Sleep is a crucial aspect of our overall health and well-being. It’s during sleep that our bodies repair, recharge, and prepare for the day ahead. However, in today's fast-paced world, getting quality sleep can sometimes feel like a luxury. Fortunately, by making some adjustments to our nutrition and lifestyle habits, we can significantly improve the quality of our sleep.
How Does Poor Sleep Impact Your Weight?
Poor sleep can significantly make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight. When you don't get enough quality sleep, it disrupts your body's hormonal balance, leading to increased levels of hunger hormones like ghrelin and decreased levels of leptin, the hormone responsible for signaling fullness. As a result, you may find yourself experiencing more frequent and intense cravings for high-calorie, sugary foods and refined carbohydrates. Additionally, sleep deprivation can negatively impact your metabolism, making it harder for your body to efficiently burn calories. Furthermore, tiredness and fatigue can reduce your motivation to exercise and make healthier food choices, further impeding weight loss efforts. Overall, prioritizing good sleep hygiene is essential for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.
Here are seven tips to help you achieve a more restful night's sleep:
1. Establish a Consistent Sleep Schedule
Poor sleep often occurs when your circadian rhythm is off due to an inconsistent sleep-wake schedule. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends, helps regulate your body's internal clock, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up naturally. Set a schedule that allows you to get the optimal 7-8 hours of sleep. Also, ideally getting 7-8 hours starting at 10pm is more restful than getting that amount starting at 11pm. Aim to get to bed earlier to allow you to feel more well-rested.
2. Create a Wind-Down Routine
If you're someone that has trouble falling asleep, having a consistent bedtime routine to help you unwind before actually getting into bed can be very helpful. Begin by reducing and dimming the lighting in your home a couple of hours before bedtime to limit the exposure. Try lighting some candles or use calming decorative lights to create a more relaxing environment. Engage in calming activities before bed, such as meditation, breathing exercises, reading, gentle stretching, or taking a warm epsom salt bath to relax your muscles. Avoid stimulating activities like watching TV or using electronic devices an hour before bedtime, as the blue light emitted can disrupt your body's natural sleep-wake cycle.
3. Be Conscious of Your Caffeine Intake
Limit caffeine consumption, especially in the afternoon and evening. Caffeine can stay in your system for hours, interfering with your ability to fall asleep. I recommend limiting your caffeine intake to before noon at latest to avoid sleep disruptions. Try replacing your afternoon coffee with a protein-rich afternoon snack around the time you get sleepy (typically between 2-3pm) to help give you energy instead. At night, try relaxing teas to help you sleep such as, chamomile, lavender, lemon balm, and passionflower.
4. Limit Alcohol Consumption
While alcohol may help you unwind and initially make you feel drowsy, it can disrupt your sleep patterns and lead to restless nights. As the body metabolizes alcohol, it can lead to fragmented sleep patterns, causing frequent awakenings throughout the night. Additionally, alcohol interferes with the normal sleep cycle, reducing the amount of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is crucial for cognitive function, memory consolidation, and overall restoration. Moreover, alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it increases urine production, which can result in more nighttime awakenings to use the bathroom leading to poorer sleep quality and decreased overall restfulness.
5. Eat Small Protein Rich, Balanced Meals Every 2-3 Hours
Eating every 2-3 hours can help with sleep by stabilizing blood sugar levels throughout the day and preventing extreme hunger or excessive fullness before bedtime. When you go for long periods without eating, blood sugar levels can drop, leading to feelings of fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. These fluctuations in blood sugar can also affect your body's production of hormones, including those that regulate sleep, such as cortisol and melatonin. By eating regular, balanced meals and snacks with protein throughout the day, you provide your body with a steady source of energy, helping to maintain stable blood sugar levels. This can prevent the sudden drops in blood sugar that may wake you up during the night or disrupt your ability to fall asleep.
6. Optimize Your Sleep Environment
Your sleep environment can either make or break how you sleep! Make sure your bedroom is conducive to sleep by keeping it cool, dark, and quiet. If it's colder outside, try opening the windows leading up to bedtime or adjust the thermostat to make it cooler. Use blackout curtains or an eye mask to block out any light. Try ear plugs or a white noise machine to drown out any sound disruptions. Lastly, invest in a comfortable mattress and pillows that provide adequate support for your body to prevent tossing and turning or pain throughout the night.
7. Manage Stress and Anxiety
High levels of stress and anxiety can significantly impact your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Many of us climb into bed and our minds start going with to-do lists or current stressors. To help quiet your mind, practice stress-reducing techniques such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, or journaling. Meditation doesn't have to be perfect, it can be simply 5 minutes of laying and focusing on a breathing sequence such as 4-7-8 breathing where you inhale through your nose for :4s, hold for :7s, and exhale through your mouth for :8s. I recommend using apps such as Healing Sounds or Insight Timer.
Prioritizing good nutrition and lifestyle habits can have a profound impact on the quality of your sleep. By incorporating these seven tips into your daily routine, you can improve your sleep hygiene and enjoy the countless benefits of a restful night's sleep, including increased energy, improved mood, and better overall health and well-being. So, tonight, give yourself the gift of better sleep by putting these tips into practice and waking up refreshed and rejuvenated tomorrow morning.
If you’re ready to overhaul your nutrition and lifestyle to optimize your energy and achieve lasting wellness, let's chat! Click below to book a free consultation or learn how my 12-week Nutritional Therapy program can help you achieve your health and fitness goals this year.
ABOUT JENN
Jenn Horowitz, FNTP, CPT, CES, CECP is a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Certified Personal Trainer, Corrective Exercise Specialist, and Emotion Code Practitioner who works to address the root cause of illness. Jenn is the founder of JTH Wellness, a holistic nutrition and wellness practice, specializing in helping people improve their relationship with food, optimize gut health, and regain confidence in their bodies through 1:1 fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle counseling. Jenn works to teach others how to live a balanced lifestyle that allows them to achieve their goals while enjoying life for results that last. Learn more about Jenn’s nutrition counseling services and schedule a free 15-minute discovery session by visiting her website, http://www.JTHwellness.com.