Sleep. Mother Nature's way hitting
our reset button. The following
pages contain verbiage, tips, a
printable poster and other articles
and resources around the topic of
sleep that you can reference and
share with your co-workers and
employees.
WHAT AND WHY
• As Americans work extended hours, routinely take work home, and
strive for that elusive work-life balance, sleep has become a casualty
of the race for time. But lack of sleep undermines our ability to focus,
to be productive, and even impacts our memory. Sleep also plays an
important role in our physical health. Sleep is involved with healing
and repairing our cardiovascular system. Long-term sleep deficiency
can lead to increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high
blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. Taking time to rest and getting
sufficient sleep is essential for a happy and productive life. This
month, let's examine ways we can add a few more minutes of sleep
into our lives.
IDEAS FOR ACTIVITIES
• Keep a Sleep Diary - A very helpful tool to track your sleep time and
patterns is a sleep diary. It includes the time you go to bed, the time
you wake up, your total hours of sleep, and whether you had any
nighttime awakenings (and if so, how long you were awake) and any
daytime naps. Note how you feel when you are awake (refreshed or
tired), and how you feel at different times of the day will enable you to
become more aware of your patterns, and help you determine if you
are getting adequate sleep.
• Take a Sleep Vacation - If you continue going to bed at the same
time and allowing your body to wake up naturally, you will eventually
establish a pattern of sleeping essentially the same amount of time
each night, probably in the range of 7 to 9 hours.
IDEAS FOR ACTIVITIES
• Don’t Be A Nighttime Clock-Watcher - If you wake up in the middle
of the night and can’t get back to sleep in about 20 minutes, get up
and engage in a quiet, restful activity such as reading or listening to
music. And keep the lights dim; bright light can stimulate your internal
clock. When your eyelids are drooping and you are ready to sleep,
return to bed.
• Lighten Up on Evening Meals - Finish dinner several hours before
bedtime and avoid foods that cause indigestion. If you get hungry at
night, snack on foods that (in your experience) won't disturb your
sleep, perhaps dairy foods and carbohydrates.
• Establish a Soothing Pre-Sleep Routine - Take a bath (the rise, then
fall in body temperature promotes drowsiness), read a book, watch
television, or practice relaxation exercises. Avoid stressful, stimulating
activities.
RESOURCES
Articles
• 11 Unconventional Sleep Tips: How to Get to Sleep
and Stay Asleep
• How Lack of Sleep Hurts Your Health
Videos
• How Much Sleep Do You Need?
• Honor Thy Sleep
25 TIPS
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Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual. A relaxing, routine activity right before bedtime
conducted away from bright lights helps separate your sleep time from activities
that can cause excitement, stress or anxiety which can make it more difficult to
fall asleep, get sound and deep sleep or remain asleep.
If you have trouble sleeping, avoid naps, especially in the afternoon. Power
napping may help you get through the day, but if you find that you can't fall asleep
at bedtime, eliminating even short catnaps may help.
Exercise daily. Vigorous exercise is best, but even light exercise is better than no
activity. Exercise at any time of day, but not at the expense of your sleep.
Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep.
Your bedroom should be cool – between 60 and 67 degrees.
Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. Make sure your mattress is
comfortable and supportive. Have comfortable pillows and make the room
attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and
objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up.
MORE TIPS
6.
Avoid bright light in the evening and expose yourself to sunlight in the morning.
This will keep your circadian rhythms in check.
7. If you can, avoid eating large meals for two to three hours before bedtime. Try a
light snack 45 minutes before bed if you’re still hungry.
8. Your body needs time to shift into sleep mode, so spend the last hour before bed
doing a calming activity such as reading.
9. If you can't sleep, go into another room and do something relaxing until you feel
tired. It is best to take work materials, computers and televisions out of the
sleeping environment
10. Drink enough fluid at night to keep from waking up thirsty—but not so much and
so close to bedtime that you will be awakened by the need for a trip to the
bathroom.
11. Try to finish exercising at least three hours before bed or workout earlier in the
day.
MORE TIPS
12. Buy an alarm clock. And keep your phone in the other room. Smartphones can
represent a source of stress during the day, and proximity to the bed can disrupt
sleep – even if it doesn’t make noise or is set to vibrate.
13. Want to sleep well? Start your day with omega-3s! These healthy fats lower
anxiety and help your body produce the hormones you need to sleep at night.
14. Keep regular hours. Going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time, all the
time, will program your body to sleep better.
15. Cut down on stimulants such as caffeine in tea or coffee – especially in the
evening. They interfere with falling asleep and prevent deep sleep. Have a hot
milky drink or herbal tea instead.
16. Take time to wind down before bed. In the first 20 minutes, prep for tomorrow
(pack your work bag, pick out clothes; in the next 20 minutes, take care of
personal hygiene, and in the last 20 minutes, relax in bed with reading material.
17. The ideal nighttime snack combines carbohydrates and either calcium or a protein
to boost serotonin, so snack on some cheese and crackers.
MORE TIPS
18. Try a hot bath or shower. Stepping from warm water into that pre-cooled bedroom
will cause body temperatures to drop slightly, which can trigger sleepy feelings by
slowing down metabolic activity.
19. Regular physical activity can promote better sleep, helping you to fall asleep faster
and to enjoy deeper sleep.
20. Increasing natural light exposure during the day promotes healthy melatonin
balance, which can help us get to sleep later in the day.
21. One surefire way to fight your fatigue is to ban the snooze button. You've decided
what time you are going to get up every day – and that does not mean 15 minutes
early and snoozing until it's time to get out of bed.
22. The scent of lavender has noted benefits for sleep. A small 2005 study found that
a sniff before bed led to more deep sleep.
23. Getting some natural light -- you'll want to aim for about 15 minutes -- first thing in
the morning can help night owls reset their biological clocks and ease into sleep a
little earlier.
MORE TIPS
24. Too little sleep can slow memory, learning and cognitive abilities, including critical
thinking, math skills and spatial orientation.
25. Struggling to fall sleep just leads to frustration. If you’re not asleep after 20 minutes,
get out of bed, go to another room, and do something relaxing; like reading or listening
to music until you are tired enough to sleep.
APPENDIX
• We can’t take all of the credit. In compiling this information, we referenced the
following organizations and websites:
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SleepFoundation.org
BetterSleep.org
DoctorOz.com
SleepCouncil.com
Prevention.com
GreatList.com
HuffingtonPost.com
Health.com
Longevity.about.com
AllYou.com
HealthySleep.com
Harvard.edu
hwww.nih.gov/