It’s true that food becomes us in every sense of the word, but there are additional l factors, or Pillars, that determine our state of well-being. Quality sleep is an essential Pillar of lifelong wellness. According to a Harvard Health Publication one in 5 Americans gets less than 6 hours of sleep a night. This raises the risk of health problems including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, to name a few. Additionally, irritability, difficulty concentrating and memory issues arise when one is chronically deprived of sleep.
There have been many excellent recommendations for improving sleep, and they are worth exploring if you can’t fall asleep easily or you find yourself wide eyed in the middle of the night. They include turning electronics off at least one hour before bedtime, stopping eating at least 3 hours before bedtime, limiting or eliminating alcohol and caffeine, and avoiding stressful exercise before going to bed.
What about Anxiety?
But I think there’s another factor that needs to be addressed. Today’s world is fraught with anxiety inducing events and anticipated disasters or crises. A steady diet of exposure to these real or potential threats can make anyone a nervous wreck. We’ve all been living under the pandemic’s shadow for a long time. It’s easy to see that they may adversely affect your sleep.
If you are having sleep trouble, try to notice what your thoughts are when you lie awake. If you are a born worrier, you have to work harder to shield yourself from unnecessary exposure to things that worry you. It’s easy for someone more easy going to say to you “stop worrying”, but if you are a worrier, it’s not so easy to stop unless you work at it and develop techniques that work for you. It may be limiting your exposure to news outlets. Or you may need to learn some techniques to lessen your overall worry. Seek out books like Calm and Sense by Wendy Leeds or 10% Happier by Dan Harris. Try my Stress Management recording if you need a calming voice,
My busy mind
I’m usually a very good sleeper but lately I’ve had intermittent problems either at 2 am or 4 am. If I’m not able to get back to sleep in less than 30 minutes, my mind starts to get very busy. For me the best solution is to get up for a while, do some sort of word puzzle or read a less than exciting article, and then I feel ready to sleep again. How do you cope?
Why is sleep so important?
We know the major risks of lack of quality sleep are diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Our bodies are regulated by hormones, and each has a purpose and an optimal time to be active or passive. If sleep is spotty, hormones may be disrupted. Sleep hormones and the body repair work normally done while sleeping just doesn’t get done and that sets us up for health challenges. Hunger/digestive hormones become more active during the night when sleep quality is poor, leading to weight gain and sluggishness.
Here are my recommendations:
if worry is keeping you up, figure out how to better manage it. Learn to let it go.
take whatever steps you can to create a peaceful, welcoming bedtime
create a wind down time before you hit the sheets. You probably did that with your children; adults need it too
figure out the best room temperature for you and keep it set that way
have the right mattress and pillow for you
Your ideas and solutions are most welcome. Add them in the comments section. Thanks!