With our busy schedules, getting a good nights sleep is often interrupted. There are many factors that can contribute to lack of sleep such as underlying sleep disorder, stress, jobs, children, etc. I find myself lying awake at night thinking about all that needs to be accomplished the next day and I am loosing precious Z’s.
Getting more sleep is very beneficial to our health and it is recommended that adults get between 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Here are some of the benefits.
- Decrease risks of heart disease, heart attack and obesity.
- Can help with decreasing pain.
- Can help think more clearly, decrease risk of injury and better your memory.
- Have a better mood.
- Help with weight control.
- Build a stronger immune system.
Having good sleep habits can be difficult but if you try some of these tips it may help!
- Limit caffeine during the day.
- Exercise 30 min a day (light or vigorous)
- Have a dark, quiet sleep environment.
- Limit TV 1-2 hours before bedtime.
- Try to maintain a consistent sleep wake cycle.
Sometimes it can just be difficulty to fall asleep at night. Eating an light nutritious snack about one hour prior to going to bed may help you fall asleep more quickly. Due to the levels of calcium (which assist your body in making melatonin) and tryptophan (which occurs naturally in foods that contain protein and helps absorb melatonin and seratonin) our body is able to absorb the nutrients to help relay the message to the brain to calm down. Here are few choices and just a serving will do it!
- Cottage cheese
- Peanut butter
- Bananas, Cherries
- Eggs
- Oatmeal or Whole Wheat Toast
- Almonds, Pumpkin or Sesame seeds
I hope some of these tips help to catch all the Z’s you need!!
Kerra Pietsch, LPTA
Andover Physical Therapy
PTC_therapy March 25th, 2016
Posted In: General