Last week I talked about exercise and circulation, and how important it is to get your body moving. We looked at how helpful morning walks are but also touched on the benefit of evening walks. Today is all about SLEEP!

Piggy-backing on the fact that evening walks can assist with food digestion, they also are able to help calm your body and prepare you for sleep. This leads us to today’s topic – the importance of sleep in relation to overall health. I do not think I have to go into much detail, we have all heard the value of getting good quality AND good quantity sleep.

One way to improve your sleep quality is to prepare your body for sleep. Let’s call this ‘sleep grooming’. I have heard people complaining regularly about insomnia, or that they need to take medication to actually fall or stay asleep. Sleep grooming is one thing you can do to try and improve your sleep quality and reduce the need for medications.

Sleep grooming tips:

1. Light at night affects sleep
   1. I often tell people to avoid having a TV in their rooms or avoid excessive screen time or cell phone use at night.
   2. Our brains get affected by the light (blue wave), as well as the EMFs from these devices and it can be much harder to fall asleep if using these devices before bedtime
   3. What to do before bed instead?
      1. Read a book, kindle
      2. Have a conversation
      3. Meditate
      4. Stretch

2. Try a natural sleep supplement
   1. There are all kinds of natural products that can help you sleep too instead of taking medicine.
      1. One option is an essential oil-based product called “Serenity”. It helps your body relax, and release so that you can sleep

Our bodies are all different. Various studies will tell you how many hours of sleep you should get, but sometimes you need to figure out on your own what your body responds best to.  Once you have it figured out, I think it’s important that you get that amount and you be consistent. We know that our bodies just work better if we stick to a schedule, and don’t deviate from it too much. There are always going to be times when we may deviate, but for the most part, you’ll find that you’re better rested and get better sleep when your body’s on schedule.

Since I work in health insurance, you may be wondering why am I talking about these things. It is because I want everyone to be healthy. If you’re healthier, you have more options for healthcare, and your healthcare costs go down.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.