The power of sleep.

Hey readers,

I love to sleep and I can not lie. I think sometimes especially as parents sleep can go on the back burner or not be taken seriously. As a person who suffers from mental health problems I fully am aware of the importance of sleep. There are so many good reasons why getting forty winks is really important and can have an impact mentally and physically on your well-being.

sleep reduces stress, it allows you to have a break, a rest, and time for your body to naturally heal after a long day.

When sleeping the immune system is activated and helps to give the body the healing process, that is why it is so beneficial to sleep when you have a cold or flu.

Sleep is the best meditation ~ Dalai Lama

Sleep can help you feel refreshed and rejuvenated allowing you to feel creative and the energy to face the day ahead.

Sleep helps us feel better and less irritable. We are more patient and less likely to 'loss it' because we have more energy to think things through. We are much calmer because we have more free space to think as we have the energy to do so, making us more patient and allowing us to take time to think logically.

Sleep helps us regulate positive and negative emotions and sleep helps us less likely to respond to emotional stimuli giving us time to enjoy the day.

Having a good night's sleep improves memory and performance which ultimately gives us more free time if we do things quicker. Therefore getting more out of the day.

Sleep has many benefits to your physical help with reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, your immune system function, and help keep your heart healthy because it gives the body time to process correctly.

Cheers for reading X

9 ways to calm your imagination at bedtime

Hey readers,

Do you struggle with settling to go to sleep before bed, your mind is racing with thoughts that won't switch off. Below I have provided some tips to help with a conundrum to get some sleep instead of staying away thinking.

1. Routine.

I know it is the same old story but routine really does help you get into a rhythm with trying your brain to behave in a certain way. Create a time you want to go to bed and do things that help you sleep.

2. Reading.

If you need some downtime and to stop going in circles with your thoughts at night then I suggest giving reading a go. It helps calm the mind, makes you sleepy and you can focus on the story rather than your million and one thoughts that pop into your head.

3. TV.

Try to avoid the really heavy stuff that provokes an emotional reaction such as the news or horror films. You need to unwind before bed and one of the best ways is to watch something light-hearted. I think comedy is a great way to relax.

4. Music.

If TV is not your thing then another way to relax is to listen to music or there are plenty of relaxation videos you can get free on YouTube that you can shut your eyes and follow step by step. Again like reading this allows you to focus on the instructions and create calming thoughts into your head which in turn will provide you with the calmness to settle for bed and sleep.

5. Yoga.

Alternatively, to the relaxation videos, you can try light yoga to do before bed. Stretches the muscles can help get you to sleep quicker. by working on the muscles and getting them ready to stretch out and relax.

6. Story.

Sometimes, when I struggle to drift off to sleep I create a story in my mind to give me something to think off and it helps a lot. I think about the situation and the feelings. It doesn't have to be fictional sometimes go back to when I was a child and think of the special moments and what it felt like such as the evening sun and playing outside. It involves happy thoughts and really helps get me to sleep.

7. Light.

Having low light when your watching TV say can create a relaxing ambience to get you in that sleepy mood and ready for bed. Having a warm lamp or fairy lights are great accessories to purchase and help in the long term with your sleep.

8. PMR.

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a technique to help you relax your body. You scan through each muscle of the body tensing and released the tension. Being consciously aware of this can help get the body to relax but that is key is to have as little stress physically in order to settle off to sleep.

9. List.

Having a notebook by the bed is useful because if you have lots of thoughts that are stopping you getting sleep writing them down can clear the mind. It will stop the thoughts circling and can know that it can get dealt with tomorrow as it is written down you won't forget about it.

Cheers for reading X

10 reasons why sleep is important.

Hey readers,

Sleep is so important to your wellbeing and helps recharge your batteries. I have given more reasons below on why sleep is so important for you.

Helps with concentration and productivity.

When you have a good night sleep you have more productive because you have more energy to do the things you want to do. Likewise, with concentration, you have more patience because you have more energy to focus on the things you want to do. Therefore you can spend more time doing a task and getting it right without making mistakes because you are sleep deprived.

Improves immune function.

With sleep it allows your body to respond to the requests needed instead of trying to manage with the lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation suppresses the immune system, therefore, more at risk of getting ill if your body is not working accordingly.

Boast memory.

When you have adequate sleep it allows your brain to be able to focus on information rather than trying to keep your body awake due to lack of sleep. It means less time needed to work on remembering the information which in turn means you can hold on to the information into your brain.

Stay alert.

When you have sleep it allows you to stay alert and on top of what you are doing be used again, you have more energy and not trying to fight the tiredness that you have lost due to not getting the right amount of sleep.

Better health.

With getting sleep allows the body to have the energy to make the body function correctly. An example of this would be heart circulation and getting the blood to follow correctly to the different parts of the body.

Reaction time.

A positive aspect of getting sleep is that you are more awake and can focus on what you are doing. Therefore your reaction time is better because you are not tired and have a quick to respond to the environment.

Weight loss.

For one you are sleep and less time means you don't need more food to compensate for energy. When you are tired and you are more likely to be tempted to go to sugar and high fats because it is faster to get quick energy to manage the tiredness. Consequently means you are using more calories than recommended, therefore, putting on weight.

Reduces stress.

Getting a good nights rest can help you control and regulate your emotions. If you're tired you don't have the time to rationalise which can cause you to get stressed.

Less pain.

It is proven that lack of sleep can cause more pain. If you on the go for long periods tour muscles need to rest however they are still working longer then needed causing pain for the person lacking in sleep.

Decision making.

With having sleep you can have a rest and give your brain time to have a break from thinking and doing physical things with the brain. When you are sleep deprived you can't concentrate and therefore struggle to reason correctly.

Cheers for reading X