What the Health Magazine
Delivering the latest buzz on fitness, nutrition and wellness for Syracuse University students.
The importance of ZZZ’s
by Emily Borgeest, blogger
Sleep is an essential bodily function, just like breathing the air, eating, and drinking water. Without sleep, your body cannot function properly, and you will experience difficulty performing daily tasks. The problem with this essential bodily function, however, is that many people have trouble falling asleep at night, and others that can easily fall to sleep, do not allow for enough sleep.
People tend to go nonstop all day (especially women) and they don’t stop until their head hits the pillow. Even though sleep comes easily for many people, they will awaken after only the bare-minimum hours of sleep. This is because the mind doesn’t really stop. Within seconds of awakening, your mind goes right back to thinking of what you have to do, and planning the next move.
Stress can negatively impact your sleeping. In addition to stress, watching television before bed, as well as drugs and alcohol, all affect sleep. Caffeine and nicotine will detract from your sleep: caffeine stays in your body for up to fourteen hours and increases the number of times you are likely to wake up throughout the night. Nicotine also will cause uneasiness during sleep. Some people believe that alcohol will make you sleep better, but that is true only for a short period of time. Alcohol may make you fall asleep, but it will end up causing you to wake up several times throughout the night and will disturb your sleep. It causes you to sweat, have intense dreams, and can cause headaches. These disturbances in your sleep are what cause you to feel hungover the next day.
Are you one of these people who experiences difficulty sleeping and don’t sleep enough? Don’t fret; there are several steps you can take to improve your sleeping habits. For tips, click ahead!
- Avoid watching television, using a laptop, doing homework, eating, and discussing emotional problems in bed. Your bed should be used for sleep, not work. Minimize light, noise, and extreme temperatures while you sleep. The recommended temperature while you sleep is between 54 and 75 degrees.
- Stop drinking caffeinated beverages for a minimum of four to six hours before your bedtime.
- A light snack before bed is okay, but avoid eating heavy meals close to bedtime. Don’t eat protein before bed; instead, eat carbohydrates or dairy products. Research has shown that the amino acid L-tryptophan helps people sleep.
- Regular exercise also is an aid to better sleep. Exercise helps get your body set for a restful and undisturbed sleep. Exercise gives your mind a break, and allows you to use your body. If your body isn’t active enough throughout the day, then it won’t want to lie down come bedtime. It is recommended that people exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. Beware though; don’t exercise too close to bedtime. Exercise arouses your senses, so try exercising in the morning or afternoon. An aerobic workout is ideal.
- Tracy Gaudet, M.D. recommends using a mind-body technique. Practice paced breathing – inhale through your nose and count to four; exhale through your mouth for a count of eight; and do this seven times. As you breathe, rest the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your teeth. Try to offload stress as well. One way to do this is to use a journal and write down whatever it is you are stressed about and whatever is on your mind. This allows you to move the stress from your mind to the notepad.
Try practicing these recommendations, and be sure to leave yourself a solid eight hours for sleep. You should feel well rested and refreshed in no time!
About Emily Borgeest
This article is disappointing compared to the others on this site. I have come to expect much higher quality from the writers of the What the Health blog.
I think this post does a great job reminding us all of a simple truth we tend to forget. No matter who you are, or what you do, you need to take time to sleep! I think college students especially are at risk for losing out on sleep with large loads of work for classes, and active social lives. Thanks for the much needed reminder!
Thank you both for your feedback! We appreciate knowing what our readers think.