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Green Living Healthy Lifestyles Miscellaneous Natural Bedroom Natural Home Organic Comfort Organic Mattress & Bedding Sleep Tips

Eat Healthy, Sleep Healthy

Although the correlation between diet and sleep is unclear, there are many key components in one’s diet that might be either keeping you awake or putting you to sleep at night. First of all, seeing as about half of the population is addicted to caffeine then half of the population might also be staying awake all night waiting for their morning fix. Caffeine is found in many things, including soda, coffee, and tea. These products are all consumed by a millions of people throughout the day in order to keep them awake, keep them satisfied, and to keep them alive (not literally.) However, because of the caffeine in these products, many Americans find themselves with a case of insomnia when it comes down to the wire.

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When it comes to feeling energized, there is a difference between being wired and being awake. When one consumes copious amounts of coffee they might find themselves with a case of the jitters while a person who awakes to fresh fruit and other components of a balanced breakfast might find themselves feeling energized but not spiked. This is not true for everyone, seeing as caffeine effects people differently and that not everyone is a morning person. However, eating a generous amount of fruits and vegetables in the morning, and continuing a nutritious diet throughout the day will not only benefit one’s energy, but also their health as a whole.

Sleep will improve a person’s health so long as they are getting the proper amount each night, or at least if they are getting the proper amount a couple of times per week. When one goes days, weeks, or months sleep deprived they begin to exhibit a state of consciousness that resembles The Walking Dead. When one’s diet is also being affected, the zombie-like state can be increased because the body needs nutrition and without it, sustained by a diet of McDonalds and Taco Bell, one will feel the effects. Consuming a high quantity of fatty foods  will leave one tossing and turning at night.

Other factors of your diet that effect your sleep will include eating or drinking to close to your bedtime. Drinking too much fluid before bed will keep you up all night in the bathroom (trust me, I know!) and eating too much can keep you up with indigestion. However, eating a light snack before bedtime, such as a peanut butter and honey/jelly sandwich can promote healthier sleep. Alcohol is a no-no, and of course, so is caffeine.

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Sleep can also effect your diet in the same way that diet does sleep. Too little sleep can lead to higher ghrelin levels, which can lead to overeating and other unhealthy habits. Make sure that you are getting the proper rest at night and are sleeping on an Eco-Friendly, healthy mattress and keeping up with a healthy diet. Don’t be afraid to indulge every once and a while, just remember that everything is good in moderation!

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Green Living Miscellaneous Natural Bedroom Organic Comfort Sleep Tips

Can’t Sleep?

Are you finding it difficult to fall asleep when the lights are finally turned out at night? 
Is it difficult to stay asleep for the entire period of the night?
Here are some easy tips that can help to ensure your quality and quantity of rest:

1. Turn down the lights!
     It can not be said enough that the amount of light reaching the retina can either
increase or decrease one's melatonin production which will determine a person's ability
to fall asleep quickly.
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2. Avoid drugs such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.
     While it may seem rather obvious as to why one must avoid such stimulants as caffeine 
and nicotine - because they are stimulants and they excite neural activity - the reason
behind why consuming alcohol before bed time may seem less clear. Because alcohol is a
depressant it works as an aid to SLOW neural activity and for many people it may help
in putting them to sleep; however, because alcohol is unnatural to the human body it will
disrupt one's internal biological clock and perhaps reset his or her sleep schedule.
In other words, we do not experience the basic sleep cycles while intoxicated as we would
sober. Also, drugs inhibit REM sleep, which is dream sleep, and in dreaming one's memory is
created to a certain degree and with these depressants a person is susceptible blacking
out and doing things they shouldn't then waking up without any recollection of it!

3. Create comforting pre-sleep routines
     As bedtime approaches a person may want to indulge in activities that sooth
brain activity. These activities will be as simple as reading a book, taking a
bath, and watching T.V. (though try to refrain from light emitting screens in
the ten minutes before sleep). Activities to avoid would be ones that involve
physical labor, and stress.

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4. Assure a normal sleep schedule:
     In order for your body to rest easier it is imperative that one gets the same number
of hours of sleep per night and that they go to bed and wake up at particular times.
This is so that your body has time to wake up and get tired again all in a normal days cycle.

5. Exercise regularly:
     While exercising in the hour before sleep is not ideal - because is gets blood rushing
to all parts of one's body, making them feel alive - a good workout at some point during the
day would not go unrewarded. For one maintaining healthy habits such as these is good
practice, but also it fatigues your body, making a person more tired.

6. Manage shift work:
     What this means is only that if you are working the night shift multiple times
in a row you may be prone to sleep debt. Trying to work out your schedule so that you
are not losing so much sleep will be a good thing, but if this can not be done try to
create a dark atmosphere to your bedroom - dark curtains/shades, dark paint, low light,
and other things of that nature that can stimulate melatonin production in the brain.

7. COMFORT!
     Finally we've reached our final tip and that is to assure that your body is
comfortable when trying to fall asleep. In the long winter months a thick wool comforter
will help in maintaining the appropriate body temperature with making a person sweat or
freeze to death. Sleeping on organic fibers such as cotton aid in natural comfort and
promotes deeper sleep, making it less likely for a person to awake in the middle of the night.

So there you have it, 7 tips that can help to eliminate stress and set your body back on track
to a natural sleep cycle - best of luck!

 


eric-SAT-picEric is currently a student and part-time team member for Norfolk, VA based business Organic Comfort Zone, manufacturers of CozyPure organic bedding and mattress. For more information visit organiccomfortzone.com or cozypure.com or call 757.480.8500.