Day Nine: Sleep

Ahhh...to sleep like a baby.

One of the best biproducts of adopting a healthy lifestyle is the change in both the quality and the amount of sleep, and the ability to wake up refreshed and energized.

Natural sleep is important, and it is something that cannot be forced. While nutrition, exercise, and water intake are all things that we have control over as inputs into our system, natural sleep is often a result.

Most people can achieve deep, natural sleep by having the right inputs. During the hours we are sleeping at night, our body repairs itself. There are studies that show that a sleep deprivation affects mood, emotional health and physical energy; slows our ability to heal wounds; is a risk factor for weight gain, hypertension, & Type 2 diabetes. It is also associated with depression, alcoholism, and bipolar disorder. Getting too much sleep is not good for you, either. Seven to eight hours nightly is what is recommended.

"Natural" sleep means that you fall asleep without the aid of any type of sleep-aid substance such as alcohol, Tylenol PM, or any other drug.

Exercise & balance are great combatants to sleepless nights. We often worry in the evening, when our mind settles. When the worrying affects our sleep, it's often because there is energy left in the system that is still trying to work itself out. A great way to combat this is with high intensity, calorie-burning workouts. A good yoga session or a deep tissue massage can also help in balancing the stress and moving negative energy out of the system. Sugar, caffeine, & "energy drinks" can cause sleeplessness, especially if consumed in the late afternoon or evening.

The presence of alcohol in the system has also been shown to affect the REM cycles, changing the restfulness of the sleep. If you've ever awoke at 2 am after having a glass or two of wine, you understand this.

I challenge you to observe your sleep patterns closely, associating changes in the patterns with the intake and activities that you do during the day. See if you draw correlations between what you do, what you eat/drink, and how you sleep. I challenge you to note these in your food journal.