Sleep Training... For Adults
You may have heard about sleep training for babies (or not), that’s where parents + caretakers use a variety of different regimens to support or adjust their child's sleep behaviors so that they get enough rest as they grow. But what we’re talking about here is sleep training, scheduling + support for adults. (No, it’s not actually a thing, but it really should be).
THE FACTS
Adults are supposed to get 7 - 9 hours of sleep daily
(supposed to is the key word)Without proper sleep hormones may become imbalanced over time
(for example, sleep deprivation increases levels of ghrelin and decreases levels of leptin. Ghrelin is a hormone that makes us feel hungry while leptin makes us feel full. This may cause us to feel hungrier and overeat)Good sleep may help keep your heart strong
(short sleep appears to increase the risk of high blood pressure, especially in those with obstructive sleep apnea)Enough sleep supports a healthy immune system
(some data suggests that proper sleep may improve your body’s antibody responses, and immune system)
SO WHAT
Realistically, life is busy (busier than busy). That’s the bottom line
We have to make the choice + then create the plan, to take care of ourselves + our health
We only get 24 hours in a day, and we are accustomed to the hustle culture. Go, go, go
But what would happen if we got to bed a little earlier, worked on that email tomorrow
We only get 1 life, so as we’re trying our best to make the most of every day, why not make it a healthy one along the way. And a quick fix for that is a little more sleep than we’re used to.
HOW TO GET YOUR SLEEP ON
Schedule out your day, so you have enough down time before bed
Set a cut-off time for yourself at the end of the night. Whatever’s not done, continue tomorrow
Put your phone on DND, charge it in a different room, don’t touch it after a certain time at night
A fun sweat session of some sort in the morning, makes for a very restful night
Play peaceful + calming guided meditation / binaural beats to doze off to
But the biggest thing that I’m learning is to say yes to sleep. I’m used to when the kids get to bed, taking advantage of my “me time”. I love working on work, catching up on emails, finishing up my to do lists, and the list goes on… but I’m learning to embrace rest. I’m definitely not getting any younger, and my body is really starting to rebel against this no sleep thing. It’s physically starting to tell me, lady, you better get some rest or I’m gonna shut ‘er down.