Sleep
Sleep – one of my favorite topics and one of my favorite things to do. For the vast majority of the time, I sleep well and, for this, I am deeply grateful. I consider it so important that it became the first “S” in my S.T.R.E.S.S.S.S.S. Formula for Wellness. Sleeping is such a mysterious process that looks so passive and unproductive, it’s easy to justify short-changing it. If you live by the adage, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” that may happen sooner than you think. Lack of good sleep has been linked to a host of health problems including heart disease, low sex drive, headaches, depression, unwanted weight gain and memory problems among others.
How much do we need?
Sleep Duration Recommendations
This article from the National Sleep Foundation shows us the most current recommendations for sleeping requirements, broken down into age categories. Adults, ages 18 – 64, are still recommended to get 7-9 hours of sleep each night. After that, the recommendations are for a little less, 7-8 hours per night. If you are chronically sleep derived, you may have grown accustomed to feeling fatigued. You may not even realize that you are unrested. The National Sleep Foundation suggests asking yourself the following questions to help assess your current status:
- Are you productive, healthy and happy on seven hours? Or does it take you nine hours of quality ZZZs to get you into high gear?
- Do you have health issues such as being overweight? Are you at risk for any disease?
- Are you experiencing sleep problems ?
- Do you depend on caffeine to get you through the day?
- Do you feel sleepy when driving ?
Sleep Hygeine
If you have trouble sleeping, here are some recommendations for Sleep Hygeine including a technique for inducing a good night’s sleep. If sleeping difficulty is a chronic problem, you might want to consider Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to explore the sources of your sleeping problem. Call or email me to discuss it.
Happy Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.