Reflections on Body, Mind & Spirit: Sleep Improvement and Importance, Times of Rest and Refreshment
My July Reflection
As the days are displaying a hint of shortening, I find my thoughts more in a place perhaps closer reserved for winter. Last month I shared my sleep quality challenges which gave me the opportunity to pay more attention to finer details and awareness that when things are going well we might otherwise gloss over. As you will read below, I have had some improvements but continue to work on being better - isn’t that what it’s all about?
Body - Sleep Importance
Last month I shared with you that my sleep quality was suffering as indicated by my Oura Ring (and how I was feeling upon waking). My best results came interestingly while traveling (which is often when our sleep suffers...). Spending two nights at a hotel with both nights resulting in great sleep quality! Reflecting upon what went right, two things stood out; a dark room and a very cold room. Both are part of a better sleep tool-box. As sleep expert Mathew Walker says, temperature is one of the biggest contributors to how well we sleep.
After traveling and returning home my scores went back down again. OK, I'm getting really frustrated at this point but I am remembering to have patience! My room could be darker and cooler. I focused on the cooler part. Specifically, I stopped waiting until right before bed to turn the AC up and instead, started cooling the house down much much earlier so that by the time I wanted to sleep the room was at the desired temperature. The results? Improved sleep quality! This makes sense as the feedback I was getting was that my RHR (resting heart rate) wasn't dropping until late in the sleep-cycle thus getting a "you may not be fully recovered" message.
I'm going to focus on getting the room cold prior to bed (along with other smart lifestyle choices) to continue to improve my sleep quality. As research shows us, it is vital for our brain health.
Challenge for you:
How did you feel upon waking up this morning? Was it a struggle or did you jump out of bed? Did you feel as if you needed more sleep or were you ready to get up? Answer those questions not with why you may feel a certain way upon waking. Instead just call to mind what you felt.
MIND - Lack of Sleep Decreases Cognitive Function & Increases Alzheimer's Protein
One of the nation's leading sleep researchers, William Killgore from Harvard Medical School, wrote in Progress in Brain Research that sleep deprivation not only slows response speed and compromises alertness, attention, and vigilance, but also affects "more creative, divergent, and innovative aspects of cognition." In other words, if you don't sleep well, your brain won't work right.
Sleep is where we give our brain the rest it needs to thrive. In particular, deep slow-wave sleep and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep are very important for the brain. During deep slow-wave sleep, the glial cells of the brain shrink in size, which allows our cerebral spinal fluid to be flushed out. We detoxify our brain during this time, including removing amyloid beta protein which aggregates in Alzheimer's disease.
Challenge for you:
Do you have any pre-bedtime rituals? i.e. turning off screens, sticking to a sleep schedule, cooling the room. Take time this week to examine your sleep habits.
Spirit - Rest Awhile
In this newsletter and others we've touched upon the importance of sleep and how it is vitally important for the body and mind. The third piece of course, is that it is also good for our spirit or soul. We were designed to take rest. Not just for giving the brain time to detoxify but also so that our spirit can listen to our creator. Just as the body needs time to rest and recover, so also the spirit and soul need times of rest and refreshment.
Challenge for you:
Make time this weekend for rest and recovery. Walk outside, take some deep breaths and pay attention to what you hear.
Scripture I'm Reflecting Upon
"He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” Mark 6:31
To your reflection and health,
Lisa Schaffer
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