Sleep is the number one recovery tool and as so we must learn to use it well so that we can take advantage from it and it can improve energy,
Vitality,
Performance and health.
From a scientific point,
Regardless the age,
Gender or profession,
An average of 7 to 9 hours sleep is the basics.
If sleep is not consistent and perhaps deprived,
You could possibly experience a suboptimal output on your daily performance.
The more sleep deprived one is,
The more the brain is triggered into thinking there is the new normal,
Therefore it's okay.
But it's not so as eventually the body will experience burnout and we might experience challenges in thinking and emotional regulation.
In fact,
A recent study at the Centre of Human Sleep Science shows that the emotional centre is 60% more reactive due to the eroded connection communication path between the prefrontal cortex,
Which one of its jobs is to regulate the deep emotional impulses and the deep emotional brain.
Therefore we become disconnected and subsequently we press the emotional accelerator pedal and too little regulatory control brake.
The neuroscientist Dr Walker explains rather eloquently that sleep acts like a nocturnal soothing balm,
Taking the painful sting out of the memories of the difficult emotional experiences we witness during the day,
Almost divorcing the emotions from the memory.
Putting strategies into place could help you be more consistent with your sleep hygiene,
One of which starts way before you climb into bed.
Let's start with sunlight.
By ensuring that you are exposed to sunlight during the day,
You will help stimulate your body's natural sleep hormones,
These are called melatonin,
And ensure that your brain recognises the difference between night and day.
We then move to exercise.
Being physically active during the day is both good for your physical and mental health and it really promotes the circadian rhythm as your body learns to switch on and off.
To avoid a drop of insulin,
Followed by some tiredness and followed by a sugar high,
Processed foods as well as sugary foods should be cut back,
Especially before bedtime.
A good discipline or fluid intake throughout the day is very important and by ensuring your optimum amount is consumed by 4pm,
This will prevent you waking up in the middle of the night.
Learning to mimic sundown is also important.
So as soon as it's getting dark,
Start winding down.
Towards the end of the night,
Make sure you don't use any of your devices like phone,
Tablets,
So that you are not exposed to blue light.
And also make sure that your bedroom is free from computers,
TV screens and work and that the lights are off.
Have pen and paper by your bed so that when you have a thought or a tomorrow's to-do list or an idea,
You can quickly jot it down.
As soon as it's out of your head and onto a piece of paper,
You can relax more.
Making sure that your bedroom is not too hot could also help.
And to further aid regularity,
Setting an alarm to wake you in the morning and one in the evening to remind you that it's time to sleep could help,
According to Dr Walker.
Furthermore,
If your time schedule allowed,
You could try to wake in the morning in an organic way.
What I mean by organic is waking up without an alarm.
It is possibly likely that your body finds a rhythm and subsequently awakes every morning at the same time,
Give or take a few minutes.
I hope this sleep hygiene was informative and helpful.
And now I invite you to listen to the sleep meditation written and narrated.
By Tom Evans.
Good night.
This meditation is about the most simple you ever come across.
It involves lying down and breathing.
That's it.
And it's a great meditation to do at the end of the day to ease you into slumber.
So all you do is lie down and muse on the day you've just had.
What was good about it?
What was not so good?
And what could have been even better?
And just allow those thoughts to float around in your head.
And if anyone crossed the boundary with you today,
Just forgive them and let it go.
If anyone performed a transgression,
Forgive them and let it go.
Forgive them and let it go.
And if you did something that you're not pleased about,
You didn't perform very well,
Forgive yourself,
Just let it go.
And if some good luck and good fortune came your way,
Say thanks to your God,
To your guide or just to your bed.
And be thankful that Mother Earth,
Spaceship Earth,
Carried you in the last 24 hours over 1.
5 million miles through space safely and securely.
Now notice any tension in your forehead and let it go.
And as it goes,
Let the thoughts go with it.
Be aware of the position of your tongue and allow it to lie at the bottom of your mouth.
Notice the tension in your jaw and let your jaw relax.
Wiggle your shoulders a little,
Let them relax.
Just imagine the tension flowing down your arms,
Just seeping out your fingers.
Now be aware of your breath,
The tension in your chest,
Let that go.
And imagine it now flowing down through your thighs,
All the way down your legs.
Past your knees,
Past your ankles,
Into your toes and away from your body.
Just become aware of your breath,
Paying attention to the in-breath,
Paying attention to the out-breath and paying very close attention to the still points between the breaths.
And now just think about what you'd like to happen tomorrow in an ideal world.
What would the most perfect day be like for you?
And what insights and inspirations would you like in your dreams?
Now just imagine a large left hand slid underneath your body.
A large right hand is now placed on your belly.
And rather than you having to breathe,
These hands are going to breathe for you,
In the same way that a baby breathes in its calmness.
So just imagine the hands part,
The pressure comes off your belly,
The breath comes in and the hands come together very gently and slowly.
Just push the breath out of your body.
And you don't have to do anything,
You don't have to count the breath,
Just allow it to happen.
The hands slowly expelling the air from your body and then parting and allowing the air to come in.
Just relax.
And now you can fall asleep in the knowledge that these hands will keep you alive and keep breathing for you while you slumber and while you dream.
Just relax.
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