The Ultimate Self-Care: Sleep
Prioritizing sleep is the ultimate self-care strategy. Sleep can prevent, stabilize or help us recover when we are experiencing stress and burnout. With our busy lives in today’s world, how can we keep tabs on when we are experiencing the effects of stress and burnout? When life becomes chaotic or overwhelming it seems like one of the first negative responses is insomnia. This proliferates a vicious stress-sleeplessness cycle. The brain chemicals connected with deep sleep are the same ones that tell the body to stop the production of stress hormones. If you don’t sleep enough at night, your body boosts its levels of stress hormones.
Aside from looking out for insomnia, symptoms can range from irritability and moodiness, feeling overwhelmed, pessimism, feelings of exhaustion, feelings of restlessness or feeling numb. If you consistently feel these symptoms, it can be a good sign to prioritize sleep as a keystone habit, a habit which has the highest yield to your wellness. Read more about keystone habits in my piece here.
Sleep keeps our bodies in homeostasis, which not only can keep us feeling okay mentally but keeping us physically healthy. Lack of sleep carries its own physiological toll. According to the CDC, lack of sleep can cause or worsen chronic illness such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, obesity and it can weaken our immune system.
Sleep.org tells us that catching up on sleep can help us recover by improving insulin sensitivity, fat metabolism, body weight, stress levels, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, alertness, and performance. However, an individual may need multiple nights or even weeks to recover from the effects of sleep deprivation. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults need between 7–9 hours of sleep per night to maintain healthy functioning of body and mind.
Follow these tips to establish healthy sleep habits:
Quick Sleep Tips from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
- Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during vacations.
- Set a bedtime that is early enough for you to get at least 7 hours of sleep.
- Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy.
- If you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed.
- Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.
- Use your bed only for sleep and intimacy.
- Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.
- Limit exposure to bright light in the evenings.
- Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
- Don’t eat a large meal before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack.
- Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.
- Avoid consuming caffeine in the late afternoon or evening.
- Avoid consuming alcohol before bedtime.
- Reduce your fluid intake before bedtime.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you do to keep your sleep hygiene strong in the comments. And follow me here for updates on new pieces on mental health and wellness. Click to follow me on instagram here.
