Sleep Well, Feel Better

JUPITER, FL – May 3, 2018 – Sleepless nights and constant fatigue are challenges that countless people face. Lack of sleep or sleep of a less-than-ideal quality can actually have detrimental effects on your overall health. Here are a few quick tips to help improve your sleep cycle and increase your day-to-day well-being.  

1. Go to Bed at the Right Time
Most adults require around eight hours of sleep so the longer you stay awake at night, the less sleep you are likely to get. The best time to go to bed according to researchers is between 10 PM and 12 AM. Additionally, establishing a consistent nighttime routine which includes going to bed around the same time every night can help improve the quality of your sleep.

2. Soak Up the Sun
A great night's sleep actually begins the moment you wake up in the morning. Going out into the sun during the day to get a healthy dose of natural light helps your body produce a hormone called melatonin, which helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle in your body. Take a few minutes each day to soak up the warm Jupiter sunlight for a better night’s sleep.

3. Turn Up (Down) the A/C
While finding cool temperatures in South Florida may be difficult at certain times of the year, cool air is essential to a good night’s sleep (and not just because it feels nice to bundle up in the blankets). Your sleep is affected by the way your body regulates temperature. As your body’s core temperature drops when falling asleep, having the ambient temperature set lower will help your body get to that ideal temperature to initiate slumber. Recent studies have found that the ideal room temperature for sleep is around 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Turn Off Your Mind 

To ensure a good night’s sleep is to turn off your brain. Easier said than done, but try to leave the day’s stresses and problems for the daytime hours and empty your mind in preparation to nodding off. Whether you begin to practice meditation, count sheep, listen to music, or count backward from 100, clearing your mind can calm your body and make the transition into sleep easier.

5. Unplug
There have been numerous studies and articles about how technology affects our sleep. One of the ways to immediately increase your sleep quality is to turn off your electronics an hour before bedtime and set them aside for the morning. The “blue” light from screens can confuse your sleep cycle and can cause your body to create more “daytime” hormones rather than the “nighttime” ones needed to catch some Z's.

Florida Coast Staff Pick: Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson

If you are looking for even more tips to improve your sleep other than those provided above, be sure to pick up Sleep Smarter. Written by fitness and nutrition expert, Shawn Stevenson, this book offers a deeper look at how sleep impacts your body, brain, and performance, while providing real-world tips and tricks to help you revolutionize your sleep. Or for a quicker look, check out his enlightening podcast episode on the same topic — The Model Health Show, Episode: “Help Me Sleep! – 21 Ways To Cure Your Sleep Problems.”