Sleep is one of the most important things our bodies can do for us. Think about it, all non-essential systems are shut down and our bodies are allowed to rest physically and mentally to rejuvenate us for the next day. What is the thing that helps us heal fastest when we've come down with a cold or the flu? Sleep. It's the body's way of being able to put ourselves back together so we're healthy for tomorrow.
As I sit here anxious over the 10K run tomorrow I will be able to mentally over-power my anxiety by writing this entry so I can get to sleep. Sleep is incredibly important for our bodies, I could link here the many studies I've read over the years and all the side effects that not getting enough sleep can cause, but I'm going to talk to you about my personal plight with sleep. I have never had a problem with getting sleep, but I've often had a problem with getting restful sleep. I have three main problems when it comes to sleeping restfully and some easy solutions I've discovered, mainly in the past year, that has dramatically increased my restful sleep quotient.
I'll start with problems so I can finish on a positive note :-)
1. Restless Leg Syndrome. I have not been officially diagnosed with it but given the way my legs act while I sleep sometimes I believe that I have some degree of this whether in the clinical definition or not. My legs often twitch, shake, or feel like dead weights when I lay down to sleep. I am convinced that my problem is muscular/circulatory in nature so I have come up with a few successful ways to deal with this problem. It has also been linked to iron deficiency or anemia which I am diagnosed with. The random movement of my legs during the night causes my sleep to be disrupted and Dave's as well.
2. Can't-turn-the-brain-off syndrome. This is when my brain is going a mile a minute thinking about something/things. They can be good things or bad things or just things in general (AKA what I have to do tomorrow). When I don't shut my brain down properly I often toss and turn trying to tune out the monologue that's playing in my head. This keeps me from getting appropriate shut-eye and often makes me feel lousy when I get up the next day because whatever I was thinking about I now probably have to deal with.
3. Having to use the bathroom. I'm still a little young for a lot of trips to the bathroom during the night, but I have noticed that with drinking water all day, usually a cup of tea at night now that it's colder, I have to pee in the middle of the night. Now, this one is easy, if I try to fight the urge I toss and turn but if I get up and go I can usually snuggle back down and continue sleeping. However, sometimes waking up can disrupt the night.
So how do I fix these problems? It's actually a relatively easy list of solutions...
1. Set a bedtime routine. I tend to go to bed around the same time every night, I push it an hour or two on the weekends since I'm getting up later, but I'm not staying up until 2am and sleeping through Saturday or Sunday since that will make Monday morning all that more difficult. Brush your teeth, get changed, read a little, whatever you want it to be, but set some sort of routine and keep it. That way your body starts to get that muscle memory that says "hey, it's time for bed" and it learns to do it without too much extra help.
2. Get extra electronic devices out of your room. There have been studies to show that electronics in the bedroom disrupt sleep patterns. Turn your phone to airplane mode (or off) so it's not buzzing during the night. Even if you don't wake up to the vibrating spam email that came in to your smart phone at 3am, your body heard it and has been disrupted by it. Also, electronic devices like TVs and computers in the bedrooms have been shown to wreck havoc on your system with blinking lights, whirring fans, and whatnot that can contribute to un-restful sleep.
3. Exercise. Not right before bed because that'll drive your heart rate up and make it harder to go to sleep, but regularly as part of your daily routine burns off excess energy caused by foods ingested so your body isn't "twitching" when you lie down. I've noticed on days when I complete regular activity I fall asleep much easier and sleep better over all and wake up better. Also, as part of my exercise routine, I include elevating my legs. I spend most of my day standing so gravity does it's thing and drops blood into my legs and feet where it pools. So I've found that elevating my legs for 10-15 minutes as a stretch helps drain the blood and reducing how restless my legs are when I lay down to go to sleep.
4. Clear the headspace. Spend time writing down or meditating on the problems/thoughts/to do lists that would keep your brain active when you try and get to bed. Making a list, writing down thoughts, or just sitting quietly meditating helps my brain slow down so when I close my eyes I don't have my brain still buzzing with all the things I didn't get done today, all the things I have to get done tomorrow, or whatever is rattling inside my head.
Sleep is an incredibly important thing for our body. Ok, I'll touch on it, but people who don't get enough regular, restful sleep are at risk for many physical problems (obesity, immune system problems, cardiovascular problems, and potential for car accidents) and mental problems (anxiety, depression, mood swings, and trouble concentrating) and we all know how I feel on the relationship between mind and body. So if there's a treatment that can help you physically and mentally you should use it. And one of Mother Nature's best remedies for what ails you is sleep :-).
Sleep Foundation
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