7 Tips for Better Sleep from ‘The Sleep Solution’

 

• Do you have trouble falling asleep?

• Do you wake up during the night and have trouble getting back to sleep?

• Are you tired during the day, but full of energy when it’s time for bed?

• Do you have trouble sleeping in?

I’ve been reading The Sleep Solution by Emily Benfit of the Butter Believer Blog and I’ve learned
so much about the importance of sleep, how it affects your overall health and how to really get sleep under control. I’ve followed Emily’s blog for a while and I love her writing style. In addition to being incredibly thorough, informative and easy-to-understand, she’s is also just downright hilarious!

I’ve really enjoyed reading The Sleep Solution. It’s full of great information on how to naturally fix your sleep and even includes sleep supporting recipes like “sleepy dust” to help you get back to sleep after waking in the night. I highly recommend it for anyone with sleep problems from mild sleeplessness to severe insomnia.

 

The Vital Importance of Sleep

Unfortunately, when it comes to overall health, Sleep is often overlooked. We tend to focus so much on having a good diet and exercising regularly that we sometimes forget how sleep fits into the picture. I even know people that place the upmost importance on diet and exersise, but when it comes to sleep, all care goes out the window.

Emily Benfit puts it best when she says, “Even the healthiest diet won’t be doing you a whole lot of good if you’re not getting the right quality and quantity of sleep. You know how they say, ‘You can’t out-exercise a bad diet?’ Well, you really can’t out-eat bad sleeping habits, poor sleep quality, or insomnia.”

Why everybody needs quality sleep:

• Allows your body to regenerate energy and repair cells
• Keeps your immune system working properly
• Maintains memory and brain function
• Balances hormones
• Maintains healthy metabolism function
• And more!

I’ve heard many stories from folks who couldn’t lose weight despite “doing everything right”, but once they fixed their sleep, which in-turn, fixed their hormones and metabolism, they began to see results from their weight loss efforts.

“Another study showed that dieters who slept 8.5 hours per night lost 55% more body fat than those who only got 5.5 hours. In another study of people who were trying to lose weight, those who slept 6-8 hours per night lost an average of 10 more pounds than those who slept less.”

I could go on. There are many detrimental effects from lack of sleep, but you get the idea…sleep is critical!

1. Balance Your Metabolism and Hormones

Balancing your hormones and metabolism is one of the most important things you can do to improve sleep and ironically, is also one of the most often overlooked solutions to improving sleep.

2. The Importance of Light and Darkness

Light and darkness play an important role in healthy sleep. Make sure your room is dark and that you get enough light during the day.

The Sleep Solution goes into further detail on the right and wrong kind of light and whether or not your should use sunscreen.

3. Reduce Mental and Psychological stress

Stress can impair sleep which then causes more stress. It’s a vicious cycle. Taking steps to manage stress is crucial. The Sleep Solution outlines how to reduce stress by using “cognitive restructuring”.

4. Align Circadian Rhythms

Circadian rhythms are the natural cycles that your body goes through during a 24 hour period. Hormones, enzymes and environmental factors play into aligning your natural circadian rythems.

The Sleep Solution outlines all the things you can do to support your natural circadian rhythms which will allow your hormones and metabolism to work together towards better sleep.

5. Eat A Diet That Supports Healthy Sleep

With all the conflicting information out there it’s hard to know whats right. If you are having trouble sleeping there are a few important changes to make in your diet to make sure it’s truly balanced. The Sleep Solution tells you which foods support sleep and which foods hurt sleep.

6. Take the Right Supplements

Not all the supplements sold as sleep aids in the natural health food store are good for you.  Supplements commonly sold at health food stores like melatonin can actually disrupt your natural hormonal and metabolic balance. The Sleep Solution lists which supplements to avoid and which ones can actually help. One of my favorite sleep aid supplements is magnesium. I take it often by bathing in epsom salts or by taking natural calm.

7. Create A Bedtime Routine

The Sleep Solution teaches you how to design a bedtime routine that works for you, which will help balance your hormones, metabolism and circadian rhythms.

Click here to buy The Sleep Solution now!