GOQii

Blog

Search Results for: sleep

By 3 Comments

Sleep Well Without Electronics

Sleep Well Without Electronics

I am not here to quote articles to tell you that radiation from electronics wrecks sleep. I am here to tell you that it really does. Period. And for the current generation, it is a bad scenario!

Why Should You Believe Me?

Well, after reading this article, put off your WiFi, network and call connection for 2 hours before going to bed. Try and gauge the quality of your sleep. Ask yourself, if you slept deep or if you were disturbed during bedtime? It’s tried and tested, you sleep much deeper and better.

Using TVs, tablets, smartphones, laptops or other electronic devices before bed delays the body’s internal clock & might suppress the release of melatonin which induces sleep.

Radiation from mobile phones delays and reduces sleep and causes headaches and confusion. The “glow” from electronics is at work against quality shut-eye. The small amounts of light from these devices pass through the retina into a part of the hypothalamus (the area of the brain that controls several sleep activities) and delay the release of the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin.

Many of us are into binge-watching television shows. Research shows that those who are identified as binge-watchers report more fatigue, symptoms of insomnia, poorer sleep quality and greater alertness prior going to bed. Further analysis found that binge-watchers had a 98% higher likelihood of having poor sleep quality compared to those who did not consider themselves to be binge-watchers.

Gaming is the worst of all for all age groups. Video games appeared to contribute to sleep problems as well, even if the kids watched or played them during the daytime. Activities like TV, gaming, etc. gets you excited, and in many cases, you end up sleeping late, with disturbed sleeping patterns. In case you’re in your 20s and 30s and manage to sleep well with this scenario, my suggestion is to stop now. TV and computer monitors can keep melatonin levels from rising normally because of the brightness of the screens. Around bedtime, adults and the young should be winding down.

 Why Should Anyone Bother About Good Quality Sleep?

Sleep is important because it enables the body to repair, be fit and ready for another day. Getting adequate rest may also help prevent excess weight gain, heart disease, and increased illness duration. It is extremely essential part of healing well. 

Am I suggesting that we all stop using electronics? Hell No! However, you can do the following

  1. Put your WiFi off 4-5 hours before sleeping
  2. Try to decrease and eventually stop using all electronic items 4-5 hours before bed. Get back to the landline maybe!
  3. Gaming & play outside the house is a YES, and on the phone is a NO for all age groups
  4. Read a book, a newspaper or chat up with friends
  5. Meditating is one of the best options before bed as it induces your healing process and recuperates your body, mind and emotions.

If you really want to experience perfect sleep try to be away from technology for those 6 to 8 hours so you spend 16-18 hours of the other part of the day where you really need it!

We hope this article helps you sleep well. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more on sleep, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach directly by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

By 9 Comments

2 Breathing Techniques For Better Sleep

breathing techniques for better sleepDo you have trouble getting sleep despite the fact that you are tired? Sleeping well is an art. It needs a perfect blend of healthy habits and control of mind. A clean body and mind, relaxed mood, physical exercises, and perfect dietary control are some of the basic sleep-inducing methods. However, one of the best ways to bring the body into its relaxed state is – BREATHING! How do breathing techniques for better sleep work? Let’s find out!

Breathing Techniques For Better Sleep

Breathing deeply has been proven to affect the heart, the brain, digestion, the immune system and even the expression of genes. Research has shown that breathing exercises like Pranayama can have immediate effects by altering the pH of the blood, or changing blood pressure. But, more importantly, they can be used as a method to train the body’s reaction to stressful situations and dampen the production of harmful stress hormones and help induce sleep.

Here are 2 important breathing methods to calm the mind and induce sleep naturally.

1.  The 4-7-8 Technique

How To Do It?
This process is recommended by Dr. Andrew Weil, a practitioner and teacher of integrative medicine for the last thirty years. To do this exercise, sit up in bed with your back straight or lie down on a straight back and press the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth right behind your front teeth. Maintaining that position, close your mouth and inhale through your nose for four counts, hold that breath for seven counts, and then exhale through your mouth around your tongue for eight counts. Repeat this pattern until you have completed four full breaths.

How It Works?
The 4-7-8 breathing technique is effective because it encourages the fast removal of carbon dioxide. Doing so equates into a better preservation of the bicarbonate pool; our reservoirs for helping maintain an appropriate pH balance. Also, it allows the lungs to become fully charged with air, allowing more oxygen into the body, which promotes a state of calm.

2. Left Nostril Breathing 

How To Do It?
Simply take your right hand and with your fingers outstretched, block off your right nostril by putting gentle pressure on it with your right thumb.  Be sure to keep the rest of your fingers straight and pointing up. With a long, slow, deep breath, gently inhale through your left nostril.  Then, just as gently, exhale long, slowly and completely, again through the left nostril. Do this for at least 3 minutes; chances are you might doze of even before that!

How It Works?
When we’re under stress or feeling anxious, we tend to breathe mostly out of our right nostril, which is connected to our left brain. This activates our sympathetic nervous system, the channel responsible for the classic stress response – dilated pupils, increased core temperature, sweating, and increased heart rate and blood pressure. And when we start breathing through the left nostril the parasympathetic system gets activated which slows us down and helps our body automatically run its day to day jobs of digestion, elimination, sleep cycles and more.

Apart from these 2 breathing techniques for better sleep, you can also try meditation or mindfulness by just observing your breath as it goes in and as it comes out. Connecting with this rise and fall of the breath, and noticing where you feel that breath move within the body can help you begin the process of relaxing tense muscles and create a coherent heart pattern which brings an instant state of tranquil and helps you drift off to peaceful deep sleep.

We hope this article helps you sleep better! Do you meditate before you go to bed? What helps you sleep better? Leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on sleep, check out Healthy Reads or you can get tips directly from a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

By 1 Comment

How To Improve Sleep and Sleep Quality

sleepWith the pandemic still looming over us, it has become increasingly imperative to boost our immunity. While a healthy diet, exercise and hygiene play an important role, we should also focus on adequate sleep! Getting good quality sleep every night helps the T-Cells in our body fight off infections. Poor sleep increases inflammation and there’s a likelihood of developing cardiovascular diseases as well. 

How to Improve Sleep Quality

In case you are not getting adequate rest or aren’t getting any quality sleep or are facing issues falling asleep, we have some tips to help you out: 

  1. Bedtime and wake up time should be the same. Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time daily. Practice the same routine on weekends too. 
  2. Maintain Sleep Hygiene: Do not consume alcohol 6 hours before bedtime. Also avoid caffeine 4 hours before sleeping and do not smoke before going to bed.  
  3. Limit Screen Time: Stay away from your gadgets and mobile phones at least an hour before sleeping. Put your phones on DND mode for uninterrupted rest.
  4. Environment Is Everything: Keep your bedroom environment clean, calm, dark and quiet. Make sure that your mattress and pillows are comfortable. 
  5. Eat a Light Dinner: Strictly avoid heavy meals at night and finish your dinner 2-3 hours before going to bed. If possible, go for a light walk after dinner every day. 
  6. In case you find it difficult to fall asleep, you can listen to light to soothing music 45 minutes before bedtime. Music generally soothes our nerves, reduces stress levels, and helps us fall asleep faster. 
  7. Deep breathing is a very effective tool for inducing good quality sleep. Do deep breathing 10 minutes before bedtime daily to improve your sleep and reduce stress levels. You can also try these breathing techniques: https://goqii.com/blog/breathing-techniques-for-better-sleep/  
  8. A Lukewarm Shower 1-2 hours before bed is a well-known remedy for sleeplessness. It significantly improves sleep quality and reduces anxiety.
  9. Lavender oil is used for aromatherapy which improves sleep quality, especially for people who are fighting with insomnia, depression, and anxiety. You can put  2-3 drops of lavender oil on your wrist or pillow at night, it will soothe your nerves and help you fall asleep easily.

If you’ve tried the above techniques and still face issues with sleeping, start drinking warm milk with a pinch of nutmeg or turmeric 30 minutes before bedtime. It should help. If sleeplessness issues persist, consider speaking to your doctor. 

For more techniques on how to sleep and to learn about sleep-related issues, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce  

By Leave a Comment

5 Eating Habits To Avoid Before You Sleep

eating habits

With lockdowns, work from home and everything in between, our sleep schedule since the past 1 year has certainly changed. Some of you might have even faced disturbed sleep or worse – insomnia. And the lack of sleep contributes to issues such as indigestion, acidity and even mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Apart from practices like meditation, mindfulness, exercise and deep breathing techniques, even what you eat can impact your sleep. So if you’re aiming for a good night’s rest but are unable to achieve it, here are some eating habits you should avoid for a good night’s rest! 

Avoid These 5 Eating Habits Before You Sleep 

  1. Junk Food: like pizza, burgers have refined flours and simple sugars which take longer to digest, disturbing your digestive system at night causing disrupted sleep and because of their high sodium count, they can leave you feeling bloated, causing sleep-stealing discomfort. Also, you might feel thirstier after consuming junk food. Foods high in calories are digested slowly and may cause stomach upset, cramping, bloating or heartburn if eaten before bed.
  2. Sugars: Sugary food gives you an extra dose of unwanted energy, which is not needed at night. When you eat a lot of sugar before bed, your blood sugar climbs high and then falls rapidly as your body releases hormones to bring the levels under control. This swing in hormones and blood sugar levels impairs sleep. The other reason to avoid starchy or sugary food is it gives you immense energy in a very short period making the body highly active.
  3. Spicy food: items like chillies before bedtime can cause indigestion which makes it difficult to sleep well. It is speculated that this may be due to capsaicin, an active ingredient in chili peppers, affecting sleep via changes in body temperature. Eating spicy food too close to bed causes acidity and worsen symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Some studies have claimed that spicy food can trigger brain waves that cause nightmares and you end up tossing and turning all night. So it might not be a good idea to gorge on to those peri-peri fries for dinner.
  4. Caffeine: is a stimulant and increases your heart rate and alertness – the opposite effect you want when you’re trying to sleep. The role of caffeine (found in coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa) is to make a drowsy soul active and attentive. Caffeine delays and shortens the sleeping duration of individuals. Dark chocolate has polyphenol, but it’s also a surprising source of caffeine. 20gm dark chocolate has about a quarter of the caffeine as a cup of coffee, and about half the caffeine as a cup of green or black tea. It takes 6-10 hours to eliminate caffeine, which means enjoy a dark chocolate treat at around 4 pm if you plan to sleep at 10 pm. 
  5. Alcohol: Suppresses melatonin – the hormone that regulates your internal clock and thus disrupts the circadian rhythm of the body negatively, the reason you wake up in the middle of your sleep. Alcohol also makes you dehydrated and often thirsty in the middle of the night with frequent washroom trips. It interferes with the body’s other sleep-wake regulator – its internal sleep drive. Alcohol increases levels of adenosine, a chemical that regulates sleep by rising naturally in the body. It’s adenosine-boosting effects make you sleep at times other than your natural timings, thus disturbing your natural sleep-wake cycle. 

We hope this article on 5 eating habits to avoid before you sleep helps you catch up on your much needed hours of rest! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 

For more articles on sleep, eating habits before bed and tips to sleep well, check out Healthy Reads. You can also get these healthy tips and suggestions directly from your GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Sleep Well and #BeTheForce 

From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

We’ve always advocated that lifestyle diseases can be managed with a balanced, healthy and holistic lifestyle but can they also help you manage a terminal condition? Our Player Ananda Mukherjee, with help from his GOQii Coach, was able to battle such a condition. Here’s how his inspirational Health Story unfolded. Going From Slender To Overweight  […]

The Right Guidance With Gradual Change – Rishikesh Ayre User Journey

Do you want to make a positive lifestyle change but don’t know how? Does it take every ounce of motivation for you to move? Do you need a nudge in the right direction? These are all valid questions and you’re not alone. Sometimes, we want to begin something new but don’t know where to start. […]

Venkatrao Alaparthi Loses 20kg With Guidance From His GOQii Coach

While earning a good livelihood is important, is it taking more life out of living? Long working hours, being seated most of the time with no physical activity and bad eating habits can take a toll on your health over a period of time. If this sounds relatable, you might have a lot in common […]