Sleep is the Best Meditation
By Georgia Tetlow, MD and Jill Maddock, PIM Office Manager
“Sleep is the best meditation” - The Dalai Lama
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has found that up to 70 million adults have a sleep or wakefulness disorder. This number is so vast that it is considered a public health crisis. Inadequate sleep can be associated with chronic disease and life threatening accidents like car crashes.
Tips for better sleep tonight!
Tune into your sleepiness- If you feel sleepiness during the day, don’t fight it off with more caffeine. Simply invite the feeling in and ask it to come back later.
Identify your inactive hours- Customize your routine by choosing when you want to wind down at night. According to Ayurveda (traditional healing medicine from India) we are hard-wired to slow down between 6 and 10 pm. If we look to nature, we don’t see any birds chirping at this time.
Create your routine- The cooling after a warm bath or shower will trigger sleepiness--consider trying this at the end of the day. Incorporate some chamomile or lavender essential oils, make a cup of herbal tea part of your your ritual, do some light yoga like child’s pose, or even give yourself a nice massage.
Get Grounded- Connecting to nature for 10 to 20 minutes a day can help depression, anxiety and….insomnia. Taking a walk outside or gardening can be helpful. Literally putting your bare feet in the grass can work best!
See the (Natural) Light- Too much artificial light can throw off your body’s natural processes. The blue light from screens or energy efficient light is especially harmful. See our future blog specifically on melatonin for details. Download the F.Lux app to help automatically filter out the blue light on your computer based on the time you wake up (no iPhone app is available, but they are working on it!) Microsoft version here
Exercise - We have evolved to jump, run and move! Bring in exercise to help you sleep better. If you do it outside, you also take care of tip #4 at the same time!
Have Fun - You will feel more fulfilled if you burn energy during the day by meeting your goals.
Check back next week for a blog on the details of melatonin and the science behind utilizing these tips!
PIM wants to hear from you! Do you have an experience with sleep remedies? Did you find this article helpful? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Interested in connecting with PIM? Register for one of our upcoming events - Deep Dive Classes with Dr. Tetlow at Cabrini College, tickets just $75 at sign up (limited space for individual attention, no walkins, please). Deep Dive offers intensive, interactive, life transforming experiences that include honest self-assessments and multiple keys to help you be and feel different.
If you or your loved one want to improve overall well being or are suffering from a chronic illness, please consider scheduling a 20 minute free consultation or an appointment with Lauren Houser, MS, MSN, CRNP or Annmarie McManus, MMSc, PA-C, PT, IFMCP.
Resources:
Hauser, Brooke. “Get in the Sleep Zone.” Time Magazine. December 2017: 24-27.