Well, we certainly had ‘different’ Christmas and New Year celebrations, didn’t we? (Different is the word I have chosen to refer to 2020 from now on!)
Even though we’ve had a ‘different’ time of it this year, I bet you still found yourself with a million and one things to do, I know I did. I started to get completely overwhelmed at one point, doing stuff late into the evening and when I did go to bed, I was thinking about all the things I still had left to do, so I wasn’t sleeping much. In the end I had to have a word with myself, reigned myself in and dropped a couple of things. Funny really, because I couldn’t even tell you now what was so important that I missed sleep over it!
The fact is, that when life is busy, we have a tendency to think that sleep is wasted time, but here’s the truth – sleep is crucial to our health.
So why should we sleep?
Most of our physical and mental processes are boosted by a good sleep, so it stands to reason that these processes will be affected by lack of it.
If you aren’t getting enough sleep, you may find that you are more forgetful than usual or your decision making is worse.
You might be more emotional or short tempered (mentioning no names... ok yes, it’s me!) and you might have a dip which takes you into depression. Not to mention the physical health issues that have been linked to lack of sleep, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Lack of sleep causes your brain to be unresponsive to the chemical messages that the body releases – these chemicals are called neurotransmitters. When you sleep, the brain resets itself, allowing it to become responsive to the neurotransmitters once again.
How much sleep should we get?
It’s common to hear that 8 hours is the perfect nights rest, but the quality of sleep is also important. 6 hours sound sleep can be more restful than 8 hours fitful sleep. So, don’t worry if you don’t get a straight 8 hours of shut eye, if you feel rested when you wake, you’ve probably had enough.
Trouble sleeping?
I find that a Bedtime routine helps:
The act of getting ready for bed - brushing your teeth, applying night cream, changing into PJ’s
Switch off the devices that you watch or do your scrolling on (this was one of my habits, to scroll on social media while in bed)
Try reading, either a physical book or listening to an audio book or maybe even some calming music
I know I’ve just suggested switching off devices, but you can make an exception here as there are apps such as Calm or Headspace with sections that are purposefully designed for getting you to sleep. I’ve not used Calm, but on the Headspace app, I can recommend the Sleepcasts and Wind downs.
Whatever activity you decide works for you, a calm, consistent routine will train your body to expect night time to be relaxing. And as for the title of this blog? You can probably work out that sleep is definitely not for wimps!
Until next time, Take Care & Sweet Dreams
Love Charlotte
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