The Sweetness of Slumber

Are you getting a good night sleep?

So you may not be aware, but your health and well being are directly connected to the quality of your sleep. Sleep time is a restorative period that allows your body to regenerate and recharge. It’s liken to a computer. If you keep running the computer and never shut it down, it slows down and does not function as well. In our case, we can lose our memory, gain weight, put ourselves at risk by being drowsy and unfocused at inopportune times, become moody, stressed out, and compromise our immune and endocrine system, just to name a few. As much as we seem to treat the joys of slumber as a luxury, we are mistakenly taking one of the most important aspects of our essence for granted.

If you would like to be more productive, look younger, have mental clarity, be emotionally balanced, and enjoy having plenty of energy, then keep reading. “Sleep: It does the body good!”

    Secrets to getting some ZZZZZ’s!

 Get on a Regular Sleep Schedule:

• Decide what time you are comfortable going to bed and go to bed at this time every night. Try not to cheat too much on the weekends! Especially if you are experiencing sleep deprivation and need to get into a routine. You have to get into a good rhythm.

• Wake up at the same time every day. You should wake up naturally with no alarm if you are getting enough sleep. If you need an alarm, go to bed earlier.

• Take a nap to make up for lost sleep. If you lose sleep for some reason, you are better off taking a nap during the day instead of sleeping in to catch up.

• Nap wisely. Other than if you are experiencing insomnia, the best time to nap is early afternoon and for no longer than 30 minutes. if you are experiencing insomnia, I would recommend that you avoid napping.

• If you feel drowsy after dinner, go for a walk. Make sure you don’t allow yourself to dose off, as this will affect sleep during the night. Get up and do something to pass time until it is time for bed. And not something that invokes you to sleep before you are ready for bed, such as watching TV.

 Regulate your Sleep-Wake Cycle:

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle and is controlled by light exposure. You secrete more when it is dark to make you sleepy and you secrete less in the light to keep you wake and alert. Light exposure from artificial light can make you sleepy in the daytime , while TV’s and computers can be overstimulating to the brain, causing melatonin suppression making it more difficult to sleep.

• Increase Light Exposure in the Day: Lose the shades. Spend more time outside in the daytime.Let light in to your home or workspace. Use a light therapy box if necessary.

• Boost Melatonin at Night: Turn off TV and computer. Do not use backlight device to read. Dim lights, or using a book light to read is much better. Make sure the room is dark. Use a small light for the bathroom.

Make a Relaxing Bed Time Routine:

Start winding down about an hour or so before lights out. Turn off all stimulating devices. Dim the lights or better yet, light a (soy)candle. Play some soft music or read a book. Have some calming herbal tea such as Chamomile. Take a warm Lavender salt bath.Your sending a message to your brain to shut down in preparation for a good night’s sleep. I like to see doing these things as that I am having a slumber party for myself.

Meditation :

The practice of meditation is very powerful in terms of preparing your mind for rest. if you have never mediated before, it may be really hard for you to quiet your mind at first. On a daily basis, the human brain is bombarded with thousands of thoughts. In addition to that, the mind is completely over stimulated by the radio, television and computers. Some people are so addicted to the ‘noise” they experience everyday that they actually think they cannot go to sleep without it. But you can do it. And the quality of your sleep will improve immensely. When people ask me how to meditate, I always tell them to start with a mantra. Find a word that resonates with your comfort and say it over and over and over and over again. Some people use the word “OM”. I use the word ” Love”. If you feel yourself slipping away from your mantra, and tons of thoughts of your day begin to blast your brain, just take a deep breath and re focus on the mantra again. Eventually, you will find your self either in the complete state of bliss from the freedom of thought or you will be dancing with Mr. Sandman. zzzzzzz 🙂

 Hazardous Pitfalls that will affect your sleep:

The consumption of alcohol and caffeine may cause sleep problems. As well as smoking and eating stimulating foods too late in the day.

Final preparation for sleep:

Make sure your bedroom is a comfortable area. The temperature should be cool and it should be very dark. Your bed should be cozy. Make sure you keep your bedroom for the purpose of sleep and sex, if you prefer. 😉

As some of you may have noticed by now I sometimes include the impute of my little 9 year old niece Bella. I am ever amazed at the feedback that comes from her beautiful genius mind. I was over at her home tonight visiting her. While I was sitting at the table writing on my lap top, I asked her what she thought the word SLEEP stands for, and this is what she said :

S– Significant

L– Luxurious

E– Excellent

E– Epic

P– Priceless

Yes!!!!  Thank you Bella …. and there you have it. 🙂

May you all sleep sound with sweet dreams everyone zzzzzzz

Shine as Love & Light,

Jules