Sleep is the center of our energy, mood, clarity of thought, and weight loss.

The first half of the night is dedicated to physical recovery and the second half to mental recovery.

In an optimal night’s sleep, we can have 5-6 deep sleep cycles that last up to 75 minutes. These sleep cycles create the recovery we need in order to function at our best, the following day. In between sleep cycles, we have light sleep, combined with short bouts of “awake”.

No matter what your sleep habits have been in the past, these sleep cycles are imperative for a full recovery. A few ways to gain more minutes of deep sleep include:

1. Keep your room pitch dark – even the littlest of LED lights can affect the quality of your sleep

2. The room should be colder than normal

3. Minimal electronic use an hour before bed. If you do have to be on the phone or tablet, set the night shift/night shade setting, in your display settings, to automatically turn on. This cuts out the blue light which is responsible for keeping you AWAKE.  Side note…If you are one of those who sleeps with the TV on, you are NOT getting sufficient deep sleep.  Here’s the thing, while you are asleep the bad guy is being chased, the music intensifies, and in your sleep, you feel the stress of the mood. BAM, this brings you to restless sleep, and there is no way to convince me otherwise.

Keep in mind that our physical recovery is an important part of weight loss.  With disrupted sleep our body can not fully recover, making our next workout less efficient than the last.  Additionally, if our body is not recovered fully, it will hold on to fat to keep us protected.

Mental recovery is where stress is targeted.  Without proper sleep, we wake up edgy, stress is elevated, and then it’s harder to properly digest our foods.

If you have kids…

Now, for adults, we have full control of what we do before bed, how we keep our room and so much more. Our children on the other hand are dependent on us to set the example.

Our children need rest just like all of us do. Their endless bounds of energy, make us forget how important sleep really is to the developing mind. Sleep is the time that our bodies get to recover from the day’s events; it’s the time when vitamins and minerals do their thing to provide us with optimal health and well-being. Sleep is also the optimal time for brain development and growth for our hungry young minds.

Our kids need as much as 12 hours of sleep per day; this assures them plenty of rest, recovery, and development. Life becomes very exciting, especially on holidays from school, but is it worth to skimp out on precious hours of sleep all the time? If you’re going to allow your little ones to fall short on their “Z’s”, make it for something worthwhile. To see an old friend, or visit with the family, creates a lasting impact on our children, watching endless hours of television does not.

Keeping sleep a priority will benefit a child’s learning and development for years to come. On the same note, your child’s mood and behavior will remain at its best for any family gathering that includes the right foods and the right amount of sleep!

So, for all of us…

No matter what the age, all of these principles apply. Next time you want to figure out if your sleep recovery is working, try this…

Are you waking up ready to get going or do you need a forklift to get you out of bed?

If the latter, then maybe you should re-evaluate your nighttime rituals. If you need some extra help, use your smart watch or Fitbit and look at the sleep cycles from there, some of you may be blown away by what you can see. Kids love these charts as well, so using these to encourage your children to get more z’s maybe a winning ticket, just a thought.

With Peace, Love, and Health,

Adita

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©Copyright 2024, Adita Lang. Adita Lang works with individuals and groups to maximize their health through exercise and nutrition. She is available for Coaching and Public Speaking.

For questions or booking, please email her at info@AditaLang.com.

For recipes, lifestyle tips, and more visit her at www.AditaLang.com.