I have had a few people lately tell me that they have a lot of trouble switching off their brains- that they are really struggling with their sleep. To me, that is a big problem because when we sleep we recover. Sleep is the best recovery drug that we have! If we are struggling with our sleep, then our ability to restore and replenish is decreased meaning we are a lot more susceptible to the stresses of every day life.
There are a couple simple things you could try to improve your ability to switch off and get some much needed R & R:
1. Meditate– spend 10 minutes a day deliberately trying to concentrate on something as simple as breathing- this has huge transfer affects in getting your brain to switch off. Deliberate concentration and not getting distracted helps the brain focus and in turn this helps the brain switch off at the end of the day. We often find ourselves worrying about worrying and to put it simply, when you are trying to sleep it isn’t the time to be planning the next days activities. Try the Headspace app– it’s my favourite out there.
2. Get adjusted– if the body just can’t relax or its uncomfortable, it will be much harder to fall asleep. We see it with kids and adults all the time and sometimes we aren’t even aware that we are irritated. Recently, I adjusted our Receptionist, Lana’s infant son- that night he slept for 12 hours for the first time ever. A few days later he got adjusted and took a 3 hour sleep during the day (much longer than his usual 30 minutes). We are here to help your body relax and find its own natural rhythm. A body in balance can certainly relax much easier.
3. Cut the sugar– Sugar, apart from being very inflammatory, really rises our blood pressure and blood sugar. This spike in blood pressure makes it really hard to relax. A client yesterday told me how she has quit the sugar for only 3 weeks and already feels so much clearer and has a lot more energy. If you do need the late night food hit, ideally look for something with protein and good fats. This will help your body to relax, switch off and promote the production of your body’s recovery hormones.
4. Loose the technology– sorry, but artificial lights from our ipads, laptops, televisions and kindles unfortunately keep the brain from switching off. It’s the same reason that pokie machines are such bright colours- they make it almost impossible to feel tired so you can continue spending all your hard earned money. Give it a shot, try to dim those lights. If not, have a look at some of the blue light apps out there that help minimise the excess brain activity.
Listed above are 4 simple things that I use on a regular basis. Try each one and they should help you get a good nights sleep. Something worth trying for sure especially considering a rested body is an energised body…
Rest well & enjoy!!!
James Staciwa