Are You Recharging and Healing?

Are you ready to start giving yourself the best possible start to your day?

Sleep is something that each of us does every day (or we should be doing!)😴. But, it is not something that many of us put much thought into ❌. It is a part of our daily routine that we often carry out mindlessly.

Think about it … If you were doing something that took up 6+ hours of your day, every single day. Would you want to know more about it? I’m guessing your response is yes! So, why is sleep any different?🧐

👆We often fail to give sleep the attention it deserves, taking it for granted as something “we just do” every night. By the end of this piece, your evaluation of the importance of sleep will likely change. We are all aspiring to make positive changes that will improve our well-being and having good sleep hygiene can be used to benefit our lives.

What is Sleep?🤔

There is a lot more to sleep than only shutting your eyes at night and then waking up to your alarm in the morning. Let’s take a look at the science so we can understand how sleep presents itself…

👉 Sleep has been defined as a set of specific behaviours and physiological changes that occur to the brain's electrical rhythm while the person is asleep. It can be beneficial for you to understand these different behaviours and physiological changes to further understand what sleep is and how it presents itself. I have included some of the criteria for different states including awake, non-rapid eye movement sleep, and rapid eye movement sleep...

Behavioural and Physiological Criteria of Wakefulness and Sleep (Chokroverty 2010).

👉 Awake 🔵 Posture - Erect, sitting or laying down. 🔵 Mobility - Normal 🔵 Response to stimulation - Normal 🔵 Level of alertness - Alert 🔵 Eyelids - Open 🔵 Eye movements - Waking eye movements 🔵 Electroencephalography (electrical activity of the brain) - Alpha waves; desynchronized 🔵 Electromyography (muscle tone) - Normal 🔵 Electro-oculography (relates to the back of the eye) - Waking eye movements

👉 Non-rapid eye movement sleep 🔶 Posture - Recumbent 🔶 Mobility - Slightly reduced or immobile; posture shifts 🔶 Response to stimulation - Mildly to moderately reduced 🔶 Level of alertness - Unconscious but reversible 🔶 Eyelids - Closed 🔶 Eye movements - Slow rolling eye movements 🔶 Electroencephalography (electrical activity of the brain) - Synchronized 🔶 Electromyography (muscle tone) - Mildly reduced 🔶 Electro-oculography (relates to the back of the eye) - Slow rolling eye movements

👉 Rapid eye movement sleep 😴 Posture - Recumbent 😴 Mobility - Moderately reduced or immobile; myoclonic jerks (involuntary jerks of muscle) 😴 Response to stimulation - Moderately reduced to no response 😴 Level of alertness - Unconscious but reversible 😴 Eyelids - Closed 😴 Eye movements - Rapid eye movements 😴 Electroencephalography (electrical activity of the brain) - Theta or sawtooth waves; desynchronized 😴 Electromyography (muscle tone) - Moderately to severely reduced or absent 😴 Electro-oculography (relates to the back of the eye) - Rapid eye movements

✍️ The Benefits of A Good Night’s sleep…

There are so many benefits resulting from having a good sleep schedule and getting a good night’s sleep. Many of these benefits you can experience, you may not be aware are related to a good night’s sleep! In addition, some of these you may notice that you struggle with if you do have a poor night’s sleep. But, we are all wanting to improve our well-being so let’s take a look at how sleep can help us …

💤 Sleeping has been reported to have a huge impact on our ability to learn. When you are sleep deprived you are unable to optimally focus your attention resulting in your ability to learn is reduced. In addition to that, sleep also plays a role in the consolidation of memory (the memory becomes stable) which is integral for learning. It means you are not able to remember effectively what you have learned. Therefore, poor sleep impacts learning through reduced acquisition and consolidation. 💤 Sleep restores and improves the body's energy levels. A good night's sleep can have a positive impact on your mood (Cirelli 2022). Whereas those who have poor sleep are at an increased risk of experiencing mental health problems (Blackwelder et al. 2021). A chronic lack of sleep can cause symptoms of anxiety, depression, and irritability. But, this can sometimes be resolved after practicing a consistent sleep routine (Sleep Foundation) 💤 Sleep is involved with the hormone insulin, which helps blood sugar or glucose enter the body’s cells. These cells then use glucose as energy. Sleeping for seven hours or more per night has been reported to help ensure blood sugar is regulated in the body (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2020) 💤 During sleep, the body produces cytokines, which are small proteins that help support your immune system to fight infections (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 2022). This is why after a good night's sleep you wake up feeling more refreshed. Poor sleep can make you more susceptible to colds, flu, and other common infections. 💤 A good night's sleep can help you manage stress (MedlinePlus: National Library of Medicine 2016). When you wake up and you have had a good night's sleep you are more likely to be able to avoid stressors than when you are sleep deprived (e.g., problems thinking clearly/paying attention, being irritable towards others). 💤 Good sleep can also help you with your exercise. Sleep is integral for athletic recovery (Halson 2020). Poor sleep can contribute to a higher risk of injury, poorer performance, fatigue, and changes in mood (Watson 2017). Sleep is important for maintaining a healthy weight (Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion 2021)

👉 Sleep and Anxiety.

The relationship between sleep and anxiety has been an area of investigation for a while now. The American Psychiatric Association has reported that sleep difficulties can contribute to and intensify anxiety disorders and depression. This is because heightened cortisol is connected to feelings of anxiety and reduced sleep can heighten cortisol levels.

👉 What Does Sleep Hygiene Mean?

✍️ Sleep hygiene refers to having daily routines and a bedroom environment that promotes consistent uninterrupted sleep. You can tailor your sleep hygiene practices to suit your needs.

✍️ Giving your sleep hygiene the attention it requires is one of the most important ways that you can position yourself for a good night's sleep. Having a good night's sleep has been shown to have numerous positive effects on you for the following day (Sleep Foundation 2023).

👉 Ready to Improve Your Sleep?

The great news is that you can improve your sleep! You can start off by making small changes to your sleep schedule and eventually, you’ll have curated excellent sleep hygiene for yourself. Here are some tips on different things you can try…

✍️ Have a bedtime. Go to bed at the same time every evening. It sounds simple, but having this routine can make a huge difference. Only use your bed for sleeping. This is particularly important if you struggle with falling asleep. It means no watching tv in bed, scrolling through your phone, or working from bed. This will help you to only associate your bed with sleep and help you to fall asleep once in bed. ✍️ Avoid screen time before bed. This includes your phone, computer, and TV. Instead use this time to read a book, meditate or journal. ✍️ Avoid doing anything overstimulating right before bed. ✍️ Think about what you're ingesting and how it affects your sleep. For example, if you drink caffeine at 3 pm, do you notice you find it more difficult to fall asleep later that night? Then make changes accordingly. ✍️ Make your bedroom a tidy and clean space for you to be in so you are able to relax and feel calm without worrying you have tasks to do such as the laundry to put away. Create an environment that suits your needs.

👉 How Happio Can Help..

Happio has some excellent resources that can help you with your sleep. I have included a few below to get you started, have a look and try some of these out, and see what suits you... ✅ Spirit Gate - Acupressure ✅ Inner Frontier Gate - Acupressure ✅ Spleen 6 - Acupressure ✅ Bubbling Spring - Acupressure ✅ By The Fire - Calming Nature Escapes ✅ Soothing Beach Waves - Calming Nature Escapes ✅ Progressive Relaxation - Meditations ✅ Soften and Soothe - Meditations ✅ Body Scan - Meditations

Remember, it’s best to try as much out as you can because different things work for different people. So, try not to give up if something isn’t suitable for you.

🤗 Happio is here to HELP YOU. You are not alone🤗. I’d love to hear about a good sleep hygiene practice you have! Please comment below and share yours with the Happio community …