MANILA, Philippines — Studies show that eight hours is the ideal length of time for a good night's sleep. The demands of modern living, however, make it a struggle to sleep in that prescribed amount of time.
Fitness coach Culver Padilla, however, said it can be done by observing smart and practical tips before one's bed time.
"My number one tip for being healthy is having enough sleep," said Padilla to Philstar.com at a recent visit to Awaken Fitness Center in Metrowalk, Pasig City.
Padilla, or sometimes called by his students as Coach Kel, said that a good night sleep is necessary for the body to get its rest. While eight hours may be ideal, Coach Kel said it depends on one's body.
"Seven hours is good enough while nine hours is the longest time of sleep one can do. But what the body knows is consistency. So sometimes, for some people, six hours is good enough," said the coach, whose fitness principle has often stressed on consistency in habit, rather than the intensity of the exercise or routines performed.
Coach Kel shared how he achieves a good night sleep:
1. No coffee after 11 a.m.
Sorry for those who cannot live without coffee, but the coach said he does not drink it after lunch. He also revealed that he takes it black.
"If you're using coffee for energy boost, what we do here (Awaken) is breath work. There are a lot of breath work practices that can elevate your energy too, not just by reaching for the coffee," the international fitness coach advised.
2. No gadgets two hours before sleep
This should be a given since having gadgets while on your bed stimulates your mind, thus, sleep will be affected.
"It's very intentional. You are doing this because you want good sleep," said Coach Kel.
3. Make your room dark and cool by at least 18 degrees Celsius
A cool, dark place does not only apply to storing certain food items, but it also applies to you especially at bed time.
Coach Kel said that a dark room increases your melatonin, a hormone that responds to darkness. Melatonin aids with the timing of your circadian rhythms (24-hour internal clock) and with sleep.
4. Pray or make a gratitude journal
For Coach Kel, being attuned to himself helps him not just in staying focused in his fitness goal.
The celebrity coach to stars such as Iza Calzado, Kyle Echarri and Ria Atayde revealed to writing his thoughts as a helpful way to induce sleep.
"You can pray, just like I do, or make a gratitude journal. This keeps me sane and I get quality sleep," he said.
5. Take supplements.
The coach said that taking Magnesium helps.
"Magnesium helps you recover well. It helps your muscle be hydrated. It's an electrolyte. It helps with water retention in your body. Magnesium is the supplement that is really needed by the body but we hardly get it from food that's why we get it as supplement," said the coach.
There have been few articles that delved into the efficacy of magnesium in helping induce sleep. There were studies that looked into the effect of magnesium supplement among older adults with insomnia and the studies found "encouraging results."
In an article on the website of Sleep Foundation, it said that the study "found that magnesium supplementation at a dose of 500 milligrams daily for eight weeks helped them fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, reduced nighttime awakenings, and increased their levels of naturally circulating melatonin."
With the subject of sleeping, the question on taking a nap or siestas, if one is inclined to the old Filipino afternoon habit of sleeping, is inevitably brought up.
Coach Kel said that taking a nap also helps.
He noted how every 2:30 to 3 p.m. in the afternoon, many have the urge to grab a cup of coffee.
"In science, I think it's really around 2:30 or 3 p.m. when the body's energy level is depleted," he said.
Instead of giving in to that urge to drink coffee, he advised to do a non-sleep deep rest (NSDR), which he said is like a nap. He stressed one can take 10 to 22 minutes of napping, but not exceeding 30 minutes.
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