Setting the Foundation: Sleep
Looking at sleep is an important part of functional nutrition. Many practitioners believe that sleep forms the foundation of your health. If you aren’t sleeping well, then many other aspects of your health may suffer.
After the time change and having light later in the evenings you may have difficulty winding down to sleep. Here are 5 ideas to help you get some shut-eye.
An hour before going to sleep, start your wind-down routine. Consider sipping a cup of tea, while reading or journaling for a bit. Be ready to turn the light off at your designated time to go to sleep.
At least one hour before bedtime, get away from screens - TV, phone, tablets, etc. If you use them for reading set them to dark mode or have a blue light filter on them (there are physical filters or apps or your device may have a blue light blocking mode). The blue light from screens interferes with your ability to sleep.
Darken your bedroom using blackout curtains. If you can’t get it dark, consider using a sleep mask.
Meditate or do some deep breathing five to ten minutes before turning out the lights. This will help both your body and mind relax.
Turn out the light promptly at the time you want to go to sleep. Seems simple, and is also sometimes hard. Make and keep the commitment to yourself to go “lights out” at a certain time each night.