Sleep - anti aging, weight loss, stress reduction.....

One of the most important things we need to do for our mind and bodies is to sleep well. When we sleep our bodies rejuvenate, so if we don't sleep well we don't rejuvenate well: to put it simply. Sleep is something that I pay a great deal of attention to and my aim is to sleep 8 to 9 hours uninterrupted per night. However it hasn't always been like this, in fact until a few months ago I thought it was perfectly normal to wake several times per night for a "wee" stop then go back to bed. I put this down to drinking many litres of water each day, so I just expected to wake each night which then became self perpetuating. So for more years than I can remember I have been short changing myself on my sleep. I would also suffer from sleep issues due to stress and other things that run through the mind when I would wake in the early hours of the morning.

So about 4 months ago I decided to "work on my sleep", and I am now in the position that if I don't get my 8 hours there is something wrong. My goal is to wake refreshed and energised each day, and I have to say that this is happening each day. I still wake sometimes at about 4.30am to 5am, but I just roll over and go back to sleep for another hour. The rules I have around sleep area as follows;

• finish eating 2 hours before going to bed,



• sleep in a cool room,



• wear an eye mask to "black out" the room,



• keep the room as dark and quite as possible,



• take magnesium before bed,



• believe I am going to sleep well before I go to sleep,



• think positive thoughts and write a "grateful log" before I sleep,



• no stressful or stimulating activities before bed (like computer use)

Lisa