All About Sleep Syncing
Power naps, beauty rest, and deep slumbers- it’s so important to incorporate proper sleep into our everyday life. With this past Friday being World Sleep Day, we want to share with you the latest wellness trend circling around: sleep syncing.
The Importance of Sleep
In order to understand why sleep syncing is trending, we have to talk about why sleep is so important in the first place. From increased productivity to increased cognitive function, maintaining a sufficient amount of sleep everyday has been shown to improve our overall well being. Getting a good night’s rest can:
- Increase productivity
- Improve memory performance
- Improve athletic performance
- Maintain healthy weight
- Boost positive energy
- Improve skin health
On the other hand, not getting enough rest can lead to insomnia and poor mental health. Studies have shown that those who don’t get an adequate amount of rest have the following:
- Reduced reaction time
- Short attention span
- Difficulty memorizing
- Difficulty multitasking
- Increased stress/irritability
- Higher risk for health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure
What is Sleep Syncing?
With that being said, sleep syncing is the practice of aligning your body’s natural circadian rhythm to your everyday routine. For those of you who don’t know, yourcircadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock. It’s influenced by varying factors such as the light, the dark, and your hormones. The purpose of sleep syncing is to guide your circadian rhythm towards the right direction, formulating a routine that ensures that your body is sleeping and waking up when it should be.
Getting Started
- Wake up at the same time every morning
This practice is all about consistency. Creating a strict time to wake up can teach your body to stick to a schedule. Going to bed at the same time would also be ideal (although this can be a lot more difficult).
- Get some natural sunlight in the morning
Sunlight is considered one of the strongest triggers for your body’s circadian rhythm mainly because it signals your body that it’s time to wake up. Try opening the curtains as soon as you wake or walk outside. For darker mornings, try using a light therapy lamp.
- Avoid bright screens at night
By this, we mean putting away your phones and laptops before bed. The blue light emitting from your electronic devices can actually disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm. It can also decrease the body’s natural melatonin production, making it more difficult to fall asleep.
- Avoid heavy meals & caffeine before bed
Eating a heavy meal before you sleep triggers the release of insulin which can disturb your body’s sleep-wake cycle. Make sure to cut out snacks high in sugar and caffeine as these can make it more difficult for the body to relax and fall asleep.
- Avoid napping
Napping is considered “junk sleep” and can throw your whole sleep routine off. Some studies have shown that napping often can also increase your risk of high blood pressure and stroke. If you’re catching yourself feeling tired, get up, and get ready to go straight to bed instead.With that said, I hope this guide to sleep syncing will get you and your body onto the right track towards a healthier you! To learn more about sleep syncing, you can listen to my podcasthere!
