You asked, the experts answered. Here are the 7 reasons no amount of sleep is ever enough!
NOT ENOUGH DAYTIME SUN
Your circadian rhythm is like your internal body clock – it regulates sleep. Although everyone’s is a little different, your body was traditionally created to match the rise and fall of the sun every day. If you’re the type of person that wakes up and never gets out into the natural light, chances are – you’ll be a lot more tired! Getting out in the sun (particularly in the morning) naturally reduces your sleep hormone so that you feel less foggy and more energised for the day.
SWIISH Tip: Make seeing the sun for at least 15 minutes part of your morning routine. This is the perfect time to eat your breakfast, drink your coffee, or do a meditation – and this will double at sustaining your energy throughout the day.
BIG DINNERS
We all know the saying; “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”, but what you may not have realised is that eating this way not only improves weight and digestion, but also sleep! It takes a lot of energy for the body to break down food, so the bigger the meal, the more it has to focus on digesting – thus disrupting sleep.
SWIISH Tip: “Hara Hachi Bu” is a traditional Japenese phrase that says to eat until you’re 80% full (not 120% like most of us do!!). Seeing as the Okinawans of Japan are one of the healthiest populations in the world – why not try this eating practice yourself to help regulate sleeping patterns.
Try one of our light and delicious dinner favourites here: SPICY BROCCOLI SOUP
MINIMAL MOVEMENT
Yes, somehow exercise manages to pop its head up in every health topic! However, a predominantly sedentary lifestyle has been linked to feeling tired, lethargic, and energyless. This is not only because exercise helps us release cortisol (thus regulating our melatonin/cortisol hormone cycle for sleep), but also due to the energy boost it provides. The more you exercise, the more mitochondria you make – and these are the little things in your body that literally produce energy. Cool, right?
SWIISH Tip: Find a partner or friend to exercise with (even for only 20 minutes a day) and treat it like any other meeting or appointment you have that day. This means you can hold each other accountable.
SWITCH OFF
We understand that staying up to date with all the latest news announcements is ingrained in us at the moment, but knowing when to switch off can be the difference between stress, and sleep. Entering the parasympathetic nervous system is what allows us to rest at night – and stress is the no.1 thing that prevents this.
SWIISH Tip: Try to abstain from any media interactions (whether that be T.V., newspaper, or your phone) at least 30 minutes to an hour before bed. Spend this time with family, reading, or doing something like meditation that will calm your mind instead.
BRIGHT LIGHTS AT NIGHT
Did you know that you have photoreceptors over your entire body that respond to light? It’s true – they’re not just in your eyes! At night when you’re in bed asleep, any light in the room can actually trigger your photoreceptors to respond by releasing stress hormones that may wake you up or bring you out of deep sleep.
SWIISH Tip: Keep your room dark, moody, and pitch black. An eye-mask is perfect for the light receptors in your eyes, but pulling the curtain down so that your whole room is blacked out will help you enter even deeper sleep.
CUPPA CAFFEINE
Whilst most of us know that having caffeine too late into the evening will disrupt sleep, what we sometimes forget is the other beverages that can keep us awake as well! Be mindful of drinking black tea, green tea, white tea, and oolong tea in the evening – as these all contain caffeine and can interrupt sleep patterns more than you realise.
SWIISH Tip: Try our SLEEP Superfood Powder instead as it calms the body and helps you naturally increase your sleep hormone levels before bed!
MINIMAL PROTEIN
For women in particular, protein targets can be easy to miss. This can cause you to feel tired and lethargic as protein is the building block of almost every important process in the body – including hormones that regulate sleep. A lack of protein not only stops you from entering deep sleep but will also mean you’re unable to produce a sufficient amount of energy in the day.
SWIISH Tip: A good rule of thumb is to aim for 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. Whilst everybody is different, just having this in the back of your mind when preparing meals is a great way to stay on top of your protein requirements. One of our hacks is to add our GLOW Collagen Powders into smoothies each day, as these add a little extra protein into our day!
