myFM: Your Body and Sleep

How did you sleep last night? 

If your before bed looks like watching tv, reading on the iPad, scrolling on your phone, giving in to the late snack attack, or eating a meal late, those habits can negatively affect your sleep patterns. 

Sleep experts backed by science say thatthe shorter your sleep, the shorter your life.So what’s stopping you from prioritizing your sleep? 

What constitutes a good night's sleep? We go through 90-minute deep and REM sleep cycles and then move into a light sleep phase. The sweet spot is 8 hours of sleep - not in bed-time, but actually asleep.

Trackers can help you know what your sleep cycles are like, and striving to reach 20% REM, 20% deep, and the rest light sleep could have you feeling refreshed in the morning. 

To know: Sleeping pills, alcohol, cannabis - THC all have a sedative effect. They don’t actually allow for the sleep cycles that help emotional stability, storing memories, and clearing out the waste from your brain, leading to fogginess, memory issues, and can shorten your life. 

Did you know? You are 4 x more likely to get the flu if you’re getting 7 hours or less sleep, its time to change a thing or two. 

1. Turn down the lights. Use dimmer switches to start to lessen the amount of light in the rooms that you are in about 4 hours before bed. 
2. Turn off all blue light emitting devices at least one hour before bed. 
3. Leave 3 hours between your last meal and bedtime. 
4. Ditch the booze for two weeks and see what the effect is.
5. Have a hot bath that actually cools the body. Once you’re done, turn on the shower and blast yourself with cold water for 30-60 seconds. Or try sauna/cold plunge during the day. It’s magic.
6. Turn down the temperature in your room to closer to 63 degrees. 
7. Try taking Magnesium Bis-Glycinate, Reishi mushrooms, Kid Boost and Ashwhaganda found in HPA Axis to help the stress that you’re under during the day that wakes you in the night. Links are in the blog post on sproutright.com and listen to episode 150 of EAT THIS with Lianne. 

With benefits to longevity, mood and mental health, memory, disease prevention, weight management, immunity and energy, prioritizing sleep is essential to live your best life.

Listen to segment below!