What is the first thing you think about when you think about health and wellness? Is it your sleep cycle? My guess is probably not. However, sleep is actually considered one of the pillars of health. 

People today actually brag about the fact that they barely sleep at all. Most of us don’t get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep a night. 

Sleep has a major impact on your mental health, your immune function, and levels of inflammation in your body. It affects your brain as well as factors that contribute to chronic disease. 

Think about the last time you had really poor sleep. You just feel off. Everything feels more difficult. The factors that contribute to our overall health are all integrated so when your sleep is off you don’t have the energy to make healthy food, you don’t feel motivated to move your body, and you don’t drink enough water. 

Now that you know how poor sleep affects your health and wellness, how do we change this?

Think back to when you were a kid, or if you have kids think about what works best for getting them to sleep. A routine! When my daughter was little, we would get her ready for bed by taking a bath, brushing her teeth, putting on PJ’s, and then sitting down to read a book. By the time we were finished her body understood it was time to lay down and go to sleep.

It sounds so simple, right? If it was simple then we would all be getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night. But it is possible. 

Here are some things that work for me: 

• I start getting ready for bed about at least an hour before it is actually time for me to go to sleep. This includes getting myself set up for the next morning. Anything that I need for work I set up the night before. This keeps me from thinking about what I have to do in the morning and keeps me from stressing about forgetting something. 

• I try not to eat within 2 hours of going to bed. I have found that if I eat heavy or I eat late it makes it harder for me to fall asleep. Let your body digest while it’s awake so it has the energy to repair while you are sleeping.

• I stop drinking water about an hour or two before I go to bed. This helps so that I don’t wake up a bunch of times at night to go to the bathroom. 

• I put my phone away and turn off the tv about 45 minutes before I go to bed. I have found that the stimulation from the blue light or from what I am watching will keep my mind spinning and keep me awake longer. 

• I spend at least 30 minutes before bed reading. This can be a hard one because sometimes you get a really good book that you just can’t put down. I actually set an alarm to remind me to close the book and go to sleep. There is something about reading that always gets my brain and body ready for bed. 

Changing your evening habits can be challenging. There is always one more email to send, one more text you need to get to, and one more show you need to watch. It didn’t take me long to realize that my sleep was way more important than all the other things I thought I needed to do. Over time, I found that I was actually more productive during the day because I was rested. Being able to set healthy boundaries for myself helped me make healthier choices during the day.  Even a simple step added before bed can help you on your path to better sleep. What small step towards better sleep are you going to implement today? Let me know in the comments.