The prevalence of sound and light, the vibrations from electronics, the movement of vehicles, endless screen time, and other elements of our urban lives overstimulate our sense organs and chip away at one of our most vital life functions…sleep.
Rest and relaxation are crucial elements of detoxification. Our bodies and brains cannot eliminate all the toxins they are exposed to until we carve out time and create a restful, safe environment for detoxifying. When our physical body or nervous system is overworked, our bodies crave comfort foods, sugar, caffeine, and naughty snacks to fuel us through stressful days. Sleep is our single most important bodily function for aging well.
Most of us don’t consider sleep a practice, but it is. And there are simple steps we can take to improve the quality and duration of our sleep. Consistent restorative rest is the most critical thing we can do to create a solid foundation for good health. It is the key to a happy, healthy, and productive life, improves cognitive function, strengthens the immune system, and provides valuable time for our body to process stress. On the flip side, sleeplessness contributes to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and depression — not to mention the development of cognitive impairment.
Most of us need at least 7 hours of sleep a night to have normal, healthy levels of fluctuating hormones, and as women, balanced hormones are the holy grail for health and happiness.
Here are some simple steps every woman can use to build a better sleep practice and get the best beauty rest possible.
Sleep Promoting Habits:
- Consume your daily calories over 12 hours. Fast the remaining 12 hours. This is how your body was designed to metabolize and helps to maintain a healthy weight.
- Get exposure to the sun within 2 hours of waking. This will signal your circadian clock to reset itself for the day.
- Workout in the morning. If morning workouts are not your thing, avoid vigorous exercise within 3 hours of bedtime.
- Take a magnesium supplement at bedtime. Magnesium is responsible for over 300 enzyme reactions in the body, and you must have it for your cells to make energy. Magnesium helps anything tight relax and can improve your sleep. Try 300-500mg of chelated magnesium glycinate before bed.
- Drink sleep-promoting herbal tea or my Moon Tea. Many delicious sleep-promoting teas like Chamomile, Lavender, Holy Basil, and Ashwagandha. Try making a medicinal dose by steeping 2 tea bags for 3-4 minutes and drinking before you head to bed.
Magic Benefits of Sleep:
- Improved memory. Memory consolidation occurs during sleep by strengthening the neural connections that form memories.
- Increased longevity. 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night are associated with a longer life span.
Great days begin after a good night’s sleep, and a good night’s sleep is set in motion the minute we wake up. When we cultivate habits that support our most vital bodily functions, like sleep, we create wellness karma that delivers benefits into our future. Sweet dreams!
Kristen Coffield
I am a passionate advocate for food as medicine, life navigator and culinary coach. This is my space for sharing what excites, inspires and motivates me to live my best life. It began as a recipe blog for nourishing, simple, weekday meals and has become something much bigger… a guide to resilient wellness. I am excited to share my knowledge of how daily habits can cumulatively help you to live like you mean it and age like you want to.
