With our lives becoming busier and busier, sleep can often be the first thing we sacrifice for things that seem “higher priority” in life. Fatigue, poor concentration, stress and low energy levels, are just a few signs that our priorities around sleep may need reassessing.
Quality sleep not only enhances the immune system but repairs the body and renews our energy. In short, sleep helps us recover from the demands of our busy lives and reset the body and mind for tomorrow. The key to sleep is to understand the hormones that control it and the routine required to maximise it. When you do this, you’ll be back to peak performance in no time.
THE HORMONES:
Cortisol – released in response to both daylight and physical activity and designed to keep you awake and alert.
Melatonin – released in response to darkness and designed to help you sleep and repair your body.
THE SLEEP ROUTINE:
5 simple steps can assist to set you up for a great nights sleep.
1) Unwind
Listen to soothing music, read a relaxing book under a dim light, take a bath or mediate. Start this process at least 2 hours before you go to bed, in order to build up natural levels of melatonin.
2) Create a regular sleep pattern
Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning i.e. head on the pillow at 10 pm and out of bed at 6 am. Winding down with the sun and waking up with it, is a great way of ensuring we follow our biological rhythms.
3) Limit over-activity
Avoid exercise and manual labour before bed as they can significantly impact not only the quantity but quality of your sleep.
4) Avoid bright light
Within 2-3 hours of going to bed, dim your lights and avoid television/computer use – bright light tells the body it is still day-time and promotes the release of cortisol.
5) Sleep in complete darkness
Cover or digital alarms, use black-out curtains on windows and avoid falling asleep in front of the TV.
SLEEP SUMMARY:
Sleep quality relates to how well we can, as night takes hold, reduce our levels of cortisol and increase our levels of melatonin. These can be achieved by relaxing more, sleeping regular hours, reducing activity and creating a cave like darkness in the bedroom.