How to Sleep like a Baby

Getting a good night's sleep can seem to get more difficult to do the older you get. This makes sense especially as your responsibilities and worries increase as you get older - the more you have to mull over at night when trying to sleep. 

However, it is possible to learn how to sleep well again and get the most out of each nights shut eye. It is possible to wake feeling refreshed and ready to face each day with energy - yes it is. And here's how....we copy what we did as babies.

When we were babies, sleeping was second only to eating in the important things to do each day. So it was taken seriously. By using some of the same tactics our parents used to get us to sleep, we can get that same quality of sleep again.

1. Routine, routine, routine
Most babies have a strict bedtime (whether they adhere to it or not) and we need to do the same. I'm not suggesting 7pm but pick a time that is before 11.30pm at least and try to make sure you get to bed at that time every night of the week. This new routine will help your body get used to the pattern and adjust accordingly and the aim is to always have the lights out and eyes shut by midnight if you want to feel refreshed in the morning.

2. Bathtime before bed
Some people shower in the morning before work whilst others prefer to bathe the night before. I'd suggest bath time before bed, again just as babies do. The warm water will be soothing and relaxing in a bath will help you fast track through your unwinding so you don't do any of it in bed. This may be difficult to fit in round your other routines at home but try it out and you'll feel the benefits immediately. It's worth the effort.

3. Cover Lightly
Staying warm and cozy in bed is what we dream of but as with babies, you shouldn't wrap up too warmly with heavy blankets and duvets. The key is layers that together keep you warm but are also light in weight. You may have experienced waking up in the middle of the night before when you get too hot and sweaty and we're trying to ensure that you stay asleep through the night uninterrupted.

4. Nothing too wild
By this I mean, start winding down in the evening hours before bedtime and don't do strenuous housework or workout half an hour before bed. Try reading or watching a little TV - not a horror movie or anything too disturbing. That would be the equivalent of reading a baby horror stories for a bedtime treat. Relax and wind down and remember, nothing too wild.

5. Drink nothing an hour before bed
Sure, babies get their hot milk but they wear nappies / diapers! We don't so no hot drinks just before bed as this can sometimes force you to head to the toilet in the middle of the night with a full bladder. And we all know there's nothing worse than waking from a lovely slumber to do that.

Photograph by paul goyette (flickr)

How to Stop Feeling Tired All the Time

In the Western world, a complaint you hear at least 10 times a day from people you live with, work with or even stand next to on the train is how tired they always are.  Life is wearing us out it would seem and although we try to cram as much as we can into everyday, it seems we're losing.  But it doesn't have to be that way.  There are small changes we can make that help immediately and before long, you can count yourself out as one of those people who's always saying how tired they are.   These are The Seven Secret Habits of Energised People


1. Try morning exercise - yoga stretches, a short run, a swim. You may struggle to get out of bed but what if I promised you it would make you feel more energetic? Guaranteed.

2. Write a to do list for everyday. Now review the list and think about what you can delegate to someone else and what you have to do. Make sure you replace the stuff you delegate with time that is all about you. A walk, a nap, a phone call to a friend who makes you laugh. Something light hearted and escapist.

3. Write a tasks completed list. What's the point of knowing what you have to do without celebrating the stuff that's out of the way. Feel smug!

4. Don't drink alcohol after 9pm and better still, for a great nights sleep, skip it out completely. The difference it makes to your quality of sleep is astonishing. When the alarm goes the next morning, you'll be ready to get up and not feeling desperate for more shut-eye.

5. Don't drink coffee after lunchtime and every time you want a coffee, have a tall glass of water instead. What you eat will either make you more or less tired so make the right choice. Some quick tips here. 

6. People get tired when jobs take too long so set deadlines for everything and work in short, sharp bursts. The plan is to get all chores and duties out of the way by 5 so you can start winding down.

7. Stop saying you're tired all the time. Start saying you feel great when anyone asks you and get out of the self-fulfilling rut of saying how exhausted you are. It will only make you feel even more tired. Try it. You can become the person you project.

P.S. -In some cases, the tiredness is not lifestyle related but medical so it may be worth getting your thyroid checked. You may have an under active thyroid which is making you feel worn out - a blood test at your doctors should tell you.

Eating Your Way To A Great Night’s Sleep – Part 2

Following on from Part 1 of Eating Your Way To A Great Nights Sleep, I hope you've had a chance to try out some of the tips for breakfast, snacks and lunch. Today we’re going to look at how to handle the second half of your day. Even if you just try a couple of the tips, I'm sure you'll start feeling the benefits of improved sleep very soon.

Peckish at 4pm?
Your afternoon snack should be fruit that’s high in vitamin C as this helps to reduce stress. Choose your snack carefully as not all fruits are created equally – this chart will help you size up your options.
Fruit Tip - Eating a couple of oat cakes at the same time will slow the release of the fruit sugars into your system.

Dinner
Choose an evening meal that contains a small amount of brown rice which is a good source of B-Vitamins to keep your system running calmly and smoothly. Combine this with grilled salmon or tuna steak and some green vegetables. Oily fish will give you another burst of tryptophan and the green vegetables contain magnesium to help calm you through the evening. A lack of magnesium can leave you feeling jumpy so top-up on your greens.

A Glass of Wine with Dinner?
If you like to have an alcoholic drink in the evening, have it with your meal as this will limit any drastic impact on your blood sugar levels that could cause disrupted sleep later on. And stick to one or two drinks maximum. The same rule applies here as with the caffeinated drinks earlier in the day – enjoy the first and then ask yourself do you really want any more or would you rather have a good night’s sleep? Ideally, avoid caffeine after midday and allow your body to rid its effects from your body in time for bed.

A little treat
If you’ve got a sweet tooth and like chocolate then the end of the day is the best time to indulge yourself. Choose a couple of squares of dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids for a burst of feel-good chemicals followed a slight drop in blood sugar to ease you off to sleep. Stop after a couple of squares though and don't feel obliged to finish it all in one go!

Nightcap
A good quality hot chocolate is even better as the calcium in the milk helps to calm your mind while the drink will cause your body temperature to be raised slightly and then it will cool. This temperature cooling simulates what happens when you sleep and can help you to drop off more quickly.

Sweet Dreams!


Coming Soon: The Best Exercises For Great Sleep


Photograph by Anushruti R (Flickr)

Eating Your Way to A Great Nights Sleep - Part 1

Earlier this week I talked about how sleeping a good quality sleep could actually help you to lose weight.

So how do you make sure you sleep well and for the right length of time? You are only as good and as effective as the quality of your sleep. In essence, You are what you snooze.

And making sure you get a good night's sleep begins from the moment you wake up in the morning. Everything you eat and drink that day will have an effect on your sleep patterns later and so managing your energy and keeping your system steady is crucial. Here are some great food tips to help you gear up for a big sleep.


• Wake up at a regular time and start the day with a glass of water or a cup of warm water with lemon. This is the beginning of a well-hydrated day. Proper hydration prevents irritability and leads to eating well so this is an easy way to get your day off to a great start. Think about this everyday - the first thing you consume each day sets the tone for the rest of the day - make it a good one.

• Breakfast on porridge / oatmeal, muesli or fruit and yoghurt. Oats in porridge or muesli release energy slowly which keeps you calm throughout the morning. Fruit can release sugars into the bloodstream quickly but combining them with a protein such as yoghurt slows down the digestion of your breakfast. Avoid sugary cereals which cause a quick rise in blood sugar followed by a quick drop which leaves you craving more sugar as this pattern will then repeat itself throughout the day. Climbing aboard this sugar rollercoaster leaves you feeling moody, running on adrenalin and makes it tough to wind down at the end of the day.

• Drinking caffeine is like taking a quick injection of stress hormones. Tea, coffee and fizzy drinks should be kept to a minimum and for most people, cutting back here isn’t too much of a problem. Usually, you enjoy the first, the second is never quite as good and the third actually isn’t that satisfying at all. Focus on quality rather than the quantity with your caffeine intake and you won’t feel deprived. Then, when you’ve had your fix, switch to herbal teas instead. I drink Rooibos (Redbush) tea. It has no caffeine at all, tastes great and leaves you feeling calm and focused.

• Your morning snack can be pineapple, kiwi or banana with sesame seeds, peanuts, walnuts or pecan nuts. These are all high in serotonin which helps to regulate frustration, aggression, body temperature, mood, sleep and appetite. Sesame seeds are a particularly good source of zinc which is an essential component of an effective immune system which is vital for dealing well with stressful situations. Keep a small bag of these on your desk at work so you remember to have a handful a day.

• Lunch should be salad-based as the leaves help to calm the nerves. Adding fish or turkey provides you with a helping of Tryptophan – an essential amino acid that increases brain levels of serotonin to keep you calm.

At this stage, you’re well into your day feeling calm, focused, effective and energised. You've grazed well throughout the morning and restricted your caffeine intake - so far, everything is on track for a calm day and great sleep at the end. Try it and let me know if it doesn't make you feel focused and more alert.

Stay tuned to find out how to tackle the rest of the day...





Photograph by POSITiv (Flickr)

Sleeping Your Way to Weight Loss

I was speaking to someone recently who made an interesting observation.  She went away for a long weekend having weighed herself before she left.  She then weighed herself on her return and found that she had lost a couple of pounds.  As usual, she weighed herself a few days later and noticed that the weight had returned.  I asked her what had changed over the period and she wasn’t sure.  Although she had been in a different environment, she’d followed her regular routine with food and exercise.  When she thought about it in more detail, the only thing that was different while she was away was that she slept better.  She slept for longer and had a deeper sleep resulting in her feeling more refreshed when she woke up. 

 Had she slept herself slimmer?
And could the return to a sleep deprived routine account for her weight gain?

The answer is yes, it could.  Research has shown that lack of sleep can make you fat.  If we consistently fail to get enough sleep, our bodies release less leptin into our system.  Leptin is a hormone that signals the state of fat stores.  Sleep deprivation also causes our bodies to release more ghrelin, a hormone that signals hunger.  The result of these changes in the balance of our system increase the likelihood of overeating which can, in turn, lead to weight gain.

Even if your tiredness doesn’t lead you to overeating and gain weight, not getting enough sleep can cause problems with your weight loss progamme.  Feeling tired can be stressful and when we’re stressed we produce more of the stress hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol.  The presence of these hormones in your system can force your metabolism to slow down and hang on to fat. This can impact on your fitness workout, making it less effective in burning body fat than the same routines performed when you are feeling calm.

Remember this if you ever encounter a period when you’re not getting the results you want from your fitness programme or diet plan.  There may be no need to change your exercise or your food routine but instead look at your sleep pattern.

Here are the golden rules of getting enough sleep:

1. Work out how much sleep you need and schedule the ideal hours for getting this sleep

2. Stick to a routine and stick to it. Establish a bed time and a waking time and you’ll sleep well in the hours in-between

3. Clear out your sleeping environment.  Bedrooms are for sleeping so get rid of the TV, computer, any exercise equipment and put all clothes away every evening.

Isn’t that refreshing?  The key to effectively managing your weight is to sleep!  Okay - maybe just in part. There's no escaping the fact that diet and fitness are the greatest contributor to losing weight but it's worth bearing in mind next time you let your weight worries stress you out and keep you awake.


Coming Soon: Changes you can make to your exercise plan and food routine that will help you sleep better.


Photograph by John Carleton (Flickr)