Sleeeeeep!

Get some sleep:

We all know sleep is important, and how bad we can feel without it. Yet for some reason we push ourselves to the limit, survive on very little, and wear the lack of it like a badge of honour.

Our body and mind need to rest and recover from the day we have just had, and prepare for the day ahead.
Whist we sleep, our blood pressure and heart rate drops, our hormones are re-balanced, our immunity is boosted, and our body gets to work on healing and repairing itself - for example our cells, muscles, blood vessels, and heart get the tlc they deserve.

Our brain in particular has time to have a good clean out - cerebral fluid from our spinal column is able to be pumped more quickly to our brain & 'flushes' waste products away, like a nighttime shower! It also has chance to strengthen and build new neural pathways, helping us to maintain information, and improve concentration, memory, and decision making skills. This is very important when we have a lot on, a lot to remember, and too much to juggle!

So you can see that by not getting enough sleep - the good things that should be happening don't, and we become more and more deprived, in all senses of the word!

• It affects our mood and behaviour, we become more irritable.
• Our hormones get out of whack - particularly the ones that affect our appetite. Without sleep, ghrelin (which makes us hungry) is increased and leptin (which makes us feel full) is decreased, and so we eat more to supplement what the body thinks is lacking, and this in turn affects our blood sugar levels (more on that next!)
• We become more prone to infections because our immune system just doesn't have the energy it needs to fight off infections.
• We get 'brain fog', can't concentrate or make decisions, and things just seem to be too hard!
  

Body clock Vs alarm clock...

We have not always needed an alarm clock in order to drag ourselves out of bed - we do have a clever built in internal body clock that keep us in check; also known as our cicadian rhythm.
Our circadian rhythm is a 24 hour cycle, that is influenced by light/dark, our sleep/wake patterns, our eating patterns, and the communication between our brain, organs, and the hormones and chemicals they release. We are a well oiled machine that responds well to routine and has biological processes timed to meet our daily demands.

If we therefore eat at different times every day - our digestive organs have to keep up and do their job at different times of the day, when maybe they don't want to!  If they are expecting food, but then have to wait to do their jobs, so when they do get food, they may not be as efficient as they should be; that can make us feel sluggish.

If we go to sleep and/or wake up at different times every day - this too puts our bodies under stress to fire up or wind down when they may not want to. This can end up with us laying in bed wide awake trying to force sleep, or not able to get up in the mornings.

If we take the time to try and re-balance ourselves - by eating regularly and getting some decent sleep, they would go a long way in starting to restore our natural body clocks, and our bodies would love us!

sleep hygiene...

This is a thing!
Sleep hygiene is a term used to describe habits and pracitices that are conducive to sleeping well on a regular basis.
If you have trouble sleeping, have a go, and try to stick to the following:

•  Keep to a consistant amount of sleep: Sleep cycles typically last for 90 minutes, switching from the lighter rapid eye movement (REM) phase to that deep restorative sleep phase that we love. The cycle needs to repeat at least 4 times in order for us to feel refreshed and restored. To avoid waking during the 'deep phase' and feeling groggy aim to get at least 7.5 hours of sleep per night - which would coincide with those sleep cycles.
• Keep to a consistant bedtime: We are creatures of habit! In order to maintain that finely tuned circadian rhythm, it relies on us to co-operate. If we stay up later than usual, then our body has to keep up too. This means hormones are released or supressed that shouldn't be, and their balance becomes disrupted.
  
• Have a 'bedtime hour': This is when we tell ourselves that bedtime is coming, that it's time to wind down. Think of your senses and how to calm them. See: Try to avoid electronics (see below), read a book instead, or dim the lights, put on some candles. Hear: Put on relaxing music, have some quiet time, or use the time to talk. Smell: Burn some essential oils, or scented candles. Taste: Drink some soothing herbal tea (see below!). Touch: Have sex (if you can/want/are able - and safely!), or have a bath!, or wrap youself in good pj's/comfy clothes/big socks...!
  
• No electronics in bedtime hour: no, no, no! For starters, it's keeping your brain far too active to be even thinking about sleep. But also, the light from screens keeps us awake too. Our eyes have receptors that respond to light, they tell our brains to keep releasing serotonin - the happy hormone, that doubles up by keeping us alert. It is balanced by melatonin - a relaxing hormone released when our eyes perceive dark. If melatonin is suppressed - we won't be sleeping! There are plenty of apps available that can dim your screen as night approaches so that your eyes are no longer dazzled by its brightness. Twilight is a good example                                    
  
• No stimulants: No coffee, no caffeine, no sugar, no booze in bedtime hour. I think it's stating the obvious, but consuming things that stimulate us, sure as hell won't be helping to relax us in time to sleep! Drink a nice cup of herbal tea - not as exciting I know,  but packs a punch in terms of getting to sleep quicker. Chamomile, lemon balm, passionflower, oatstraw or lavender are all great. Better still get a 'sleepy' style tea where they are all more than likely already in it.
  
• Keep the bedroom cool: Like Goldilocks, not too hot, not too cold. Your body doesn't want to have regulate your tempurature when it's mean to be resting.
• Keep the bedroom for sleeping, sex, and books only!: The bedroom should not therefore be cluttered with crap, filled with tv's, laptops, or electronics. You should not use the bedroom to check emails, or even worse check what's on social media. How are you supposed to have healthy sleep, and more importantly, a healthy sex life amoungst all that?! Break those bad bedtime habits and switch off  - focus on yourself; your bedroom should be your sanctuary!
  

I have grown to love bedtime, my bedroom, and my bed - I have also grown to love sleep (after years in hospitality they were all things I was not familiar with!). They are all such beautiful things!
Treat yourself! sleep is such a treat, welcome it with open arms, and make time for it in your busy lives. It should not be ignored. Listen to your body, go to bed when you are tired, and take naps if you are able. Why deny yourself the luxury of sleep? I can think of no reason - and if you still are not convinced watch this guy - Russell Foster, a neuroscientist (just not whilst you are in bed - turn off electronics...NOW!)