In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow proposes a theory of psychology known as the hierarchy of needs. According Dr. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (frequently portrayed as a pyramid, although Maslow didn’t theorize it as such), physiological needs were the primary needs of humans and as a human developed emotionally, the needs would gain more non-physiological attributes. The most basic needs are food, shelter, excretion, and of course, sleep.
In this week’s post, I cover the importance of sleep to your whole being, and what you can do to make sleep self-care one of your achievable goals in 2020.
Sleep Self-Care, an Overview
Sleep is under assault, so it’s not a surprise that people don’t prioritize sleep self-care. Professionals today brag about how little sleep they get, how many hours they’re working on their side hustle into the wee hours. American culture prizes itself on the 24-hour nature of its lifestyle and entertainment, but I don’t think it’s too scientifically controversial to say that it’s doing more harm to us than good.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans are experiencing a public health epidemic because of the magnitude of sleep disorders diagnosed on an annual basis (such as insomnia). As their website states, “A third of US adults report that they usually get less than the recommended amount of sleep…[which sleep deficits link to] many chronic diseases and conditions—such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression—that threaten our nation’s health.”
Sleep has many functions, which neuroscientists are finally able to see with advanced imaging technologies of the brain’s activities during sleep. The core activities of sleep are to give the brain an opportunity to wash itself. Yes, it literally self-cleans while you slumber! Also, it gives your mind the chance to consolidate memory and patterns, such as helping to commit to longer-term memory things that you experienced or learned today. Without certain sleep cycles during the night, your mind loses that data and it was as if you didn’t learn that day. And finally, your unconscious self can work through emotional and spiritual experiences while you sleep. Just as the adage sleep on it refers, your sleeping mind can connect to deeper parts of the self and deal with issues that your conscious self perhaps doesn’t want to deal with. You can wake with new insights into these emotional and spiritual parts of your self.
Sleep does much more than this, scientists are sure. But, these are the activities uncovered in research today. If you want to do sleep self-care well, and get those eight hours of uninterrupted ZZZ’s, you will need to arm yourself with some important assets to get that good night’s rest.
Sleep Self-Care Resources
This is a listing of sleep resources below that will get you slumbering in no time:
Good sleep starts with a good morning, afternoon and evening routine. Your body’s circadian rhythm (or, “body clock,” in partnership with your metabolism) manages your wakefulness and sleepfulness throughout each day. By managing your sleep-wake rhythm with a few of these paraphrased tips provided by WebMD:
- Wake up and get to bed at similar times every day;
- Don’t nap, if possible;
- Beds are for sleeping and sex, nothing more;
- Don’t do any high-intensity exercises less than four hours before going to sleep (and try a good walk midday or before dusk so that your eyes see the sun set!);
- Use cigarettes, alcohol or caffeine as little as possible when trying to get good sleep;
- No big meals or super-sized beverages right before slumbering; and,
- Make your sleeping environment as pleasant and conducive for sleeping as possible.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends a range of sleep times with adults (26-64 years of age) getting seven to nine hours of sleep per night, and older adults (65+ years old) achieving seven to eight hours of sleep nightly. You can see what younger ages are also recommended to get in terms of sleep so that your whole family gets the right amounts.
On your phones, mobile devices and computers, you can install the free software, f.lux, to filter out the blue light (known to induce the production of melatonin-blocking chemical receptors in your brain) from the screens. These features may also be built into the operating systems of your devices, depending on their versions.
To help with your sleep environment, check out these 7 Essential Oils for Relaxation and Better Sleep. There’s nothing like a several drops of lavender essential oil into a diffuser that spreads relaxation and sleepy feelings into the bedroom!
While it may seem like a good idea to take melatonin tablets to induce sleep, it’s usually overdosed easily and actually blocks good sleep from happening. So, have a cup of hot herbal tea and let your body naturally produce melatonin.
And, last but not least, use your electronics to help you sleep better with apps like these:
- Sleep Cycle (Android, iOS) – this handy app uses many different sensors on your smartphone or mobile device to analyze your sleep throughout the night (including snore monitor and sleep quality).
- Headspace and Calm (Android, iOS) – Both of these apps have guided meditations designed for helping you slow down and relax into sleep.
- Sleepzy (Android, iOS) – in addition to tracking your sleep, it calculates your sleep rhythm over time to intelligently set the alarm to wake you at just the right time so you don’t wake up groggy.
- Sleep as Android (Android) – This does the same job as Sleep Cycle and Sleepzy above, but it also contains a handy bedtime alarm that tells you to put down that iPad and start brushing your teeth so you can get to bed on time. Of course, you can set an alarm on your phone too to alert you when it’s time to wind down and start getting ready for bed.
These resources should get you started on your new year’s sleep self-care practices.
Where to Start With Sleep Self-Care
As always, if you need more sleep self-care than you believe you can provide yourself, seek help. You can reach out to Four Directions Wellness for services and always talk through any serious issues with a medical professional.
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Is sleep self-care the area of your life that you are focusing on this year, this month, or even this week? Let me know in the comments and how you plan to better your sleep hygiene in 2020.