"People with an abnormal circadian rhythm are also at an increased risk for certain mental health conditions, like depression." "People who don't have a well-regulated circadian rhythm are more likely to suffer from cognitive deficits like poor focus, inhibited learning, and reduced memory consolidation," Rohrscheib explains. Some studies have found that people who go to bed late and have trouble waking up in the morning are more likely to have a shortened lifespan, in addition to a much higher risk of psychological disorders and diabetes. "Not waking up early enough in the morning and not getting the sun exposure that you require to maintain your circadian rhythm is associated with difficulty falling and staying asleep, and can impact your health." "Sleeping before midnight helps to ensure that you have enough daytime hours of light exposure to regulate your melatonin production," Rohrscheib says. In addition to regulating circadian rhythm, sleep before midnight can affect our overall wellness when awake. RELATED: Our Sleep Needs Change a Lot as We Age-Here's How to Get Proper Sleep in Your 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50sĠ2 of 03 Turning in before midnight is good for our health. "Environmental cues such as temperature and light levels interact with the circadian timer telling the body what time it is." "When we cross time zones, this process is disrupted," describes sleep expert and researcher Nerina Ramlakhan, PhD, physiologist, sleep expert, and author of The Little Book of Sleep: The Art of Natural Sleep. The longer we stay awake after this point, the more we shake up our natural sleep cycle. Generally, this melatonin signal occurs well before midnight. Rohrscheib says that as it gets darker in the evening, and less light information enters our eyes, our melatonin production increases until it reaches a certain threshold, at which point it signals to the brain that it's time for sleep. Melatonin is a hormone that sends a signal to your body to sleep. RELATED: Sleep Procrastination Might Be Stealing Precious Hours of Rest From You-Here's How to Stop It "Light entering our eyes makes the brain suppress melatonin, one of the main hormones that regulate sleep." "The circadian rhythm uses sunlight that enters our eyes to keep us on a 24-hour schedule," explains sleep specialist and neuroscientist Chelsie Rohrscheib, PhD. It helps maintain all aspects of our lives. Without circadian rhythm, we aren't able to optimize how much energy our bodies expend and when. This ingrained behavior has been present for thousands and thousands of years and is shaped by the earth's rotation on its axis. It regulates our sleep while also signaling when to be alert and when to become sleepy based on light changes in our environment, like sunrises and sunsets. Our circadian rhythm helps our brains keep track of when we should be awake and when we should be asleep. You can also check out online videos or articles.01 of 03 Our bodies know what time it is. To learn more about these and other techniques, take a class or use self-guided books or videos. Do this over and over throughout your body, starting with your feet and working your way up. First tense your muscles, then relax them. It's a type of meditation that helps you distance yourself from stress by imagining the sights, sounds, and scents of a peaceful place. You can quiet your mind if you repeat a phrase while you do some rhythmic breathing. Repeat the cycle 3 more times (4 total).Breathe in through your nose as you count to 4 in your head.Breathe out completely through your mouth.Sit with your back straight and the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth. You can try the 4-7-8 breath relaxation exercise. Do it slowly and steadily from your belly. Put your mind and body at ease with these techniques:ĭeep breathing. If you read, don't use backlit screens such as computers, cell phones, or tablets. If you get up to go to the bathroom, get a drink, or have a snack, keep the lighting dim. Light makes you feel alert, which isn't what you want when you need to sleep. Turn the clock away so it's out of your sight line. If you check the time over and over, it only adds to your stress when you're trying to get some shut- eye. When you feel sleepy again, go back to bed. Do something quiet and unexciting, like listening to soothing music or reading something you've read before. It may not sound like the obvious thing to do, but if you can't get back to sleep within 20 minutes or so, go to another room. You get up in the middle of the night and you're wide awake.
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