Healthy Sleep
Getting sufficient, wholesome sleep is essential to our health and well-being, however, we do not pause often enough to check this part of our lives. Factors in our sleep hygiene that can affect our health and well-being are: snoring, sleep apnoea, shift work, poor sleeping environment, caffeine consumption, alcohol or tobacco use, babies or small children, chronic stress, unhealthy sleep patterns e.g. staying up too late. However, we are not helpless victims of circumstances etc. we do have the power to improve this area of our lives!
HEALTHY SLEEP GUIDELINES:
Aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time, more or less, every day.
Ensure that your bedroom is cool, quiet and dark.
Limit your screen time: blue light emitted by phones, tablets, computers and Tv’s can disrupt the body’s ability to produce melatonin- the hormone that regulates sleep. Try to avoid these for at least an hour before bedtime.
Try not to eat a large meal before bedtime.
Do not use your bedroom as a workroom, if possible.
Limit your intake of caffeine and alcohol as both interfere with your sleep cycle.
Limit the use of sleeping tablets as over-use will affect your physical, emotional and psychological well-being.
If you exercise before bedtime, you may feel more energized.
A healthy practice is to jot down all the things on your mind e.g. what you need to do the next day etc, otherwise your brain will try to remember and not relax! Include writing a to-do list. Once you have noted it, you can relax.
Explore a pre-sleep routine that will relax you e.g. take a relaxing, warm bath, ensure that you have settled everything for the night, lower the lights in the house and listen to calming music.
Try to get into sunlight during the day, this helps regulate our cycadean rhythms.
Avoid checking the time at night and avoid late afternoon naps.
Find peace as you prayerfully thank God for the good things that happened in the day, even the small things like seeing an unusual bird.
As you close your eyes, try to remember a pleasant place you visited or a happy memory.
Try relaxation exercises like tensing and relaxing your muscles from your feet to your face.
Do not fear your dreams – they are pathways to your unconscious world as well as a means of restoration. Remember too that God often spoke to His people through dreams.
