by Sarah Ramras

Goals for this article

• Understand the benefits of getting enough sleep
• Find out how much sleep you should get
• Develop your own strategies to get more sleep and better sleep quality

Why do we need so much sleep?

While nutrition and exercise are both key in the recipe for optimal health, you’re still missing a secret ingredient. Sleep. Sleep is full of unexpected benefits that can truly give your lifestyle a major boost. There’s a reason we spend nearly a third of our lifetime sleeping. It helps us with body restoration, energy conservation, brain processing, and memory consolidation. Proper rest can also help us to lose weight faster, speed up muscle recovery, regulate hormone levels, improve skin, reduce stress, and increases overall productivity.

On average, you should be getting around 7-9 hours of sleep per night. These hours of rest consist of three major sleep phases: REM sleep, light sleep, and deep sleep. You’ve probably heard of REM sleep (or rapid eye movement sleep) as being the “dream phase” of sleep. However, it is also important in the process of building long-term memories. REM sleep helps you consolidate memories that you’ve gathered during the day so that you can easily recall them later on. Deep sleep is essential for recovery. In deep sleep, your body releases growth hormones to help muscle and immune system recovery.

Not getting recommended amount of sleep per night can have a myriad of negative consequences. Not only will your energy levels, memory consolidation, and muscle restoration be impacted, but having a bad night of sleep will actually affect your hormone levels, driving you to feel tempted at digging into some starchy carbs the following day. If you’re trying to follow the CleanStart challenge and avoid weight gain, get some rest!

Here are 9 tips for achieving a better night’s sleep:

1. Timing. Wake up around the same time every day. Rather than oversleep on off days, waking at the same time and then taking a nap allows the extra sleep without disrupting the normal wake/sleep schedule.
2. Stay caffeine-free for 6 hours before going to bed. Because duh☺
3. Turn your bedroom into a cave: cool, quiet, and dark. To induce sleep, your brain drops your body temperature. If you are in a cooler room, it is easier for that to happen (1). Also, eliminate distractions as much as possible. That includes alerts from devices, blinking LED lights, or too much street light creeping in through the windows.
4. Turn off the bright blue glow of TV and electronics at least one hour before sleep. Bright blue light confuses the brain into thinking it’s the middle of the day. Even if you do fall asleep while staring at your devices, it will not be as deep, and therefore less restorative.
5. Make sure your bed is actually comfortable. Invest in a good mattress, nice sheets, pillows, and comforter. Be careful of latex foam and memory foam mattresses and pillows. They may raise your body temperature during sleep causing discomfort and sweating, and therefore, poor sleep.
6. Exercise regularly, but earlier in the day. The National Sleep Foundation has said exercise in the afternoon can improve sleep in the evening. Specifically, morning or afternoon exercise helps you fall asleep faster with less trouble. Just be sure not to exercise right before bed, as that had the opposite effect.
7. Track your sleep and learn about your patterns. There are some great apps and devices that can help. Checkout Jawbone UP (iPhone/Android), Fitbit (iPhone/Android) and Sleep Cycle (iPhone)
8. Don’t nap after 4 P.M. If you nap, do it earlier in the day. If your tiredness is the result of sleep deprivation, taking a short nap in the middle of the afternoon can give your energy levels a boost. You’re most likely to fall asleep between noon and 4 p.m.(3), which matches the low point of the body’s circadian cycle.
9. Try Magnesium powder before bed. Magnesium plays a key role in the regulation of sleep. Research has shown that even marginal magnesium deficiency can prevent the brain from settling down at night (4). One of the most absorbable forms of magnesium is magnesium citrate powder like Natural Calm.

References:

1. http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/cant-sleep-adjust-the-temperature
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suprachiasmatic_nucleus
3. http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/making-the-most-of-a-short-nap
4. http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/living-with-insomnia-11/natural-solutions?page=1

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This article is part of a paleo nutrition and fitness challenge that introduces you to the smarter way to eat and stay fit for life. Learn more.