Science shows that interrupted or lack of sleep has been linked to fatty weight gain. It stimulates the hormones that make you hungrier, and it will also make you crave food high in fat and complex carbohydrates. Besides not helping with weight loss, it can also delay your results in your health and fitness journey.
If you are struggling to manage pain of an injury, a lack of sleep is also not helping as it impairs our immune function and triggers even more inflammation. Interrupted sleep and insomnia have also been linked to other diseases of the heart and hormone systems. Faster aging and feeling more depressed are other possible symptoms.
We all kind of know what to do when your quality of sleep is poorly. But not everything works the same for everyone. That’s why we compiled a list with proven methods that can drastically improve your sleep. Our advice is to try each of them (or a combination) for at least 8 weeks, before moving on to another technique or combination.
The following are suggestions only, and we will always advise to visit your doctor when you have real concerns regarding your sleep pattern or health.
Before we move on to our tips, let’s learn a little bit more about what sleep is and why it is important.
- Sleep is needed to restore the cells of your body and to organise your brain.
- While laying perfectly still when you sleep, your brain is extremely active.
- You have two stages of sleep: non-REM sleep in which you fall in a deep sleep and your body temperature drops, and REM sleep which happens every 90 minutes. During your REM sleep you will raise your heartrate, move your eyes and dream actively. This is when learning happens.
Our 7 tips to increase sleep quality
- Magnesium supplementation by skin.
Responsible for over 600 functions in the body, supplementing by skin can improve relaxation and quality of sleep. Take a bath with 3/4 cup of magnesium flakes 30-60 minutes before bedtime. If you have no time for a bath, select either a foot bath (1/2 cup of flakes) or a magnesium spray on top of your feet and calves before bedtime.
If you need to source good quality flakes, we have them in big bags at the studio. - Routine is key!
Sleep experts explain that sleeping and waking at consistent times will stabilize your melatonin levels and increase quality of sleep, and decreasing insomnia. - Sleep tools.
Weighted blankets, relaxing music before bedtime, lavender spray on pillow, melatonin (always consult your doctor), diminish noise and light in the bedroom.
The song ‘’Weightless’’ from Marconi Union has been scientifically proven to reduce anxiety by 65%. - Increase the amount of natural daylight you get during the day.
- Wind down.
Write down all your thoughts that are troubling you, or make a to do list. If you are worried you might forget the list, just send it as a reminder to your email or phone for the next day. Being able to safely postpone important things that need to get done, will literally make you take off a backpack with stress before the night. Other techniques are: bathing, soothing music, mediation, visualisation and deep breathing. - Reduce Blue Light.
It is advised to turn off the television and any screens 2 hours (or what you can manage) before going to bed. The blue light that is emitting from screens trick your body into thinking it is daytime. There are also special glasses that block the blue light. - Is your partner a snorer or a turner?
Consider wearing ear plugs or talk to your doctor about snore solutions. A lot of people are not aware that there are mattresses that are specifically designed to absorb any impact from a turning partner. They can move around, without you feeling it in your part of the mattress. Also invest in a good pillow, blanket and sleep wear. Science shows that people that sleep without pyjamas have a much better quality of sleep.