Sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle. Like eating right and exercising, sleeping well is essential to feeling your best during the day. It affects how you feel, your relationships, your productivity and your quality of life. While you sleep, your brain goes to work, consolidating the day's learning into memory and reenergizing the body.
Sleep problems affect about 70 million Americans of every age, race, and socioeconomic level, and there is a growing body of scientific evidence showing that inadequate sleep results in tiredness, difficulties with focused attention
Performance in the classroom and in extracurricular activities can suffer if a child does not obtain adequate sleep.
Once a child reaches adolescence, his or her risk of inadequate sleep and its dangers increases.
Just like the correct diet or a safe and effective exercise plan, a good nights sleep is critical to a happy and healthy life. Contrary to popular belief, the body does not "shut down" during sleep, and neither does the mind. While you are off in dreamland, your body continues working around the clock, replacing old cells with new ones and re-energizing your muscles and organs. All that work done while you are asleep is just as vital for a healthy well being as the work your body does during the day.
Light, noise, and temperature can all affect how good your sleep it.
Light: This is one of our body's most powerful indicators of time. Our internal clock will associate the rising sun with "time to wake up"! A dark room is best for sleeping, whether it is day or night.
Noise: Loud random noises can easily disrupt sleep. A low, steady humming of a fan or air filter can make drifting off much easier.
Temperature: A room being too hot or too cold can make sleep a tough thing to do. 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature for a room you are sleeping in.
Some other tips for getting a good nights sleep are to
- Take Oil bath regularly
- keep regular hours, even on weekends
- develop a ritual before going to bed so your body gets ready for sleep
- exercise regularly to help relieve tension
- cut down on stimulants, such as caffeine
- stop smoking, statistically smokers take longer to fall asleep