After waking up in the middle of the night….
𝕀 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕠 𝕒 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕤𝕝𝕖𝕖𝕡
☾ Sleep helps your brain work properly
☾ Studies show that a good night sleep improves learning
☾ If you are sleep deficient, you may have trouble making decisions, problem solving, controlling your emotions and behavior, and coping with change
☾ Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin)
☾ After several nights of loosing sleep—even a loss of just 1-2 hours per night—your ability to function suffers as if you haven’t slept at all for a day or two
**https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/node/4605**
𝕋𝕚𝕡𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕤𝕝𝕖𝕖𝕡
☆ Power Down- the soft blue glow from a cell phone, tablet, or digital clock on your bedside table may hurt your sleep
TIP: Turn off any electronics an hour before you go to bed.
☆ Put Your Neck in Neutral- Blame your pillow if you wake up tired with a stiff neck. It should be just the right size – not too fat and not too flat – to support the natural curve of your neck when you’re resting on your back. Do you sleep on your side? Line your nose up with the center of your body. Don’t snooze on your stomach. It twists your neck.
TIP: Use good posture before bed, too. Don’t crane your neck to watch TV.
☆ Save Your Bed for Sleep (and sex lol)- Your bedroom should feel relaxing. Don’t sit in bed and work, surf the Internet, or watch TV.
TIP: The best sleep temperature for most people is between 68 and 72 degrees.
☆ Look For Hidden Caffeine- Coffee in the morning is fine for most people. But as soon as the clock strikes noon, avoid caffeine in foods and drinks. Even small amounts found in chocolate can affect your ZZZs later that night.
Tip: Read labels. Some pain relievers and weight loss pills contain caffeine.
☆ Free Your Mind- Put aside any work, touchy discussions, or complicated decisions 2 to 3 hours before bed. It takes time to turn off the “noise” of the day. If you’ve still got a lot on your mind, jot it down and let go for the night. Then, about an hour before you hit the sack, read something calming, meditate, listen to quiet music, or take a warm bath.
TIP: Even 10 minutes of relaxation makes a difference.
**https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/discomfort-15/better-sleep/slideshow-sleep-tips**
After doing a little research on the importance of sleep, it is something I want to focus more time getting. Being a college student-athlete, sleep can be such a strange thing. I fall asleep at odd hours and wake up for early morning workouts and classes. But because of how important it is, just like my homework, it should be something I focus on doing well. For the next few days, I am going to try reading before bed instead of scrolling through Instagram or watching Snapchat stories. I am also going to make it a goal to be in bed by 9:30. It is truly amazing the feeling after a good night sleep, so hopefully by putting some of these tips (as mentioned above) to work, I will be able to maximize my sleep and truly maximize my days! ☺
now to get some ZZZZZZZZ’s…..