One of the most undervalued practices for maintaining optimal health is often overlooked – Sleep. Health practitioners talk about diet and exercise frequently…just pick up the latest fitness journal and it will be filled with the best way to strengthen the core, maximize nutrients, low-fat/high fiber recipes and how to sculpt various body parts.
Being a yoga educator, it would be remiss of me to not look at the entire being…body, mind and spirit. How they reflect, intertwine and are connected to each other. When something is out of balance, we see it reflected in how we feel, act and yes…sleep.
It is during sleep that our body rejuvenates itself on all of these levels. When we put ourselves to bed, we aren’t simply physcially resting. We’re restoring on so many levels: our hormonal balance, recovering from a busy day, easing our noisy minds and allowing ourselves to naturally find our inherent balance.
So, here are a few tips this week for getting a better nights rest:
1. Use your bed for just sleeping and intimate relations.
2. Make your room as dark and quiet as possible (decrease ambient light via TV’s, cell phone chargers, lava lamps and the like).
3. Keep to a sleep routine. Go to bed within 30 minutes of the same hour and awaken at the same time each day.
4. The sleep routine may include ways in which to begin disconnecting from the computer, TV, stimulants (caffeine, scary movies or heated discussion) two hours before tucking in.
5. If you haven’t fallen asleep within 20 minutes of turning off the lights, get up. Begin the routine again and include something that is somewhat boring such as a crossword puzzle.
6. Give yourself permission to let go of your day. You are completely capable of resuming in the morning (and more rested to do so!).
7. And if you ignored it above…no TV in the bedroom. Tough for many of us, but try watching in another room.
That’s it. So for now…say good night!
