In my experience and opinion, there are 4 Dimensions of a Healthy Lifestyle....
1. Diet and Nutrition.
2. Exercise.
3. Sleep.
4. Adjusting your priorities, schedule, focus and efforts to support 1 - 3.
The first 3 are tangible and #4 is more attitude, will and self-determination and actually the most important of them all....
And I'll address #4 in a later post.
This blog focuses a lot on #1 and #2 but I wanna focus on #3 Sleep for now.
Was listening to this song....
I can't get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications
Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know will be all right
Perhaps it's just imagination
Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Alone between the sheets
Only brings exasperation
It's time to walk the streets
Smell the desperation
At least there's pretty lights
And though there's little variation
It nullifies the night
From overkill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY7S6EgSlCI
If this sounds like you....
You're not alone!!
Sleep Management is one of my greatest challenges in maintaining a healthy lifestyle....
You need the proper duration and quality of sleep to recover from your prior workout and workday and prepare for the next one....
Everybody knows that but few actually make getting the proper sleep a priority in their life.
We live in a culture and society of extended work hours and increasing productivity and rising cost of living where people are forced to work "doubles" or multiple jobs just to make ends meet.
And I get all that....
But.... But.... But....
If you don't get enough sleep, it's just gonna snowball on you and undermine all the efforts you're making to support and better yourself and the people you love.
And if you are one of those tortured minds and souls referred to in the Men at Work song that just can't seem to "turn it off" and your sleep suffers as a result, you're just gonna have to find a way to manage your problem.
The method is up to you but here's a few things that I've discovered that have helped me:
Try to eat at least 2 - 3 hours before you go to bed. For me, going to bed on a full belly is a sure fire way to mess up a night's sleep.
Lay off the alcohol. Alcohol messes up the body in a lot of ways. I find anything more than a glass of wine or 1 beer causes me to wake up early and I have problems getting back to sleep. A little research on it confirmed that it messes up REM sleep.
I love to smoke my pipe but had to give it up for the greater good. Tobacco (Nicotine) is a stimulant that affects me for a lot longer than the caffeine in coffee. Tobacco is another deterrent to a restful night's sleep and another reason why not to partake.
Give the technology an hour break before bedtime. Get your head out of the flat screen and hands off the computer and fingers off the iPhone and detoxify your mind of visual Boolean stimulation before beddy bye.
Non-caffeinated tea works for some.
If all else fails, I take 5 mg of Melatonin.
For me, it doesn't have the negative side effects of prescription or OTC sleep aids.
Restful Sleep is the Foundation of all things meaningful in life.
Get it or regret it.
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