Sleep. We all need it. We all want it. We often avoid it.
So, what’s up with the contradiction?
There are a few things that prevent us from sleeping well.
Screens
In our current generation we often are in front of some
style of screen after 9:00 pm, and the pineal gland, that is located in the
center of our head, is what sends the message that night has come. If it continues
to detect light then it doesn’t send that message. There’s a night mode on any
smart phone; but that’s still light. Not going to help. I know, you thought it
was going to make it better.
What can you do? Set an alarm for 30 minutes before you want
to go to bed. When it goes off? Set a 5 minute alarm and finish what you are
doing, whether it’s an email, an Instagram shot, a pin, or a post and then…here’s
the moment of integrity to yourself…turn off the screen. I’m going to assume
you already have your alarms set for the week, so you don’t have anything else
to do with that phone. Ideally you’ve got an old-school alarm clock and you can
turn your phone completely off. That’s not super common, so at least put your
phone on the other side of the room to avoid temptation.
Then what? Move your body, get a drink, use the facilities,
dress down, have your nightly rituals, then go to sleep.
Sleeping in
Yup. I said it. You like to sleep in and think it will give
you more energy. Sorry, not going to work. I don’t know about you, but the adage
“early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise” has
been part of my community as long as I can remember. Try it. You may be
surprised that weeks of waking early and getting at least 2 hours of sleep
before midnight feels better than sleeping in.
Stress.
This one is interesting. Stress feels real; but in reality
it is how we choose to react to our environment. You don’t actually have to
worry about things, or hold tension, it’s a choice. Yikes! Harsh. The thing is,
if you want to be more productive you’re going to need to rest. If you spend
your time stressing… All. The. Time. Then you’re going to be less productive,
have less rest, and contradict the very goals you have. Let it go. If you need
to write it down, do it. If you need to go in your car and yell it, do it. If
you need a good cry? By all means, I suggest you find a good book to make you
cry or a great movie. Get it out.
Laziness
This one seems so weird, right? If you sit around all the
time, though, your body will not be getting out the energy that it needs to.
Your fascia (the connective tissue of awesomness in your body http://dancecoreif.blogspot.com/2013/07/basics-of-what-we-do-in-office.html)
gets all tight and wound up, your muscles get stuck in static contractions,
your organs don’t have as much oxygen because people usually slouch…so you
probably do. This is all around not so good for your ability to sleep. You’ve
got to get moving. Go climb a tree. Seriously, though, go swimming or biking,
take a yoga class, speedwalk, go to spin class, take a social dance class. Get
out and get moving. Sometimes doing a lot of yardwork or domestic movement is
enough to get your blood flowing, your lungs breathing, and your muscles
moving. You’ll find you can sleep a lot better after you move consistently, you
also may find you’re happier.
Tight fascia
I mentioned this word earlier. I’m a fascial worker. Fascia
is the largest organ to transport emotion, it holds your body together…literally…and
yet its fairly unknown to the public what it means.
Really concise description of fascia
Let me give you a visual. Imagine a tiny muscle fiber, long
and thin, covered in some loose connective material. It distinguishes it from
other muscle fibers and also gives it space to contract and release. Zoom out a
bit and notice that all those muscle fibers are surrounded by this, and a small
group of the muscle has a dividing sheath of connective tissue. Stay with me.
Now, the muscle and the group of muscles have their own coverings…but it doesn’t
stop there…because that fascia around the muscle goes to the edges, becomes a
tendon, then covers the joint(joint capsule), and then the bone (periosteum),
and then becomes a ligament, and so on until it is covering organs like the
heart (pericardium). Seriously, guys, this stuff has no beginning or end. It just
keeps going in layers, and somewhat like a web, and when it gets tight you get
stuck. This image is used with permission, and is designed to teach tensegrity, or the idea that by affecting one spot you affect the entire object.
How does that affect your sleep? If your fascia gets stuck,
then often pain will persist. Pain is difficult to sleep through and people
spent thousands of dollars trying to figure out how to remove pain. Most often
what they need is to eat a pinch of pink salt/sea salt, drink some water,
stretch and maybe eat a baked potato with the skin. This helps release static
contractions in the muscle and it also helps the fascia have the hydration to
release when stretching. The potato is going to give you far more potassium
than a banana, so trust me and try it. I know some people who stopped having
restless legs just by nuking a baked potato when their legs started to ache.
Just make sure you’re using pink or sea salt, your body needs the complexity of
minerals and will naturally ask for water.
Do not try to replace the water with soda or juice. Your
body needs water to create ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which is what is used to
relax muscles. H2O. Use it.
Here's my secret sauce. How to stretch. Properly stretch.
The first thing you’re supposed to stretch is the fascia. If
you push too hard, it’ll signal the golgi tendon reflex to contract.
Don’t do it.
It’s tempting because we’ve been pushing too hard in our
stretching since elementary school.
Go into that stretch so gently that you don’t actually feel
like it is a stretch. Trust me. If you pretend you’re showing the stretch to a
60 year old grandma, and you haven’t warmed up so you’re not “actually” doing
the stretch, then you’re doing it right.
Count to 30. The science behind it is that it takes 20-30
seconds for the fascia to release and “trust” you. I just do 30. It’s easier
that way.
Now, you get to actually stretch the MUSCLE. I know, I’m letting
you stretch the muscle now! Go just a smidge deeper into that stretch and hold
for 10-15 seconds. If you can’t go deeper then you pushed too hard the first
time.
This takes some practice; but it is well worth your time.
You’ll find that not only will you get better sleep you’ll have overall less pain
in your body.
You’re welcome.
