A key aspect of your body's ability to repair and restore itself is that the "reconstruction" goes on most intensely during deep sleep. It's been said that the best hours for getting that restorative sleep is between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am. Don't try to "catch up" on your hours of lost sleep by sleeping in on Saturday morning. That just throws your body off even more and creates a vicious cycle of more sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation affects your memory, energy, mental focus, and emotional mood. The National Sleep Foundation has suggested that societal problems like road rage could be caused, in part, by a national epidemic of sleepiness. Additionally, symptoms of aging increase in otherwise healthy people who are getting insufficient sleep. In 1910, the average person got 9 hours of sleep a night. By 1975, that average was down to 7 hours. In 2002, the National Sleep Foundation conducted a poll that showed the average American adult now only gets about 6.9 hours of sleep a night. Many shift workers average only 5 hours a night. Research shows most adults need 7-8 hours of restful sleep each night. Many need up to 9 hours. Follow these 7 tips to enhance your sleeping: * Keep a schedule - go to bed and get up at the same time every day. * Exercise - regular exercise improves sleep (just don't exercise within 5 hours of bedtime) * Limit alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine - Alcohol is a sedative that may bring on sleep initially, but later causes sleep to be erratic. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and should be prevented in the hours before bedtime. * Avoid food and drink at least 2 hours before bedtime. * Relax - deep breathing, relaxation techniques, meditation and prayer. * Don't use the bedroom for work, TV, or anything else that sends the message to your brain that the bedroom is for anything other than rest. * Get up - if you can't fall asleep, it's better to get up and do something else until you get sleepy. Sleeping is considered an inconvenience by many people. Become radical in your thinking regarding sleep. Make sleep a priority in your schedule and you'll begin to feel the difference in no time. |
