Sleeping
Sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle. Like eating right and
exercising, sleeping well is essential to feeling your best during
the day. It affects how you feel, your relationships, your productivity
and your quality of life. While you sleep, your brain goes to work,
consolidating the day's learning into memory and reenergizing the
body.
Sleep problems affect about 70 million Americans of every age, race,
and socioeconomic level, and there is a growing body of scientific
evidence showing that inadequate sleep results in tiredness, difficulties
with focused attention Performance in the classroom and in extracurricular
activities can suffer if a child does not obtain adequate sleep. Once
a child reaches adolescence, his or her risk of inadequate sleep and
its dangers increases. Just like the correct diet or a safe and effective
exercise plan, a good nights sleep is critical to a happy and healthy
life.
Contrary to popular belief, the body does not "shut down" during sleep,
and neither does the mind. While you are off in dreamland, your body
continues working around the clock, replacing old cells with new ones
and re-energizing your muscles and organs. All that work done while
you are asleep is just as vital for a healthy well being as the work
your body does during the day. Light, noise, and temperature can all
affect how good your sleep it.
Light: This is one of our body's most powerful indicators of
time. Our internal clock will associate the rising sun with "time
to wake up"! A dark room is best for sleeping, whether it is day or
night. Noise: Loud random noises can easily disrupt sleep. A low,
steady humming of a fan or air filter can make drifting off much easier.
Temperature: A room being too hot or too cold can make sleep a tough
thing to do. 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature
for a room you are sleeping in.
Some other tips for getting a good nights sleep are to :
- Keep regular hours, even on weekends
- Develop a ritual before going to bed so your body gets ready for sleep
- Exercise regularly to help relieve tension
- Cut down on stimulants, such as caffeine
- Stop smoking, statistically smokers take longer to fall asleep
