There’s much “to do” about getting enough sleep – but maybe we should be asking ourselves – “are we sleeping too much”?
Sure we need good quality sleep for healthy repairing of all our body’s functions, especially major organs like heart, brain, lungs & liver.
In fact, some of these organs are very busy repairing during the night & do most of their “essential” work then. Eg. your skin…Collagen is repaired and rejuvenated in the early hours of the night – when your body has a natural hormone -called HGH or Human Growth Hormone that’s job is to repair & strengthen ALL collagen within the body – joints, muscles and skin…allowing for less lines, firmer skin and more elasticity from healthy collagen & elastin networks.
Another example is the Liver…it does a lot of its role to detoxify overnight – especially in the hours between 1am-3am.
So if you’re waking in those times (or haven’t gone to bed yet) then this may be one simple solution to minimising unwanted weight gain, healing pimples & acne (waste comes out through your skin) & balancing your hormones quicker – especially if you’re peri-menopausal (which is any women over 40) as it may be worsening your symptoms – especially hot flushes.
Research in the past has shown that adults need between 7-9 hours per night of sleep. So there has been a big focus on getting MORE sleep (as most of us don’t get that much). Eek!
However, on a recent podcast by Dr Dave Asprey – The Human Upgrade…he interviewed Matteo Franceschetti who co-founded Eight Sleep – to help people sleep better to perform better – sounds good right?
What was fascinating was that Matteo was asked how many hours was the perfect amount…and guess what – it was 6.5hours per night! Wow!
Of course it depends on the quality and how many deep sleep cycles and REM cycles you get to make sure you are restored and re-energised…and there IS a knack to that…something that is high on MY list for healthy ageing and longevity.
If you’d like to know more of his hacks – it’s a great and interesting listen.
Here are my top 5 things to include to get deep sleep, feel regenerated, allow beauty sleep AKA Collagen renewal to occur and still get heaps out of what I want to get done in my day:-
- Rising early (5am) & exercising first thing – keeps me active, mobile & preventing muscle loss and keeps my circadian rhythm in balance with nature (good for healthy longevity).
- No devices for the first couple of hours – mostly. The blue light can deplete much needed hormones/neurochemicals we need in the morning to convert energy & feel good.
- Go to bed at the same time every night (10.30pm is my time), do my skin ritual to start my brain to identify it’s “bedtime” & send some sleep hormones (I use a lot of essential oils and non-toxic skincare), meditate in bed (5-10 mins) to get my breathing deep & reduce cortisol levels
- Eat before 7pm – although I’m not always good at this…if I keep it light but still include lean protein – I’m good to go
I also recommend activating genes at either the morning or evening meal so that your body can optimise healing, sleep & reduce inflammation…this has made a massive difference in the depth of my sleep and how rested I feel when I wake in the morning (and I didn’t think I had an issue with sleep). This is one herbal tablet per day for exactly the right dose to trigger your body’s natural system to do the work.
So while not getting enough sleep* – can be very detrimental to your health… maybe too much sleep is as well. I’d love to know your thoughts…
*Studies have shown that being awake for at least 18 hours is the same as someone having a blood alcohol content level of 0.5% – so that may be a typical executives day – 6am – 11pm…then travel time – that’s over the limit to drive!!!
