Restful Sleep Sappers Exposed!
March 4, 2008 by Liberty Kontranowski
Filed under A Mother's Wisdom, Beauty, Easy Health Tips, Exposed!, How To, Your Body, Your Mind
It’s beginning to become a little obvious, what with yesterday’s post and all, that I am a bit consumed with sleep these days. Or more namely, a lack of it. The disturbing thing is that I have no excuses for my shoddy shut-eye. I am not the parent of a newborn, my health has not changed and my life is not full of soul-eating stress. So what gives?
Evidently, there is a new type of sleep situation running rampant, known as “Junk Sleep”. Unlike truly restful snoozing, junk sleep doesn’t seem to measure up with the quality or duration needed of it to properly rest and recharge the body. It can lead to low energy, mood swings and brain fog - none of which are particularly helpful when navigating a jam-packed day.
Causes of junk sleep vary, but some of the same culprits show up in houses throughout the world. Take a look to see if you might be unwittingly aiding and abetting a sleep offender:
- Fluorescent light bulbs. As evening sets in, your corner of the earth naturally darkens, sending a message to your pineal gland that it’s time to prepare for sleep. But bright lights can thwart your pineal gland’s efforts, tricking it into thinking it’s daylight still. Try switching off all fluorescent bulbs in exchange for soft-lighting lamps about two hours before bed time, and be sure to limit computer time and television viewing as well.
- A warm bedroom. While it’s tempting to make your bedroom as cozy as can be, it’s important to remember that body temperature plays a key role in the various stages of sleep. As morning draws near, your body temperature naturally rises, kicking in late-stage sleep. If your room is too warm, your body temperature will rise too quickly, limiting your amount of REM sleep. For this reason, turn your thermostat down before hitting the sack, and layer your bed with blankets which can easily be peeled away if necessary.
- Clingy pajamas. While snug sleep clothes are a necessity for kids due to fire safety reasons, they are not the best choice for adults. Sleeping in jammies that are too clingy can also raise the body’s core temperature, which suppresses the proudction of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone. Stick to comfy, moveable and breathable pajamas and save the tight skivvies for special occasions.
So do any of these offenders sound familiar (hello, giant computer screen!) Do you have any good sleepy-time tricks to share? Please, if you do, pull up a pillow and let us know - we are definitely all ears.
Source: First Magazine
Kelly Townsend
Just so happens that I am an expert in getting not so restful sleep. Here is what I have been doing to increase my quality zzzzz’s
Eliminate television. I did an experiment, and removed tv for an entire week. My sleep improved dramatically.
Put your pillowcase in the freezer for several minutes. I can not sleep with a hot or even warm pillow.
Having a hard time falling asleep. Try counting back from 100. except spell the numbers out. eg O-N-E-H-U-N-D-R-E-D (I haven’t tried this one out yet, but I will soon)
Have a cup of lavender tea about 1 hr before bedtime.
Try listening to soothing ambient music a little bit before bed. My favorite of late, Music For Airports from Brian Eno.
I have lots more ideas, you can come visit my blog if you need more help! - These ones are free
Laura, I LOVE the pillowcase-in-the-freezer idea! Even though it’s still totally winter here, I NEED to have a cool pillowcase to hit the hay on. I love this idea.
The counting/spelling idea is cool too, but my prob is not FALLING asleep or even STAYING asleep (most of the time, anyway). It’s getting QUALITY sleep. I’m always tired in the mornings instead of refreshed and end up remembering a lot of dreaming, which doesn’t happen on nights with exceptional sleep. Sigh.
Maybe it’s my darn computer! My screen is ginormous and is probably messing with my poor pineal gland! Damn!
Thanks for the ideas, Laura. And I am sooooo going to check out that Brian Eno CD. I LOVE that kind of music!
If your tv or computer is in your bedroom, you must remove them in order to get quality sleep.
I have also noticed, that if I have fresh flowers in my bedroom, I tend to sleep better (and longer). I don’t know what the connection…oxygen maybe?
Ambient music is great…I just discovered music from Buddha Bar - and some of it is good bed time listening music.
seriously.
CLINGY PJS?!
who knew?
MizFit