www.vitafoam.ng in collaboration with Life Armada Health consultancy presents Sleep illustrated series

Sleep is the beginning and end of life as we experience it everyday. The tendency to not actively plan for sleep belies its importance to our daily experience. Everything is affected by it.

Sleep should be actively pursued. We will be illustrating the benefits of sleep hygiene and the pitfalls of poor sleep.

BENEFITS

• Regular and refreshing sleep has been associated with improved health indices. Good sleep reduces the risk of weight gain, while also reducing the risk of developing metabolic disorders like hypertension and diabetes. The observed spike in hypertension and diabetes among the younger generation that has nightly distractions like Multi-channel television and nightly video games are telling.

• Regular and refreshing sleep helps maintain improved mental health. a) Good sleep has a stabilizing effect on mood. b) Good sleep is key to maintaining ability to tolerate stress. c) A major role for dreams is in memory development/encoding, this along with mental acuity is facilitated by interrupted sleep.
• Poor sleep habits are associated with reduction in life expectancy. This has been postulated to be poor sleep activation of the death code of the DNA.

SLEEP HYGIENE

These are habits that can ensure you have regular and refreshing sleep. Sleep is too important to be an afterthought.

• Regular and early bed time: This is recognized to facilitate easy initiation of sleep.
• Avoid late dinners: Late meals increase risk of interruption of sleep due to abdominal discomfort from indigestion due digestive activities.
• Save your sleep for the night: As we get older we are expected to have an average of 6hours of sleep over a 24 hour period. We are encouraged to avoid day time nights and experience the bulk of the sleeping time at night. Night time is more conducive for uninterrupted sleep.
• Avoid regular use of stimulating beverages: To use minimally caffeinated drinks and to avoid their use towards the bedtime.
• Adopt an active lifestyle: Regular exercise, especially not close to bedtime can facilitate regular and refreshing sleep.
• Reserve ones bed for sleep: Avoid doing work or spending a significant portion of your day on your bed. This only retired to your bed when you are feeling sleepy and per chance you don’t sleep off. Do not remain in your bed tossing and turning. Get off your bed and engage in other activities, until you feel sleepy.
• Develop and maintain a nighttime routine.
• Invest in comfortable Beddings
• Control your bedroom temperature, which the bedding can help with.
• Control your body temperature with appropriately warm baths. Baths with extreme of temperatures at night can be too stimulating and not conducive for sleep.
• Beddings with soft fabrics and comfortable cushions, safe enough for pillow fights for children and the young at heart are key to regular and refreshing sleep. Pillow fights should not lead to skin abrasions and risk of concussion. Lush Beddings should make people look forward to wrapping themselves in its comfortable trappings.
• Emotional health issues can affect sleep. Conditions like depression and anxiety adversely affect sleep. These conditions will deprive one of regular and refreshing sleep.

Reach out to us to consult our sleep specialist/emotional health consultant.