Anyone who has pulled an all-nighter studying, looked after a sick child in the middle of the night or accidentally binge-watched a few too many episodes of Stranger Things until midnight knows that when sleep habits get interrupted, it significantly affects you later. In fact, up to 45% of
Aussies are affected by inadequate sleep length or quality at some point in their lives. Over time this can lead to some long-lasting effects such as increasing your risk of obesity and heart disease, lowering immunity and activating the body’s “Fight or Flight” response. Creating good sleep hygiene practices and getting a restful night’s sleep on a regular basis can help us better manage stress, improve our memory and concentration and boost our immune systems. Read on to see how.[/fusion_text][fusion_title hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" content_align="left" size="4" font_size="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" margin_top_mobile="" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" style_type="default" sep_color=""]What is sleep hygiene?[/fusion_title][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id=""]
Sleep hygiene simply means creating positive habits to allow for a good night’s sleep to happen. When good sleep happens, our bodies are better able to ward off viruses, handle life’s stressors and be filled with energy to power through our day. Which habits might need to be cut back on to improve sleep hygiene?
- Steer clear of alcohol and caffeine four hours prior to bedtime. This includes green tea, black tea, coffee, cola drinks & chocolate. If you indulge in a glass of wine after dinner or a few rows of your favourite chocolate bar, it may be affecting your snooze time. Did you know most chocolate bars have as much caffeine as an instant coffee?
- Try not to have rich, heavy meals or spicy foods three hours before bedtime. This allows your body to digest your meal before you lie down, freeing up sleep time for lots of other important jobs. The brain does it’s sorting and storing of information, the muscles look after growth and repair of tissues and the immune system can address inflammation and infection.
- Avoid exercise before bed, but do ensure you are getting enough physical exercise during the day. Look for ways to incorporate daily movement and cardiovascular exercise into your day, this could be walking to public transport or taking the stairs instead of the lift to your office.