Wednesday 20 April 2016

Healthy Living Series: Week 3- Adequate Sleep

The irony is not lost on me that as I write this post, it is 25 minutes past my "bedtime" on a work night.  Ugh.  We have been away for the past week and I am playing catch up!

Sleep is super important to your overall health.  Your body heals and does important work while you sleep.  The recommended amount is 7-9 hours for women.  I am happy to say that I usually meet that target, although that there are definitely nights when I don't!   When you have young children, sleep can be interrupted.  I am okay with that.  Babies grow up and stop needing midnight cuddles.  I am going to enjoy the cuddles while I can!

I try to stick to the same bedtime every night and I try to wake up around the same time every morning.  I do have a toddler who helps with the wake up call if I want to sleep in!  I usually go to bed at 11 p.m. and I wake up around 6 a.m. on a work day.  On my days off, I will sleep until 7 a.m..  Sticking to consistent bedtimes and wake up times helps your body find a routine, which can make it easier to sleep.

Before I go to bed I try to get my stuff in order for the next day (especially if I have work the next morning).  I have a bath or shower.  I pray and sometimes write in my prayer journal.  I then go to sleep.  My bedtime routine helps to relax me and get me ready for bed.

I struggle to get enough sleep every single night of the week.  I can usually do it 4-5 nights out of my week.  The nights that I don't get sleep are often because Miss. E is having a bad night, or I am getting things ready so that we can sell the house.  Life is fluid and we can't always prevent every interruption.  My best advice is to make sleep a priority.  Try your best to set a bedtime and stick to it.  Make a goal to get enough sleep 3 nights a week and then increase that to 4.  Slowly work your way up to a consistent bedtime.

Do you have any tips that help you get enough sleep?  I would love to hear them!

6 comments:

  1. Children definitely make it harder to sleep! But the trade off is worth it. :) I agree that a consistent bedtime helps you get into a good sleep pattern and sleep better at night. The hardest thing for me is turning my brain off at night. I have learned that I have to write down everything in my head and then deliberately turn my thoughts off!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a good idea. I keep paper by my bed, as well. I always seem to think of things to add to my to do list before I fall asleep!

      Delete
  2. I really need to work on getting more sleep. I always stay up too late and end up exhausted.

    Della
    www.delladevoted.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is an easy thing to skip out on, but it is so important to our health. I hope that you are able to get more sleep, soon!

      Delete
  3. I've struggled with insomnia for years, so I've read a lot of books on the subject. One of the recommendations that really helped me was to remove electronics from the bedroom (or to at least have them 3 feet away from the bed) - TVs, cell phones, computers. And it really works. I sleep much better when all of those things are removed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is an excellent point. We have no screens in our bedroom. It helps to ensure uninterrupted sleep! I also struggled with insomnia for some time (mine was largely stress induced). Hypnosis actually worked for me. It is just a method of deep relaxation and I was able to use it (with the help of a guided meditation) to help me fall asleep quickly!

      Delete