Sleep
Why is prioritising sleep so important? It helps us manage our form proactively.
💡 Did you know that if you get a good night's sleep, you feel the benefits of it immediately?
Compared to an exercise regime, or a nutrition plan (during which incremental benefits take time to build up), a good night’s sleep has immediate effect and helps us feel amazing the next day. Yet, sleep is the first thing we compromise when we're busy and when we perceive that we have a lot to do.
The importance of sleep:
It affects our cognitive ability. Our ability to learn, retain information, or make decisions.
It affects the way our hunger hormones work.
It regulates our stress.
It helps us recover from stress. (We recover from stress, in terms of our autonomic nervous system, in a rest and digest state, mostly when we're sleeping and that's when our brain recharges.)
Set yourself up with a good wind-down routine:
Turn your tech off an hour before you go into bed. Set a technology-free zone.
Do something relaxing, like reading a book.
Listen to soft music, meditate, take a warm bath, stretch, do light yoga.
Have a nice cool temperature to get good sleep.
Quieten your mind by journaling and writing down the things that are concerning you.
If you wake up during the night and you are unable to sleep, get out of bed and read a book until you feel sleepy again.
Do something that sets yourself up for a good sleep.
Have a regular wake-up time, that you aim for.
Don't go to bed until you're sleepy.
Exercise during the day to increase ‘sleep pressure’.
Resources:
Check out Matt Walker’s TED talk, author of the 'Why we sleep' book. In this talk, Matt explains why sleep is our superpower, the benefits of a good night's sleep and the negative impact lack of sleep has on us.
🎬 Watch our videos on sleep.
