How to Configure a Sleep Pattern Fit for You

Finding balance and sleeping better.

Finding balance seems to be the search for discovering the fountain of youth. However, you will not find balance until you know how to configure a sleep pattern fit for you.

Sleep is a hot topic and a concern for many business professionals. Arianna Huffington, author of The Sleep Revolution, speaks specifically how the “…loss of sleep, despite the extra hours we put in at work, adds up to more than eleven days of lost productivity per year per worker, or about $2,280.”

Whether you are an entrepreneur or a corporate business professional, sleep costs you time, money, productivity, and success. All of which you don’t want to compromise.

It’s time to take sleep seriously and learn how to configure a sleep pattern fit for you.

There are five simple strategies you can utilize in order to set your sleep patterns on autopilot.

1. Recognize when you are getting groggy.

Those extra yawns matter especially when you are sleep deprived or exhausted. And it’s not because you need more oxygen, even though that might do your body good.

The yawns help to cool your brain keeping it working at the correct temperature. By paying close attention to your yawns, you will better understand what your body needs in terms of sleep.

2. Give your tummy a break.

Whether you want to get healthy or find balance, eating is essential to life and to sleep. But eating too late will actually make your body work harder and longer. Digestion means work. So sound sleep will be less likely to occur when you go to bed on a full stomach.

Your body needs rest. Yet a working tummy does not bring rest; only tossing and turning. Try and eat early enough to give yourself 3–4 hours for the digestion to be complete.

3. Embrace old-fashion communication.

As much as technology lends itself to connecting, it actually becomes the disconnect to your sleep. The blue light that is emitted through your technology addictions (i.e., television, cell phones, computers, tablets, etc.), restrains the melatonin production; further resulting in the disruption of your natural sleep cycle, better know as your circadian rhythm.

Turn off the gadgets and embrace old-fashion communication. Read a bedtime story, have a sexy chat with your partner, or even write in your gratitude journal.

4. Turn up the music.

When the bed is calling you, it’s time to slow down the mind. And that’s just not technology, but it’s the flashing lights which brings confusion to the brain. If you don’t have a TV in the bedroom, congratulations! But unfortunately, most of us do.

Therefore, turn off the TV and turn up the music. Music has benefits in lowering your heart rate and slowing down your breathing. This is an effect you want to recreate nightly leading to better sleep.

5. Hydrate throughout the day.

As you sleep, your body can get dehydrated for the simple fact you are not taking in fluids. In order to sleep more soundly, with little to no interruption, be sure to hydrate throughout the day. Preferably, water is the best. After dinnertime, since you’re eating at a reasonable time of the day, limit the amount of liquids you consume. This will help you wake less often and will assist in the recovery of your cells.

Ultimately, when your days are long, you must listen to your body. Don’t be a rebel and think you can attack the world with little sleep. You are fooling only yourself. Understand that your super power relies on successful sleep. Put to work what best suites your needs and lifestyle, and begin to unravel the mystery of how to configure a sleep pattern fit for you. Kingdom dreams!