August 16, 2021
SLEEP & ENERGY
If you want more energy throughout the day, improving your sleep quality is one of the most important things you can do. Sleep is essential for a number of reasons, including energy conservations, healing tissues, cognitive function, hormone and emotion regulation, building muscle, appetite regulation and immune health.Here are some tips for better sleep...To help with further tips and supplement suggestions to help with your Energy and Sleep, book your free 30-minute consultation with one of our naturopaths here website or pop into our store.
- Avoid stimulants - this not only includes the obvious ones like caffeine but anything which increases adrenaline/cortisol levels such as high intensity training in the evenings.
- Calm your mind - meditate and write down your thoughts in a journal to help reduce your brain chatter.
- Practice breathing exercises. Try the 4-7-8 breathing technique. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds.
- Take magnesium - magnesium biglycinate or magnesium L-threonate are the most useful for sleep. You can add other ingredients , such as Inositol and L-Theanine to induce a deeper sleep.
- Put your phone away from your bed and avoid social media an hour before. Put your phone on night mode to avoid blue light from disrupting your circadian rhythm.
- Go to bed at the same time every day to build a regular sleep cycle.
- Herbs can be very useful to help reduce anxiety and improve sleep. Examples include passionflower, lemon balm, hops, californian poppy and chamomile.
- Avoid alcohol, as it will reduce the quality and duration of your dee sleep, which is the most restorative phase.
- If you are going through hormonal changes - get those checked as they can cause insomnia.
- Melatonin can be particularly useful, especially for older men and women, as it tends to decline with age. You can get Melatonin without a prescription if you are over 55 in NZ. Otherwise, it can be prescribed by your GP.
- Avoid sleeping pills as they can cause dependance and other issues later on