Wellness Guide: Week 1
Part 1: ADD 30 Minutes of Sleep Each Night
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If you are an all or nothing type of person, then you are ready jump in and add and subtract everything at once.
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If you want a slower approach, then each week add something new to heal and subtract something that may be detrimental to your health.
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If you think you need even more time to adjust, then add on week 1 and subtract on week 2.
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You will be eliminating many foods at the beginning but don’t worry, you can try to add some of them back at the end.
Week 1: ADD 30 minutes of sleep each night
Sleep More! My health didn’t improve until I figured out a way to get myself to bed earlier. For years I slept less than 6 hours a night and prided myself in how much I could get accomplished with little sleep. I viewed sleep as a waste of time and didn’t realize that not sleeping enough was not allowing my body to rest, heal and recover. This was one of the main contributors to my failing health. Sometimes life prevents us from getting enough sleep but everyone should try to sleep…not just be in bed…at least 8 hours each night. Those with a health condition should try to get even more…up to 10 hours.
According to the U.S. Gallup Poll, the number of hours that we are sleeping each night has been declining since 1942 resulting in about 1.5 hours less sleep per night. This is affecting the health of our brains (attention, decision making, memory, mental health), hormones, immune system and is probably the leading cause of chronic disease.
Can you make up the sleep you miss during the week on the weekends? It certainly didn’t work for me! This is called sleep debt and it is better to slowly increase your daily average than to try to make it all up in one day. Eventually sleep debt will cause your health to suffer especially body weight and metabolism.
If you are having trouble improving your sleep time and quality try these suggestions:
1. Use a sleep tracker (Fitbit, Motiv) to track your sleep and see if you are getting 4-5 normal sleep cycles each night.
2. Get 20 minutes of direct sunlight without sunscreen or sunglasses each day.
3. For the last 2-3 hours before bedtime, avoid bright/blue light. Blue light is the sun’s wavelength that tells your brain that it is daylight or time to get up. At night you want to avoid it and use red or yellow wavelengths to tell your body it is nighttime. Blue lights include all of your light bulbs, electronic devices and TVs. Try using amber or red bulbs, use f.lux on your computers and the Night Shift feature on cell phones. Wear amber glasses especially if you are looking at the TV or other electronic devices.
4. Sleep in a completely dark room without any lights such as LED lights on devices.
5. Establish an evening routine that helps you unwind before bed. Take a salt bath, meditate, pray, read…whatever relaxes you instead of watching TV or social media.
6. Allow at least two hours between your last meal and bedtime.
7. Avoid caffeine and sugar especially after 2 pm.
8. Increase your magnesium at bedtime by taking supplements, using magnesium oil/lotion, or taking an Epsom salt bath.
9. Learn to manage your stress during the day.
10. Take a quick nap in the afternoon if you are unable to get enough sleep at night.
11. If you are still having trouble either getting to sleep or staying asleep, check out the “Go to Sleep” program by Dr. Sarah Ballantye or see your healthcare practitioner.
This week add 30 minutes of sleep each night then in Week 8 I’ll ask you to add more sleep. It is no mistake that sleep is the first step is the wellness guide! You will feel better able to tackle the changes that you want to make for your health!
Share with me what is helping you to improve your sleep!