Sleeping Routines – Why they are so IMPORTANT

By: @aribents / @bigheartsmallbooty

Today I decided to enrich my mind with a podcast, which by the way are one of the most beneficial tools of our generation, in my opinion. Not only is there so much good information floating around—it’s hard to get bored listening to them. They are one of my favorite tools to use for learning new information—and they’re free!

Today I listened to one podcast called The Model Health Show with Shawn Stevenson. This episode in particular was discussing Evening Routines. Sometimes we don’t really realize the things we are doing before we prepare for a night’s rest, but Shawn manages to outline all of the things that we should be doing, tips to get us into that deep sleep period, and steps that are attainable to reach. Let’s dive in!

Are there natural ways to fall into a deeper sleep?

There are lots of chemicals in the body as we all know, one of those being melatonin. Some people take pills that contain this chemical in order to get a better night’s rest. But what if there was a way for you to produce more naturally? This is when we must step onto something called biological rhythm which means basically we as humans are one with the earth as crazy as that sounds. And not meaning the plant type way or any of that, but our body clock runs with the earth.

It’s a thing called “social jet lag”

This brings me to my next point—sometimes we feel as if we have gone back to whatever it is we do on Monday mornings and show up tired and frumpy. This is because on the weekends we tend to lash out and break out of those biological rhythms—meaning we stay out late, see a late movie, whatever the context of the evening is… we aren’t getting optimal sleep. This is considered “social jet lag”—our bodies literally travel to France and back by Monday morning from all the long hours we have kept it awake (Friday, Saturday night). Now for me personally, I am in bed by 10 most nights, don’t really go out, and have a strict eat and sleep schedule. However, 80% of American’s do not! Which is why it is so important to realize that getting optimal levels of sleep can do so many great things for your health.

Sleep helps naturally burn fat

Sleep heals and burns fat with cortisol—the chemical that protects muscle and sheds fat. And when we aren’t getting a consistent amount of sleep, we are blocking ourselves out of the optimal sleep time, not producing these essential chemicals, and overall not getting what our body really needs.

Here are some tips to help you create an effective nightly routine (and get more sleep):

1. Try being in bed 1 hour before it’s your actual bed time so if it is 10 pm if you can be in bed by 9.
2. Put away your blue light devices—aka phones, tablets, all of the above. Believe it or not you can actually do all those things on your devices at way better times.
3. Chill your core body temperature—meaning do not plan to shower 10 min before your bedtime, or workout. Heating up your internal core temperature can lead you to not having good sleep levels. Your body must be at an internally cool temperature.
4. Limit surrounding light, get blackout curtains. Having your room completely dark will help you optimize your sleeping patterns.
5. Journal, read a book, listen to a podcast, do something that eases your mind. Set your day up for tomorrow, plan ahead, maximize your efficiency.
6. Brush your teeth (this goes without being said, but.. )
7. Let go, let your mind rest, speak positively about yourself, think no thoughts just simply do. Turn your brain off, and close your eyes.

I hope this could help some of you! Sleep is so essential to our everyday function’s, without it we wouldn’t be here! Always nourish and take care of that beautiful body you are living in.