It’s hard to value sleep in the fast-paced, high tech & caffeine fuelled world we live in. Do you know what good sleep feels like?? Or is it going to bed late, tossing & turning all night, being woken by garbage trucks thundering past or the buzz of a street lamp & struggling to wake up to get to work on time.
So are you getting the sleep your body deserves each night? The kind of sleep we’re talking about restores & revitalises you, filling your body with fresh energy & new perspectives.
Although studies cannot definitively show why the human body needs so much sleep, we do know we would die without it. Sleep is different for everyone & sleep needs vary. 8 ¼ hours is the average amount of sleep needed for an adult but some need more & some can function perfectly well on less.
Did you know that sleep is an active state for the body? We don’t just ‘shut down’. There are different stages of sleep:
Stage 1 – Between being awake and falling asleep, light sleep lasts up to 10 minutes
Stage 2 – Becoming disengaged from surroundings, breathing and heart rate are regular
Stage 3 – This is where the quality happens. Deepest and most restorative sleep, tissue growth & repair occurs, Energy is restored….Ahhhhhhhhhh!
Sleep shouldn’t be so complicated but sometimes it is. Lots of things can keep us from getting a goods night sleep from children & babies, snoring partners, uncomfortable bedding, stress & anxiety, or other health conditions. To get the best possible sleep you can the Sleep Health Foundation recommends:
Establish a sleep routine and stick to it.
Practise a relaxing bedtime ritual – a calming routine activity right before bedtime can help to separate sleep time from activities that can cause excitement, stress or anxiety.
Switch off & remove distracting devices in the bedroom such as the television, laptops, tablets & mobiles
Create a calming sleeping environment in your bedroom.
Comfort is key – make sure you’re happy with your mattress, bedding and pillows
There are some great herbs you can use to help get you to sleep &/or keep you asleep, or address a problem if you are waking at a certain time each night (the body may be trying to tell you something!). If sleep is a problem for you, make a booking for a consultation where we work out the whys of your bad nights sleep & make an individualised herbal tonic to help get you sleeping well.