Struggling With Your Sleep?
Do you notice you hit 3pm and are leaving the office for another afternoon coffee just to get you through?
Do you wake up feeling refreshed or do you find yourself counting your hours of sleep on one hand alone?!
Believe it or not, sleep is one of the most crucial pillars of health! We can fuel our bodies with the highest quality nutrient dense foods and find ourselves still going through the motions if we don’t pair this with enough hours of restful sleep.
Poor sleep can put you at a higher risk of injury, reduced attention/motivation, weight gain, increased sugar cravings, increased levels of frustration and many more negative effects.
Indications of poor sleep quality:
- Waking intermittently during the night
- Taking longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep
- Waking up feeling unrefreshed
- Drinking caffeine in order to stay alert
- Difficulty concentrating during the day
Pure Health’s Top Tips for Maximising Sleep Quality:
The hours leading up to hitting the pillow is the make or break warm up routine!
- Keep that phone away at least 2 hours before bed.
This may even include changing your charging point making sure you are not absorbing blue light/scrolling just before shutting your eyes. - Ditch the Netflix and chill,
try replacing this with a bestseller absorbing yourself in a juicy novel. Again like our phones, our TV’s emit blue light that blocks the production of melatonin in our body and therefore delays our onset of sleep.
- Give yourself enough wind down time post work out.
Exercise releases endorphins which help stimulate the body and keep us awake. Exercising late at night can affect the body’s ability to fall asleep. This will vary from person to person. Pay attention if you notice your late-night workout is circulating adrenaline and getting in the way of your zzz time. Change up your routine and try a morning class to see the impact this may play. - Magnesium rich foods:
Magnesium is a great nutrient that encourages the production of sleep hormones. Sources include: pumpkin seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, tahini and cashews.
- Avoid caffeine or stimulants after lunch time
- Go to bed at the same time each night.
Going to bed at the same time each night creates a healthy sleep routine and allows your natural body clock to set and find it easier to sleep each night.
- Consume tryptophan rich foods daily.
Tryptophan is an amino acid needed to produce the sleep hormones and allow quality sleep.
Sources: beef, fish, turkey, lentils, almonds, pumpkin, sesame seeds, kale, bananas and soy beans.
- Watch the sun rise or fall each day.
This helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm as well as assisting the production and release of melatonin.