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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

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Tips to Help You Sleep Better!

sleep better

Sleep! You might have already so many articles about this especially when you’ve not been getting quality sleep. Before we go deeper into how you can sleep better, let us first understand how we define sleep! As per the world’s sleep research, William Dement (Author of promise of sleep) defines sleep as the ‘Moment when the brain starts producing theta waves’.  

Too technical! What exactly are theta waves? I don’t want to get too technical, so I will talk about medical jargon in the most simplest way possible.

The Brain Produces ‘Waves’ All The Time!

While you are awake (concentrating), your brain produces beta waves. When you are daydreaming, relaxing or lying around, your brain produces alpha waves. While your body is in the transition from relaxing to sleeping, that’s when your brain starts producing theta waves. When your body is in deep sleep, your body produces delta waves. sleep better

During this period, your body starts producing growth hormones. I always tell this to my patients. Your body undergoes repairs when you enter deep sleep which is very crucial for overall well being.

When I was learning more about sleep, the one question that often came to mind was, “How and when do we get dreams?”

After theta waves, there is one interesting thing which happens. It is called as REM Sleep or Rapid Eye Movement Sleep. This is when your eyes are moving with closed eyelids. You might be dreaming but you will not remember your dreams completely the next day.

According to me, these are just basic things about sleep which everyone should be aware of (and with good reason).

Do you ever get a feeling of waking up tired after sleeping for almost 9 hours?

When I ask this question to my patients, they say, “I am tired all the time!”

This is called as Sleep Deprivation.

How Do You Know That You Are Sleep Deprived?

I read a lot! One of the books that I read on sleep is the Promise of Sleep. The book spoke about a very cool way of figuring out if we are sleep deprived or not. Check out the steps below:

  • Go to bed with a spoon in your hand
  • Your hand should be in a position where the spoon is over the floor and not over the bed
  • Note the time when you plan to sleep
  • As soon as you fall asleep, your hand muscles will relax. Once this happens, the spoon will fall on the floor and the noise will wake you up.
  • Note the time when you wake up. That’s your own sleep latency.

There are many other sleep tests which are done as well to figure sleep deprivation out.

Now that we understand what happens when we sleep,

Follow These Tips to Sleep Better

As always, we go back to our basics: Sleep Hygiene

  • Restrict Tea/Coffee/Green Tea and other caffeinated drinks. Caffeine circulates in the system for at least 7.5 hours. Taking caffeinated drinks close to bedtime can mess your sleep schedule.
  • Make sure you create a sunset kind of environment post sunset with yellow dim lights so your body realises that it’s the time for you to relax, rest and sleep. Same thing goes for the gadgets! Blue light from your devices block the sleep hormone production. If you have long screen hours, try using blue blocking glasses post sunset.
  • Make sure that your room temperature is around 19-20. Usually, our body temperature tends to fall when we sleep. This will help you in maintaining an ideal body temperature when you wake up.
  • Try to avoid exercising, watching exciting/horror movies which will keep your mind active for a long period of time.

Apart from the basics,

Try the Sleep Restriction State Method

  • If you think you sleep 4 hours per night, then sleep for 4 hours only
  • Go to bed at 1 AM and set your alarm clock for 6AM. You’re not allowed to go to bed earlier than 1AM, or wake up later than 6AM.
  • You will be tired the following day. Extremely tired! That’s a good thing. You will be wondering, what is good in being tired but this will drive you to sleep earlier the next day
  • The next day, you add ½ hour to the sleep time. You go to bed at 12:30AM instead of 1 AM and wake up at 6AM.
  • Keep increasing your sleep window by ½ hour per day till you feel the sleep debt is paid off.

Why are we doing this? It’s because during this time of the sleep window, you won’t be allowed to use stimulants to keep yourself up. No coffee or any kind of caffeinated beverages. We are doing this so that your body starts building up the fatigue, drowsiness and eventually you will end up sleeping. This will help in recovering your sleep debt.

Sometimes, stiff neck muscles will decrease the blood supply to the brain, which results into fragmented sleep. Getting a physio evaluation for the same will also help in improving sleep quality.

We hope these tips help you sleep better! Do type your thoughts and queries in the comments below!

To read more on sleep, check out Healthy Reads. To get these tips directly from your GOQii Coach, subscribe for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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7 Positive Habits To Have An Incredible Day

positive dayHow many times have you woken up wondering what your day is going to be like? Given the current scenario, your thoughts are clouded with the pandemic, infections and to top it off the pending office work, assignments, presentations and meetings you probably don’t want to attend. In the turmoil of these menacing thoughts, the thing you forget to focus on the most is being positive!

All the thoughts perceived as negative spike your cortisol (the hormone that leads to bad stress) levels. If your day starts on a negative note, it is certainly guaranteed that the rest of your day is going to be the same. What you do and think during the first few hours after waking up can impact your mood, routine and productivity.

It is important that your morning routine starts on a good note. Follow these simple strategies when you wake up and you’ll be all geared to be positive and happy!

1. Rest Well To Be Positive & Happy

Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right time can help protect your mental and physical health, quality of life, and safety. Sleep is just as important as eating and drinking water. Despite this, millions of people do not sleep enough and experience insane problems as a result.

The way you feel while you’re awake depends partly on how you have slept or what kind of sleep you have had. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain functions and maintain your physical health.

2. Prayer & Meditation to Facilitate Clarity and Abundance

Once you wake up after a healthy 7+ hours of sleep, prayer and meditation are crucial for orienting yourself towards positive thinking.

Nothing can be better than meditating for 10 min in a day for a healthy mind. Meditation can transform the mind. It doesn’t mean that you have to sit in a particular posture and focus on any single point. The definition of meditation is different for different people. If you ask me, meditation is the art of focusing our attention (100%) in one area.

MRI brain scans of people who meditate has shown an increase in activity around areas that control metabolism and heart rate. Some studies on Buddhist Monks have shown that meditation produces long-lasting changes in the brain activity in areas involving attention, working memory, learning, and conscious perception.

3. Sniff Your Way Awake

Most of us start our day with a morning wash which helps us open our eyes properly. Similarly, the scent you wash with can have a big effect on your mood, says Art Markman, Ph.D., the author of Smart Change. Research suggests Lavender can help you relax, mint can stimulate your brain, and citrus can reduce stress. Scrub and sniff away.

Over and above, a cold shower is more beneficial. Cold water immersion radically facilitates physical and mental wellness. Regular use of Cold water for shower provides long-lasting changes to our body’s immune, lymphatic, circulatory and digestive systems that improve our quality of life.

4. Get Up & Move More!

Exercise is extremely important for a healthy lifestyle. If you’re healthy, you can devote a 100% to any task. Kickstart your day with some good physical activity. Exercise decreases your chances of depression, anxiety and stress as it helps your body release endorphins which are good for you!

5. Take 2 Mins to Thank Someone

There is no harm in thanking someone for their presence in your life. People are magnets. When you’re grateful for what you have, you will attract more positivity and good. Gratitude is contagious. Gratitude may be the most important key to success. It has been called the mother of all virtues. Begin your day by putting yourself in a position of gratitude, you will attract the best that the world has to offer.

6. Listen to Something Uplifting

Everyone loves music! It’s one of the best ways to boost your mood. Personally, I love listening to old Bollywood or Sufi music and whenever possible, I use an alarm that actually plays music.

Music helps you find some relief from stress and if you start your day with such a great medicine – think how the rest of your day will pan out. If you listen to inspirational/uplifting material right when you wake up, then you will eventually condition that message into your mind and connect it with waking up in the morning.

7. Lighten Up The News

I personally try to avoid news channels in the morning in order to avoid any negative content I may come across. If you start your day with negative news, you may think about it for the rest of the day. Try something more motivational or positive. If you read stories that inspire you or make you happy, you’re guaranteed to have a fabulous day. Try creating a bank of motivational videos and begin your day with them.

This has been my personal experience and it has never led me astray! Try these very simple routines and gear up for success. Most importantly, begin your day with a smile!

Hope this helps! Do share your thoughts in the comments below! For more on mental health and emotional wellness, check out Healthy Reads or get these tips directly from your coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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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

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