Sleep! It turns out that sleep is more important than we initially thought. It’s not just a luxury.

A recent study published in the National Institute of Health on June 5, 2019 found that not only does an insufficient amount of sleep have certain risks associated with it but also irregular bed times and wake times can cause metabolic and cardiac risk factors such as:

obesity
high cholesterol
hypertension
high blood sugar, and
other metabolic disorders

Participants in the study wore sleep trackers for six years. After analyzing the participant’s data relating to the times they went to bed and the time they woke up, the study revealed that for every hour of variability in time to bed and time asleep, a person may have up to a 27% greater increase in the risk factors noted above.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults (18-64) should receive 7-9 hours and older adults (65+) should receive 7-8 hours. So, start monitoring your sleeping behavior.

On a consistent basis, go to bed and wake up at the same time every night and track your sleeping habits.

Use an App! There are many apps that can track your sleep patterns on a day to day basis. Use the data to see what you need to do to adjust your sleeping behavior.
If you don’t want to use an app, keep a journal for an extended amount of time and review the outcome.

The following are 10 ways to improve your sleep:

Shut down the phone, social media, computer, and TV a half an hour before you turn in. The blue light interferes with your sleep.
Try to de-stress before your actual bed time so you are not tossing and turning.
Quit the caffeine by early afternoon
Turn down the temperature and make the room cool
Make your room dark
Try white noise or a noise machine to block out unwanted sounds
Take a shower at night to lower your body temperature
Go to bed earlier
Try an essential oil such as lavender
Reduce alcohol consumption

Sweet Dreams!!