Night is getting longer day time is getting shorter. We are in the season of winter soon.
One of the guiding principles of Chinese medicine is the interplay of yin and yang. Day time, light, activity and upright position are yang. Nighttime, darkness, rest and horizontal position are yin. When we are in harmony with the daily change of yin and yang, we expend our energy out into the world at daytime, our body and mind are nourished and restored at nighttime.
The current stress-oriented 24/7 culture isn’t doing much to help people stay healthy, especially sleep. Sleep deprivation is so common that studies show about 50-70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders enough to harm their daily lives and their health and longevity.
There is a marked relationship between poor sleep and obesity in both adults and children. The studies revealed cutting down sleep in healthy people decrease glucose tolerance and increases insulin resistance, as well as increasing hunger and appetite, eventually obesity. Also there is evidence that chronic sleep deficiency is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Chronic lack of sleep is also associated with reduced testosterone and sperm damage for men, poor memory and cognitive ability, depression and anxiety disorder, easily catching a cold, and increased pain. Even a single disturbed night can increase potentially harmful levels of inflammation in the body.
Preparing a good night sleep is good habit to get a better morning.
-take your sleep time seriously
-The production of melatonin, perhaps the single most important hormone for the immune system, occurs during sleep. Decreased melatonin production is thought to be one of the factors leading to breast cancer. Lights left on in the room interfere with melatonin production. If you need light, red-colored night light will work better
-If you routinely get up to urinate, restrict your fluids before bedtime
-studies show that sleeping medications interfere with deeper levels of sleep. Certain herbs like chamomile and valerian are especially helpful to induce sleep
-Any electric blankets or heating pads create an electrical field that significantly interferes with our own body repair process. Even when they are turned off they still maintain an electric field.
-Washing or soaking the feet in hot water before bedtime promote healthy sleep
-the recommended sleeping position is on the side with the knees bent, known as ‘fetal position’. Opinions vary on better sleeping position but an experiment conducted on rats suggests that sleeping on the side may more effectively remove brain waste and reduce the chances of developing neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
-Sleeping hours vary according to ages, activity and gender. The US National Sleep Foundation recommends the following as guidelines: newborns 12-18 hours, infants 14-15 hours, toddlers 12-14 hours, preschoolers 11-13 hours, school age children (5-10 years) 10-11 hours, teens 8.5 to 9.5 hours, and adults 7-9 hours.
