital that you are getting enough sleep. Obviously, every person’s individual lifestyle is different: some of us may have young kids or new-borns who wake up repetitively during the night, causing you to feel like a zombie most of the time. Many of you may have to travel a lot for business, others may do shift work. Some of you may play video games until the early hours or some of you might just have a very active social life so especially at weekends, you’d be lucky to nab 6 hours! Just remember: your ‘sleep is the best meditation’- (The Dalai Lama) and I will be explaining more why this is the case.
MY EXPERIENCE OF A SLEEP DISORDER-SLEEP PARALYSIS
2015 - my previous job as a teacher, the worst stress I have ever felt in my whole life. Hated the job, had a relationship that was breaking down, wasn’t training and my nutrition was also terrible. All these things combined meant due to such high stress levels I kept suffering with sleep paralysis. Some of you may not even know what it is, because it’s quite rare. It was the scariest experience the first time I had it, but when I kept getting it, I knew my lifestyle had to change because my body was crying out to me.
Basically, when you sleep, your muscles completely relax-which is why you rarely act out the actions in your dreams. Sleep paralysis is when your muscles have completely relaxed but you’re actually still awake and conscious but completely paralysed. I remember the first time my eyes opened I was staring at the ceiling trying to move my fingers, but I couldn’t. Some people hallucinate with sleep paralysis and luckily I didn’t get that. Instead you also feel as if your body is being raised to the ceiling-so if felt as if my nose was touching the top of my bedroom wall. It is almost like a paranormal out of body experience. I can’t even tell you how many minutes it lasted-it could have been 1 minute, it could have been a few seconds, but it is a strong sign that your body is telling you to look after it. I was so stressed in my previous job that I would often lay awake at night thinking and dreaming about work and all the things I had to do. I’m just glad that I took initiative to start training and eating well, removing myself from a job that was deeply affecting my mental and physical wellbeing and I managed to fix it myself rather than go down the path of sleep therapy. It is no coincidence that as soon as I adapted to a healthier lifestyle, it stopped and I’ve never experienced it since.
WHY YOU MUST PRIORITISE SLEEP
It is so much more important than just avoiding getting those dark circles and bags under your eyes. Sleep is vital for you emotionally and physically. Everyone knows when you’re overtired your brain doesn’t function nearly as well. View sleep as a restoration for your body-we are like computers that have shut down for the night.
Sleep controls our blood sugar levels and keeps all our internal organs working efficiently as well affecting the insulin levels. If you lack sleep, less insulin is released to regulate and metabolise glucose so you could be at more risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Ever wondered why you are ravenous if you haven’t had a good night’s sleep? It could be because your leptin hormone (which is the appetite suppressing hormone) lowers and your ghrelin hormone (which stimulates hunger) increases. Cortisol your stress hormone also raises. Could sleep be a reason why you aren’t able to lose body fat effectively, or able to stick to a diet?
Many individuals who don’t have good sleep are more prone to getting ill seeing as when we sleep, our immune system produces infection fighting substances. Not to mention, if I have not had a good night’s sleep my mood is deeply affected. This can then affect your daily life; it may affect your work, cause you to make mistakes, make your reactions while driving slower and you may be more irritable with loved ones because you are stressed, frustrated and you find it hard to judge people’s reactions.
The recommended amount of sleep for an adult is 7-8 hours a day, obviously the younger you are, the more sleep you need as sleep aids growth and development. Yes, if you don’t get enough sleep naps are a great way to provide a short -term boost in alertness but you can’t ever really make up for lost sleep.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP
Firstly, I would advise you reflect on how much sleep you are getting at the moment. The amazing thing about smart watches these days is that it’s easy to track. Wear your watch at night every night for a week and see how alert you feel during the day and whether you feel rested enough. Especially if you do shift work, sleep should be your biggest priority. Some of you may have always had problems with your sleep but just accepted it, given that you’ve had it your whole life whether it’s insomnia or other types of sleep disorder. I would strongly advise you see a GP, don’t just accept it. Try and work out the cause for your lack of sleep-is it your lifestyle that can be helped or if you have young children are there opportunities for you to sleep that you CAN control?
The best ways to improve your sleep is to try and go to bed and wake up at similar times each day, even at weekends. Have set times and one hour before you go to bed have your ‘me time’. Read a book and chill out, avoid bright lights or staring at your phone before bed. Try and avoid heavy or large meals before bed, snacks are fine but eating in excess before bed can affect your digestion, especially as your body is slowing down. Avoid caffeine too close to bedtime (my cut off point is about 3.30pm/4pm) just because I wouldn’t want it interfering with my sleep. Have a hot bath before bed to set you up for relaxation and ensure your room is dark. One thing that has really changed my life especially during the winter months when it’s pitch black outside when I leave for work is having a Wakeup Sunrise Alarm clock. This has been an absolute game changer for me. Instead of having my eyes closed when my alarm used to go off and shielding my eyes from the bathroom light, this alarm clock has been amazing to wake me up gradually with the sunrise light, that very slowly gets brighter until it wakes you up with the sounds of birds. These are easily purchased off Amazon and are decently priced about £20-£30 depending on the brand.
So, whether you are an early bird or a night owl, keep to your sleeping schedule and start prioritising your sleep. Think of the long term benefits on your health.
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