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Are you getting enough sleep?
Sleep is one of the core needs for overall wellness and it’s probably the number one area where we try to cut corners.
We stay up too late. Hit the snooze too many times. We immediately look at our phones upon waking up. We work all day and then at bedtime we look at our phones again and stay up too late again. The cycle continues.
How do we get off of this crazy cycle?
Let’s look at 10 Lifestyle Changes we can make to Improve our Sleep:
- Make your sleep a priority.
- Turn off the tv and put down your phone at least 1 hour before you plan to go to sleep.
- Take a nice warm bath. Throw in some lavender scented Epsom salt if you have sore muscles.
- Take any night time supplements (such as magnesium) at least an hour before you lay down.
- Do some light reading, stretch, yoga, or some meditation to wind down.
- Make sure your bedroom is cool. The ideal temperature is 65-67 degrees. Bamboo sheets help keep you cool during the night.
- Block as much light as you can and keep it dark. Try using a sleep mask if you can’t get rid of all of the light.
- Keep a notepad or journal by your bed and do a brain dump if needed to get all of those should of, could of, would of, thoughts and to do’s out of your mind.
- Try some white noise or bedtime sleep apps to help distract your mind once your head hits the pillow. (Here’s my Headspace buddy link if you want to be friends on the app.)
- Relax your body from head to toe with a technique likes autogenics.
Wolf, Lion, Bear, or Dolphin
Did you know that your body also has a natural sleep rhythm called the circadian rhythm? Dr. Michael Breus has identified 4 main rhythms and can tell you when you should do certain activities during your day and night to optimize your life based on your circadian rhythm. By knowing your type you can help improve your sleep.
So are you a lion, bear, wolf, or dolphin? Find out by taking the quiz here and then go grab his book The Power of When to get all the details on when you should do things such as wake up, drink caffeine, exercise, have sex, talk to your boss, and more.
It has really been an eye-opener for us! We’re slowly trying to adjust our habits and schedules to optimize our sleep. Thank goodness Greg and I are both bears! Although he’s an early bear so he naturally runs about an hour to an hour ahead of me.
Did you take the quiz? What chronotype are you?
Comment and let me know!
Learn more about how cortisol affects your sleep.