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Self Care

Sleep 101: The What, Why, and How

For many years, medical experts believed that sleep was just a passive activity. They thought it was when both your body and mind took a breather from the world.

Yet, it turns out that sleep is when your body may be resting. But your brain is hard at work carrying out multiple activities that are necessary to your life.

In short, the better your sleep, the better the quality of your life will be in general. Add to that the fact that we spend a third of our time doing it. That should be enough to get you motivated to get the best sleep you can.

Keep reading to find out all you can about sleep and how it affects our overall well-being.

What Is Sleep?

Dr. Rafael Pelayo, MD, a sleep specialist at the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center in Redwood City, defines sleep as, “…a natural restorative, physiological process.”

We also get a similar definition from sleep experts at Harvard Medical School of Sleep Medicine. Yet, they take it a step further by characterizing sleep as the following:

  • A process where you’re less likely to be responsive to external stimuli
  • A state of consciousness that can be easily reversed
  • A physiological state that affects brain wave activities, blood pressure, and temperature
  • A vital bodily process that maintains healthy physiological and mental functions

The Different Stages of Sleep

As you sleep, your brain goes back and forth between two stages: (rapid-eye movement) REM and non-REM. Each one lasts about 90 minutes.

The first part of the sleep cycle is non-REM, which is made up of three phases:

  1. The first phase is when you’re just falling asleep.
  2. The second is light sleep is when your body temperature drops and heart rate slows down.
  3. The third is deep sleep is the most restorative when your heartbeat slows down the most.

After that, comes the REM sleep cycle. This is when your eyes dark quickly from side to side because brain activity is at its peak. It’s also when most of your dreams happen, especially those you remember when you wake up. Your heart rate increases slightly, while your breathing becomes quicker and irregular.

Another interesting fact: during REM sleep, your arms and legs are temporarily paralyzed. Experts believe this is our body’s way of protecting itself in case you decide to act out any of your dreams.

The two most important stages are deep sleep and REM sleep. They play vital roles when it comes to memory consolidation and boosting cognitive functions.

Why Is Sleep Important?

Getting good-quality sleep each night is vital for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Never look at sleep as a luxury or an indulgence as our society would like us to believe.

During sleep, your body and mind sift through everything you went through that day. They throw out what you don’t need and permanently store the important information.

When you’re sleep-deprived, you go through the day unable to focus and your attention span is shot. Not getting enough sleep also affects many physiological processes. So, you end up feeling worn out and exhausted the whole day.

Here are some of the other benefits of getting good-quality sleep.

  • You wake up feeling refreshed and energized
  • Sleep boosts your immune system
  • Your whole body needs sleep to stay healthy and disease-free
  • Sleep helps regulate emotions and manage stress
  • Memories are reorganized during sleep
  • Sleep helps restore cognitive functions while elevating focus and concentration levels

How Can We Get a Good Night’s Sleep?

How much sleep you should get differs from one person to the next. It factors in age, gender, health condition, and even genes.

Yet, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), adults should aim to get anywhere between seven to nine hours of good-quality sleep each night.

Researchers have come up with several strategies to help you get a peaceful, full night’s sleep. You can turn these strategies into goals, then, eventually, habits. All you have to do is practice them each day and be consistent.

Let’s check them out.

Make Your Bedroom a Sleep-Friendly Zone

For starters, you should dim the lights about half an hour before going to bed. Make sure the room is at a pleasant temperature.

Your sheets and duvet should be snug and cozy. Another important point to factor in is your mattress and pillow. They should be firm, yet comfortable to help you fall asleep faster.

Establish a Regular Bedtime Routine

Create a routine where you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Try to be consistent, even on weekends.

After a few days, your body will get the message and engage your body’s circadian rhythm. When this rhythm is in sync, you’ll fall asleep easier and wake up feeling more refreshed.

Yet, if it’s out of whack, you’ll feel the same fogginess and drowsiness typically associated with jet lag.

Avoid Stimulants and Large Meals in the Evening

Medical experts recommend that you avoid drinking or consuming stimulants for about four to six hours before bedtime. Remember that caffeine has a half-life of four to five hours. In other words, your body takes about five hours to get rid of only half the amount of caffeine you consumed.

Just as detrimental to sleep as caffeine, heavy meals can make you feel uncomfortable. Rather than start to relax, your digestive system will work overtime to digest all the food you consumed. This will also make it harder to fall asleep.

Ban Screens from Your Bed

The light that comes from cell phones and computer screens is detrimental to sleep. Your brain mistakes this light for sunlight. As a result, it blocks the release of melatonin; the hormone that signals your brain to sleep.

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Self Care

Signs Your Current Daily Routine Needs an Update

Daily routines can prove invaluable for improving our lives. However, they aren’t all made equal. When you are creating your first routine, there are several things you may miss out or get wrong. Your routine may have worked for you initially, but now you have stopped seeing the progress advancements you wanted.

As humans, we change and evolve over time. Where you are now and how you feel will look completely different to how it did a year ago. This means, what works for us initially, may not work for us further down the line.

Not sure whether your routine is working for you? Examine the issues, situations, and signs below to help you decide if your current routine needs an update.

You find the routine is difficult to stick to.

The right routine will become easy to follow over time. However, all routines require effort in the beginning. When you are making changes, the mind needs time to adjust and re-learn different patterns of behavior. It is said that it takes around 21 days to build up consistent habits. If you are still struggling after 21 days, it could be a sign you need to change it.

You don’t see the value in it anymore.

When you first start following a routine, it adds a lot of value to your life. It can boost energy levels, reduce stress, and make you feel happier overall. You can easily identify the value in the things you are doing.

If you are struggling to see the value in your routine, changing it up can help. Over time, you change and the things that once helped you are no longer relevant. This means it is important to change your routine as you and your circumstances change. 

There is no room for spontaneity.

Daily routines create structure, but it’s also important to leave some room for flexibility. Life is unpredictable and this needs to be factored into your routine. If you make it too strict, you’ll find it’s much harder to follow. 

Stick to including the most important tasks in your routine, such as habits to improve your mornings. Don’t aim to create a strict timeline of how your day should go. 

You find change more difficult now.

One of the great things about a daily routine is that it gives you structure. However, it should also leave room for change too. If you use your daily routine to avoid change, it’s time to stop. 

Many people find change is much more difficult if they have been following a strict routine. As you become used to your new rigid schedule, any change can leave you feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. However, it is important to be open to change so changing your routine may be necessary.

These are some of the top signs you may need to update your current routine. Remember, routines need to be altered over time to accommodate for any lifestyle and personal change

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Mindset/Strenghts Resilience Self Care

5 Key Benefits Of Humor And Laughter For Your Wellbeing

You may have heard that laughter is the best medicine. While psychologists have determined that humor is a coping mechanism for stress, additional research into the science of humor and laughter has found that they are also good for your wellbeing. 

There are five key benefits of humor and laughter that can make you happier and healthier.

More Oxygen

Your body uses oxygen to create energy to move. As your cells use oxygen, they create carbon dioxide.  Your lungs need to exhale or push out the carbon dioxide so you can get more oxygen.  The better your breathing, the more oxygen you breathe in or inhale to circulate throughout your body.  

According to the American Lung Association, when you laugh, your lungs expand to push out more carbon dioxide and let more oxygen into them.  Deeper breaths mean more oxygen for energy.  In a study in the International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, researchers found that laughing reduced trapped carbon dioxide in the lungs of people with pulmonary disease.  People with lung issues often have difficulty expelling carbon dioxide, making their breathing less effective.  

More oxygen can help you feel more energetic and alert.  More energy improves your ability to do things and benefits your wellbeing.

Reduce Pain

In a study at the University of Oxford, researchers found that humor and laughter reduce pain sensation. Your body produces endorphins, which are natural chemicals that are responsible for making you feel happy.  Endorphins also decrease the pain response.  In this study, 15 minutes of watching a humorous show increased the pain threshold by 10%.  

Endorphins are produced during physical activity and exercise.  A typical example is a “runner’s high” or the euphoria an athlete gets while running.  Scientists believe that laughter is an exercise for the abdominal muscles.  When you laugh, you breathe deeper, using your muscles more.  This creates endorphins that help you tolerate pain and improve your wellbeing.

Improved Immune System Function

Your immune system works to protect you against harmful germs. If you are exposed to germs, your immune system produces white blood cells to fight against germs and illness.  Your immune system also creates antibodies, so if you are exposed to that germ again, your body is ready to fight it off.  

In the 1970s, research published in the New England Journal of Medicine described how a patient with an autoimmune disorder, or dysfunctional immune system, used humor and laughter to treat his condition into remission.  Further studies at the Loma Linda University’s Schools of Allied Health have shown that laughter boosts the production of germ-fighting cells and antibodies.  Researchers also found that laughter increased cells’ ability to destroy cancer tumors.

Being sick reduces your wellbeing when you don’t feel well and cannot do what you want and need to do.  Humor and laughter improve your immune system function and help your overall wellbeing.

Fights Anxiety and Depression

Anxiety and depression are linked to stress. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety is the most common mental illness and affects over 40 million adults in the United States.  Anxiety and depression are often diagnosed together, with over half the people with one condition also having the other.  Anxiety and depression negatively affect a person’s wellbeing and quality of life.

Many studies have shown that humor and laughter relieve stress and decrease the risk for anxiety and depression.  In a Plos One study, researchers found that the more a person laughed, the less stress they reported feeling.

Better Bonding

In a study at the University of North Carolina, researchers found that shared laughter signals people to believe they have the same viewpoint and boosts their sense of connection. 

According to the American Psychological Association, social isolation, and lack of meaningful bonds with others decrease a person’s wellbeing by affecting their:

  • Sleep
  • Cognitive Function
  • Health

Humor and laughter help create and strengthen bonds, improving your wellbeing.  Laughter really is the best medicine.