One in three Australians don’t sleep well. Poor sleep is associated with an increased risk of stroke, diabetes, obesity and car accidents. It’s not just your physical health at stake; a good night’s sleep goes a long way to bolster your mental and emotional well-being.
The following 5 tips will help you sleep longer and sounder.
You don’t have to be a Jane Austen fan to enjoy supper. Half to one hour before sleep, a light meal will help regulate blood sugar levels. It takes the average bear 3 to 4 hours to digest a meal, after which blood sugar bottoms out. For some people, low blood sugar levels disturb sleep quality. So, if you eat dinner early, it makes sense to top up with a small nibble before bed, but nothing too heavy on the tummy, as this will only cause nightmares and a restless night. Good supper choices are a piece of cheese, an apple or a pear, traditional hot milk (cow or soy), honey, or a mug of soup.
A warm bath an hour or so before bed will help you slide gracefully into the land of nod — remember to get out of the tub first. While the warmth will relax tense muscles, immersing the body in hot water raises body temperature a degree or two. In 24 hours, our internal body temperature is coolest when deeply asleep. People are like fridges! We like to keep our body temperatures reasonably stable. By artificially raising the temperature in the bath, like a refrigerator, our bodies will try to adjust the thermostat, lowering body temperature and tricking us into feeling ready for bed. Throw a handful of Epsom salts and a few drops of lavender oil into the bathwater for an added soporific effect. As usual, my advice to those without a bathtub is to move.
Herbs are excellent for insomnia. While lacking the sledgehammer effect of sleeping tablets, somniferous herbs don’t carry the risk of addiction. Herbs such as Californian Poppy*, Zizyphus*, Hops*, and Valerian* work by relaxing muscles, calming the mind and acting as a gentle sedative. Good sleeping patterns need to be cultivated. Don’t throw away your herbs after one or two good nights; you need to get into a routine — at least ten nights of good sleep in a row. Herbs are best taken after dinner and before bed, either as a tincture or cup of herbal tea. *Found in Nighty Night Tea
Mouth breathing is associated with poor-quality sleep and a higher risk of snoring and sleep apnea. During the day, you can consciously stop yourself from mouth breathing. During sleep, you are unconscious, and it’s easy for the mouth to fall open. The Buteyko Breathing Technique emphasises nasal breathing, day and night. One of the techniques for encouraging nasal breathing during sleep is to tape the mouth with paper surgical tape or other methods such as Myotape. As long as you can breathe through your nose, taping your mouth at night is safe, and you can easily remove the tape if needed.
If you have insomnia, give up the Atkins diet NOW. The Atkins (and paleo) are low-starch diets; eating starchy foods at night will help you sleep. Starches, including rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and pumpkin, increase a natural chemical in the brain, serotonin. Serotonin makes us feel good, and what’s more, in the dark, serotonin converts to Melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone: mashed potatoes, ravioli, linguine, lasagne and risotto. Bring ’em on!
Worrying thoughts are often behind a poor night’s sleep. The secret is to ‘get out’ of your mind (before you ‘go’ out of your mind), and the best place to go is into your body! For most people, this doesn’t come naturally. Letting go of thoughts is a skill; like any skill, it must be practised. Those rascally yogis have devised an excellent little technique that, thankfully, doesn’t require you to lotus in a loincloth or bend into an unnatural position in 40-degree heat. The practice is called Yoga Nidra and means yoga sleep. There are various forms, but most focus on becoming aware of the body sensations as your mind travels up and down from toe to head and everywhere in between. This 20-minute video, narrated by Patrick McKeown, utilises Yoga Nidra and Buteyko Breathing techniques to help you sleep better.
dachshund dog in bed with young man sleeping a nap
One in three Australians don’t sleep well. Poor sleep is associated with an increased risk of stroke, diabetes, obesity and car accidents. It’s not just your physical health at stake; a good night’s sleep goes a long way to bolster your mental and emotional well-being.
The following 5 tips will help you sleep longer and sounder.
You don’t have to be a Jane Austen fan to enjoy supper. Half to one hour before sleep, a light meal will help regulate blood sugar levels. It takes the average bear 3 to 4 hours to digest a meal, after which blood sugar bottoms out. For some people, low blood sugar levels disturb sleep quality. So, if you eat dinner early, it makes sense to top up with a small nibble before bed, but nothing too heavy on the tummy, as this will only cause nightmares and a restless night. Good supper choices are a piece of cheese, an apple or a pear, traditional hot milk (cow or soy), honey, or a mug of soup.
A warm bath an hour or so before bed will help you slide gracefully into the land of nod — remember to get out of the tub first. While the warmth will relax tense muscles, immersing the body in hot water raises body temperature a degree or two. In 24 hours, our internal body temperature is coolest when deeply asleep. People are like fridges! We like to keep our body temperatures reasonably stable. By artificially raising the temperature in the bath, like a refrigerator, our bodies will try to adjust the thermostat, lowering body temperature and tricking us into feeling ready for bed. Throw a handful of Epsom salts and a few drops of lavender oil into the bathwater for an added soporific effect. As usual, my advice to those without a bathtub is to move.
Herbs are excellent for insomnia. While lacking the sledgehammer effect of sleeping tablets, somniferous herbs don’t carry the risk of addiction. Herbs such as Californian Poppy*, Zizyphus*, Hops*, and Valerian* work by relaxing muscles, calming the mind and acting as a gentle sedative. Good sleeping patterns need to be cultivated. Don’t throw away your herbs after one or two good nights; you need to get into a routine — at least ten nights of good sleep in a row. Herbs are best taken after dinner and before bed, either as a tincture or cup of herbal tea. *Found in Nighty Night Tea
Mouth breathing is associated with poor-quality sleep and a higher risk of snoring and sleep apnea. During the day, you can consciously stop yourself from mouth breathing. During sleep, you are unconscious, and it’s easy for the mouth to fall open. The Buteyko Breathing Technique emphasises nasal breathing, day and night. One of the techniques for encouraging nasal breathing during sleep is to tape the mouth with paper surgical tape or other methods such as Myotape. As long as you can breathe through your nose, taping your mouth at night is safe, and you can easily remove the tape if needed.
If you have insomnia, give up the Atkins diet NOW. The Atkins (and paleo) are low-starch diets; eating starchy foods at night will help you sleep. Starches, including rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and pumpkin, increase a natural chemical in the brain, serotonin. Serotonin makes us feel good, and what’s more, in the dark, serotonin converts to Melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone: mashed potatoes, ravioli, linguine, lasagne and risotto. Bring ’em on!
Worrying thoughts are often behind a poor night’s sleep. The secret is to ‘get out’ of your mind (before you ‘go’ out of your mind), and the best place to go is into your body! For most people, this doesn’t come naturally. Letting go of thoughts is a skill; like any skill, it must be practised. Those rascally yogis have devised an excellent little technique that, thankfully, doesn’t require you to lotus in a loincloth or bend into an unnatural position in 40-degree heat. The practice is called Yoga Nidra and means yoga sleep. There are various forms, but most focus on becoming aware of the body sensations as your mind travels up and down from toe to head and everywhere in between. This 20-minute video, narrated by Patrick McKeown, utilises Yoga Nidra and Buteyko Breathing techniques to help you sleep better.
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