The secrets to good sleep hygiene
The benefits of sleep are endless. It improves overall health, productivity, well-being, resilience, and quality of life. To get proper sleep, you need to sleep 7 to 8 hours a night, deeply and without disturbance, on a regular basis. Is this a major challenge for you? The secret to quality sleep actually starts when you wake up in the morning!
It's always the right time to improve our sleep hygiene. By making small adjustments, from waking up until turning off the lights at night, we prepare ourselves to be healthier.
In recent years, we have experienced increased stress and isolation. Chronic stress can lead to chronic diseases. Lack of sleep adds fuel to the fire and makes stress management even more difficult.
Sleep is our time for rest and regeneration. When we sleep, our immune system also relaxes. Lack of sleep can activate pro-inflammatory activity throughout the body. Inflammation, an immune response, can accumulate when the immune system becomes overactive. Inflammation impairs mental and physical performance and can contribute to metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.
Six ways to improve your sleep hygiene:
- Go outside. By exposing ourselves to daylight as soon as we wake up, we support the circadian rhythm, the system responsible for feeling alert during the day and tired at night. Starting the day right means ending it right too!
- Avoid caffeine in the afternoon. We all appreciate the ritual of a hot drink, but we often resort to caffeine to feel better in the afternoon. The problem is that afternoon stimulants can disrupt the circadian rhythm and blood sugar. Instead, try a caffeine-free alternative, such as herbal tea or one of the many new mushroom drinks on the market!
- Eat carb-rich meals earlier in the day and avoid them closer to bedtime. Sleep can be disturbed by blood sugar spikes. To avoid them, include carbohydrates in your meals earlier in the day. Try eating a dinner consisting of a mix of protein, non-starchy vegetables, and good fats and see how your sleep quality changes.
- Instead of TV, play a game or read a book. Choosing an evening activity that doesn't expose us to a screen and blue light helps avoid disrupting our circadian rhythm, which can prevent us from getting deep, restorative sleep.
- Lower the temperature to improve your sleep quality. Do your electricity bill and your health a favor and lower the thermostat to between 16 and 20 °C for cool, comfortable sleep. Sleeping in a cool room naturally helps improve melatonin production, which helps you fall asleep faster and achieve deeper sleep.
- Create a bedtime ritual. Try meditation, yoga, gentle stretching, or simply deep breathing. Keep the light intensity at its lowest and create a soothing atmosphere using a diffuser or a calming essential oil mist on your sheets. A consistent evening routine will remind your brain and body that it's time for bed.
Sometimes we need a little extra help to supplement lifestyle adjustments. Health First's Sommeil Supreme contains nutrients and herbs that help bring the body into an optimal state for sleep:
- PharmaGABA® is a fermented form of the neurotransmitter responsible for calming neuronal activity and mental relaxation.
- Inositol helps regulate blood sugar, reducing the risk of being woken up by a blood sugar spike!
- Magnesium bisglycinate calms the mind by relaxing the body.
- Passionflower is a herbal sleep aid that helps relieve restlessness and nervousness, especially during times of mental stress.
- Jujube is a fruit widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for its sedative properties.
One thing that is missing from Health First's Sommeil Supreme is melatonin: we have excluded melatonin from the formula as it can cause daytime drowsiness, and no one needs that during this intense period of activities!
Adequate sleep is essential for good health and cannot be achieved by supplements alone. To promote good sleep, we formulated our product Sommeil Supreme to be paired with our Soothing Mist. By combining the right supplements with a few key lifestyle changes, you can be on your way to better sleep and overall health in no time!