Prioritise Sleep!

Just as we know how important good quality natural food is for our bodies, it is important that we acknowledge how important sleep is for our overall health and wellbeing.

It is likely that each of us will have difficulty sleeping at some point in our lives. Not getting enough sleep or having disrupted sleep is very common. At any given time, about one third of adults are experiencing sleep difficulties i.e. trouble falling asleep, waking during the night or waking too early.

Good sleep is characterised by appropriate timing, sufficient duration, high quality, regularity and alertness during waking hours. There are several repercussions of insufficient or interrupted sleep which include memory impairment, increased risk of accidents, cognitive deficits and increased BMI. Yes, sleep quality can cause weight gain! When we are sleep deprived, we even find it hard to make simple decisions and we are certainly not in the best mood!

As well as being implicated in complex cardiovascular and mood disorders, the quality and quantity of sleep that an individual gets determines the risk of developing metabolic or immune system disorders. Sleep helps our brains and bodies recover and promotes both physical and psychological wellbeing.

Sleep is not optional – it is vital for optimum health and wellness.

The amount of sleep we need is very individual – teenagers can need 8-10 hours while adults over 25 years need 7-9 hours per night. At times we will need more e.g. pregnancy, post-operative or recuperating from illness. When our sleep is interrupted by newborns for example we must catch up on sleep when we can. We can also have sleepless nights due to illnesses and discomfort. Sleep is very individual but as an adult over 25 years aim to for a minimum of 7 hours every night.

Sleep is an essential component of physical and mental health as well as general wellbeing.

Make sleep a priority.

If you have difficulties with sleep, reassure yourself your sleeping pattern will soon be regularised.

Follow a nightly routine.

As part of that routine, consider burning a lavender candle; listening to relaxing music; practicing calm breathing or writing a gratitude list.

Have specific times for going to bed and for waking up.

Avoid staying up late and sleeping in late (even on weekends or days off).

Get sufficient sunlight every day.

Keep bedrooms tidy and dimly lit.

Avoid naps in the late afternoon or for longer than 20 mins.

Avoid screens and bright lights at night including TV, laptop or handheld electronic devices because they wake us up and can stop the hormone melatonin which helps us sleep.

Alcohol and cigarettes negatively affect sleep.

If you wake at night, resist the urge to check the time, instead, reassure yourself that you will catch up on sleep another night.

Wear bed-socks to keep you warm while you sleep.

Keep bedroom temperatures neither too hot nor too cold.

Exercise during the day but not too late into the night.

Beds are for adult fun and sleep and not for worrying, watching tv, eating, etc.

Don’t eat too late but don’t go to bed hungry.

Avoid caffeine after lunch or completely if possible.

If you are having difficulty with your sleep routine, or if you find yourself lying in bed at night with your brain trying to find different issues for you to worry about, then please talk to someone. Help is at hand – reach out and ask.

www.carolinecrotty.ie

Rethink Your Drink

Rethink Your Drink!

In Ireland we drink to celebrate and also to grieve. On a hot day, we head to a beer garden and when the weather is cold, where better to pass the time than warming ourselves by a pub fire?

We overindulge on drink throughout December with parties and Christmas celebrations. January is usually a dry month, often because we are broke, but what about February? Perhaps it’s a month to rethink our drinking.

Alcohol is intertwined in our lives, so much so, that when a person doesn’t drink there must be a reason – pregnancy, antibiotics, illness, recovering alcoholic?! And we often hear “well, you’ll just have something small so or maybe a hot toddy” like that’s not really drinking!

We know cigarettes are bad for our health, but we don’t think about alcohol being bad. Alcohol is linked with several cancers including mouth, bowel and throat and cutting down the amount we drink could potentially reduce the risk of alcohol-related cancers.

Alcohol is not just connected to cancer, it leads us to say and do things that we cannot unsay or undo. It causes us to engage in risky sexual behaviours, to put ourselves in danger and make dodgy decisions. Alcohol dulls our memory and is linked with heart and liver-disease, osteopetrosis, high blood pressure, poor sleep, anxiety, and depression, (there is a long list).

Make informed decisions about your alcohol intake.

You do not need alcohol to function, or to relax. You don’t need alcohol to engage with others, to make you more interesting, to help you sleep or dance better! If you do, perhaps it’s time to re-think your drinking.

Cutting down means you can avoid hangovers, save money, get a great night’s sleep and improve mental and physical health.

How to cut down your alcohol intake:

Be drink aware. Pay attention to what you drink, when, how much and why.

Encourage friends/family to support you. Explain that you are cutting down/cutting out.

Don’t bring alcohol home. If it is not in the house you will be less tempted.

Distract yourself at the time you usually drink e.g. shower, walk, dance, vacuum, phone someone, garden, read etc.

Never drink alone.

Change your scenery. Suggest going to the cinema or for a meal instead of going to the pub.

Slow down. Alternating with a glass of water helps us slow the pace.

Set a limit to the number of drinks and stop once your limit is reached.

Consider bringing only enough money for a certain number of drinks when going to the pub.

Finish each drink before ordering/pouring another to help keep track of how much you consume.

Drink from a smaller glass.

Have a bottle instead of a can, a single instead of a double. Pour one glass of wine then put the bottle away.

Increase your alcohol-free days in the week.

Rethink your drink and if you need help to change, help is available – reach out. Please.