Between you & me

All of us need to sleep. This is because sleep is when our body and our mind relax and recharge themselves. Sleep allows us to recover from hours of stressful work, mental or physical, enabling us to be energized for the day ahead.

For some, eight hours is enough, for others, six hours is adequate. The length of time varies for each person.

We may sleep eight to nine hours which is to many, a good number of hours. But this does not always mean that sleep is always restful.

This is because a lot of people suffer from different kinds of sleeping disorders like snoring.

Here are some tips on how to have a restful sleep:

• Avoid bringing your worries or feelings of anxiety with you when you go to bed. These may trigger the release of stress hormones.

• Go to bed and wake up at about the same time each day. Not following a regular pattern may mess up your body clock and make you sleepy. It may make you irritable and have less concentration and focus.

• Exercise in the morning. It may be better to exercise in the morning because it allows you to take on the day’s challenges with a refreshed mind and body.

Although some people exercise before going to bed, I believe that doing so will increase your energy level, making you too active to fall asleep. It will take some time before you do.

• Don’t sleep on an empty stomach, but don’t sleep when you’re full either. You won’t be able to sleep when your stomach is growling, neither can you get to sleep when your stomach is still digesting what you’ve just eaten. Eat just the right amount before you go to bed.

• Don’t drink too much liquid at night. Although it is healthy to hydrate oneself, drinking too much liquids before bedtime will increase your trips to the bathroom, thereby interrupting your sleep.

• Avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks like coffee and cola before bedtime. This will wake up your senses instead of making you fall asleep.

• Use your bedroom only for sleeping. It is often said that the bedroom should only be used for sleeping. Watching TV and reading should be done somewhere else so that the bedroom is associated only with sleeping.

• Create a proper sleep environment by making use of a.) soothing music b.) a tranquil atmosphere c.) a comfortable bed and pillow d.) having a warm bath before bedtime and e.) prayer and meditation.

We all need to sleep, to recharge our batteries, to recover from what each day brings.

Remember that sleep will not only rejuvenate us, give us the energy we need, and boost our immune system. Sleep will also make our skin clearer and therefore make us feel more beautiful.

(E-mail me at babyjackster@hotmail.com)