Search Results for: sleep

November 25, 2021 By Sunita Arora 1 Comment

How To Improve Sleep and Sleep Quality

With 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:

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.
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.
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.
Environment Is Everything: Keep your bedroom environment clean, calm, dark and quiet. Make sure that your mattress and pillows are comfortable.
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.
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.
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/
A Lukewarm Shower 1-2 hours before bed is a well-known remedy for sleeplessness. It significantly improves sleep quality and reduces anxiety.
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

September 10, 2021 By Hajra Mithani Leave a Comment

5 Eating Habits To Avoid Before You Sleep

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

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.
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.
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.
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.
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

May 7, 2021 By Srini Leave a Comment

Sleep Series: Sleep Tips and Summary

The internet is full of various sleep tips and advice but which one is the best one to follow? Don’t worry, I have shared some sleep tips which I’ve personally experimented with and benefitted from over the last couple of years. Hope they help you too!

Sleep Tips For A Good Night’s Rest

1. Day Time:

The sleep preparation process starts from the time you wake up
What you do during the day, impacts how you sleep. Sleep is not just a standalone event that happens in the evening. Sleep is designed to unwind, scavenge, reorganize and rebuild from the activities of the day. So, be cognizant of what you do in the daytime
Get some Sunlight, especially first thing in the morning. This sends a clear signal to “Body Clock” that it is Daytime – it will automatically set up the night time.
Try walking without any footwear on natural ground while taking morning walks. It helps immensely!
No Coffee/Cola after 13:00 hours – I found the impact of tea is milder on sleep. At 4pm, masala tea with ginger, etc. is ok.

2. Evening

Get used to dim lights post dinner. Light is the number 1 inhibitor to the onset of sleep
I have two sets of lights in my house – one for “illumination and celebration” and one with dim lights conducive to induce melatonin secretion.

3. Dinner

30 minutes before dinner, take 1-2 spoons of Apple Cider Vinegar with 1 spoon of honey in 1 glass of water. Works wonders for sleep, digestion, acidity, GERD, etc.
Early dinners are the best! Between 6-7pm max. You do not want your digestion process working during sleep
Stop the intake of water 90 minutes before sleep if you are above 45.

4. Preparing to Sleep

30 minutes before your scheduled sleep time, start unwinding. Phone can be kept outside the bedroom or better, switch it off. Reading a hardcover book is a great way to induce sleep. I used to read a book on macroeconomics
Pranayama is a great way of preparing the body for sleeping. I found the following useful
- 4-8 method: Inhale through nose for a count of 4 and exhale through the mouth for count of 8 – ask me if you do not yawn and feel sleepy at the end of 3 minutes
- Shitali Pranayama: 3-4 rounds – cools the body
- Ujjayi: 3-4 rounds – strengthens the throat muscles – works against collapsing during snoring
Lavender Essential Oil: Apply 1 drop of good quality lavender essential oil on your pillow. You will sleep like a baby. Do not use more than one drop, I do not want to get a call from your boss!
If you can get your Ayurveda or Siddha doctor to prescribe “Ven Thamarai (white Lotus) Churna”, mix it with a half-cup of warm milk and honey 60 minutes before going to sleep. Non habit forming and sleep inducing medicine. Not just helps in onset of sleep, but helps in overall quality through all stages of sleep.

5. Bedroom

Darkness is a friend of sleep. Pitch dark room with no night light. Use a sleep mask for your eyes if needed. Go for movement sensing light in case you get up at night
Air conditioned room is the best – cool temperature is essential for good sleep. Set what is comfortable fo you – 24 degrees is generally ok for Indians (web prescribes 20 degrees which is American Standard)
On bedroom accessories, I have covered in previous blogs
Bed is reserved for unwinding and sleeping – so avoid working or eating from bed

Sleeping well is essential to a good career for knowledge workers. Sleep builds memory, creativity, innovation and problem solving skills which are crucial and cannot be replaced by “Artificial Intelligence”.

If this Sleep Series by Srini got you excited about sleep, try reading Why we sleep – a book by Matthew Walker, the Sleep Guru. To read more about sleep, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

To get more guidance to help you sleep better, subscribe to GOQii and let our experts help you: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu

#BeTheForce

April 30, 2021 By Srini 1 Comment

Sleep Series: Sound NOT OK Please! Everything You Need To Know About Sleep Apnea

Good sleep is ironically referred to as Sound Sleep. While “sound sleep” is Ok, sleep with “Sound NOT OK please!” Snoring is the “Lead Indicator” for sleep apnea. 30% of Males and 15% of females snore. Most of the male snorers beyond age 40 have a high chance of Sleep Apnea.

During sleep, the body parts relax and for few of us, the muscles around the air passage – throat and tongue – collapses (relaxes) and obstructs the airway. This:

Stops flow of air to lungs
Breathing stops
Oxygen level in the blood goes down – less than 90%, Co2 rises
Brain detects the low level and URGENTLY REACTS!

The brain sends signals to wake up, but to the collapsed parts only (normally the person still continues to sleep – hence he just does not know the issue) and then the cycle continues.

During Apnea, there are complex harmful hormonal reactions in the body: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/more_evidence_untreated_sleep_apnea_shown_to_raise_metabolic_and_cardiovascular_stress

Sleep Apnea kills slowly! Sleep Apnea unleashes Diabetes and Hypertension and lethargy of course, among a myriad of other diseases. I first noticed that I may have apnea since I felt very sleepy in office meetings. That they were boring is another reason, but I felt sleepy in ALL meetings! I was tired and lethargic.

How I Tackled Sleep Apnea

My “sound sleep” was like a Lion’s Roar! I heard my recordings – first it was my wife who talked about it, then even my sons, who sleep in the adjacent room. That’s the time, coincidentally, GOQii folks were discussing sleep apnea, CPAP machines, etc. There was a free polysomnography (sleep test) going on offer and I grabbed one. The results confirmed a mild version of apnea and I promptly purchased a Philips APAP (more advanced than CPAP) machine.

I struggled to get used to sleeping with a face mask but as I got used, the benefits were telling! I invariably woke up fresher, singing a song and ready to Carpe Diem. I was more attentive in meetings (asking even tougher questions) and then the health benefits began pouring in – my hypertension plummeted, and the quantum of medicines dropped – my overall quality of life improved

The reason why I shared my personal story bit more elaborately:
I had a sleep problem that resulted in

Low productivity
Stress and strain as I worked hard to compensate for the low productivity
Irritability due to poor sleep – bad 360 degree feedback
I was taking more coffee to stay awake – resulting in further loss of sleep – caught in a vicious cycle (read caffeine and sleep here)
Suffered from an avoidable hypertension issue for at least 15 years and took all kinds of beta blockers resulting in even deadlier side effects
I HAD NO CLUE and sadly NOT EVEN MY DOCTORS
NO doctor EVER asked me ANY questions about my snoring or sleep quality – NOT a comment on the Doctors, but on the system, treat for the “symptoms” that we narrate.

Therefore, YOU ARE ACCOUNTABLE for your HEALTH!

Talk to your body, understand the signals (language of body) it is sending – even better, measure it regularly
In Mumbai, I found just two sleep doctors on Google – I consulted with one of them. (Just 2 for Maximum City? No wonder Mumbai is a city that does not sleep)
I read Matthew Walker’s book on Sleep, read many blogs and watched many Videos
Used CPAP Machine, understood its readings, correlated with GOQii Smart Vital readings and made corrections to lifestyle
Invested in upgrading my bedroom
Experimented with a few foods (next/last blog) and adapted what was suiting me
Then, finally decided to share it on LinkedIn, because that is my community

Summary

Sleep Apnea is MORE common than what gets detected and treated
Sleep Apnea is not just a health problem, it is the biggest killer of productivity – HR Folks, note this!
Low productivity results in even more hard work for knowledge workers
Responsible for ALL MAJOR lifestyle chronic illnesses like Diabetes and Hypertension
If you feel sleepy in the office before lunch, then watch out, you may have sleep apnea whether or not you snore ( feeling a bit sleepy during the second half is ok)
If you are over 40, then I strongly advise you to consult a sleep doctor and take a polysomnography test. Make it part of the Master Check Up
If you snore, then do not wait, get yourself tested for apnea

Modern CPAP and APAP machines are fantastic. They are as comfortable as they can get and they give you a comprehensive MIS on your sleep the next day. More importantly, they have high quality air filters, which filters pollutants and smaller dust particles – that’s an added benefit!

We hope this article on Sleep Apnea helps you! Watch out for the next and final article on the Sleep Series by Srini. For more on sleep, tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

To get your GOQii subscription, download the app or click here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu

#BeTheForce