By Deanna Durso — Certified Health Coach

Here are a few tips for better sleep.

May is Better Sleep Month! Not exactly sure what brain trust came up with this designation, but here are a few tips to help raise awareness around the benefits of better sleep.

Did you know there is a direct link between metabolism, longevity, health, mood, and sleep? Women who get eight hours or more of quality sleep a night are less likely to have heart attacks, strokes or breast cancer. Not only that, but they are also less likely to gain weight and less likely to suffer from anxiety or depression. Pretty much checks all the boxes, right? In other words, women who sleep well will live longer, happier and trimmer lives.

Let’s begin by talking about your current bedtime routine and how you can you improve your sleep by controlling your behavior by focusing on your five senses.

Sight & Light

It’s imperative to have a dark room. Artificial light can interfere with the production of melatonin. Before going to be tonight, evaluate even the slightest light that could be interfering with you getting a good nights sleep. For instance, light being emitted by your alarm clock’s digital readout, the or a light peeking through the bathroom door, or your cell phone’s screen springing to life whenever you get a notification. Speaking of which, you should reduce your use of electronics after dinner which will reduce blue light. The dreaded blue light can have an impact on your body’s sleep hormones. Ideally shut down electronics within an hour before going to bed.

Sound

Sounds crazy but adding a little background noise can actually help improve sleep. We recently added a “white noise background” to our bedroom routine, and found it helped. One you can try is…

Touch

When you climb into bed, how do you feel? The sheets should feel cool and crisp. There is nothing like peeling back the sheets and climbing into a freshly made bed, clean sheets or not. The temperature in the room should be cool. The suggested temperature on your thermostat should be set somewhere between 65° — 68° Fahrenheit. Keep the bedroom for sleeping and romance.

Smell

We all know that certain scents can encourage peace and calming effects on the body. Soothing scents include lavender, rose, chamomile, and vanilla. Perhaps an hour before bedtime diffuse a calming scent in the room or use a spray you can make on your own with water and your favorite lavender essential oil. Spray your pillow and sheets before bedtime. Scented candles are not recommended.

Taste

We all know too well that certain foods can take longer to digest and can disrupt our sleep. Foods particularly high in fat and spicy foods may taste great going down, but they can certainly lead to a night of tossing and turning. Get into the routine of not nibbling after dinner and limiting what you drink to ensure a restful night.

Need support to help reset your sleep behavior?

Our Health Coaches are offering “The Better Sleep” Package. Why wait? Find your way back to quality sleep and feel better tonight!! Call Redefining Health Medical Today! 516.801.1313

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Ready for the legal disclaimer? Information offered here is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. As with any health recommendations, please contact your doctor to be sure any changes you wish to consider are safe for you!