Resource Roundup: Get Better Sleep
8:00 AM
As April winds down, our monthly stress challenge is coming to a close. In its place, May will bring a focus on sleep, in conjunction with Better Sleep Month. The two health focuses are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the two are very much entangled, with a lack of sleep leading to more stress and anxiety, and stress and anxiety affecting your ability to sleep. If you've been trying to reduce your stress, focusing on sleep should only help you to continue to find more peace. Stress levels aren't the only thing affected by sleep, though. Below, you can find several resources that will help you to understand how sleep affects your help, and find ideas for improving your sleep.
A lack of sleep affects your brain in many ways. This graphic explains why, when you lose sleep, you experience poor memory, a foggy/hazy feeling, moodiness, cravings, and why you're more prone to making poor decisions.
Your brain isn't the only part of your body affected by a lack of sleep. When you miss out on good sleep, your risk of stroke, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease increase.
This graphic dives more into the sleep-mood connection, and how sleep or a lack thereof can affect your relationships with friends and family.
Now that you understand why sleep is so important, here are some ways you can improve it, beginning with how to create the right environment to promote the best sleep.
Another crucial component to setting the stage for good sleep is to avoid blue light from the technology that so many of us take everywhere, including bed.
If getting to sleep is a problem for you, here are some methods you can try to wind yourself down. If you don't have a problem going to sleep, but you're waking up feeling sluggish, here are 16 ideas to make you feel more refreshed in the morning. Did you know fragmented sleep can be worse than no sleep? If you're guilty of pressing the snooze button, like me, you may find benefit from learning to jump out of bed at the sound of the first alarm. I have found success using a barcode alarm app, which refuses to turn off until you've gotten up, turned on the light, and scanned the barcode of any item of your choosing.
And finally, if your inconsistent sleep schedule has something to do with you working an off shift, you may find help in this resource, which addresses ideas for getting better day sleep.
All of the resources in this post, and more, can be found on our Pinterest page. Follow us there to access a lot of great health resources in one easy-to-find place.
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