What Does Cooling Down and Change Have to do with Sleep Improvement?

These ABZzz’s of Sleeping Insomnia Free offers over 26 keys to help you sleep successfully. What can you do to promote healthy, natural sleep? Today the focus begins with ‘C’.

Cooling Down

Your body prefers to be cool at night in preparation for sleep. If you’ve ever had a hot bath too late at night, some of you may have experienced a difficult time getting to sleep. Your body was trying to cool down.

Actually, your body temperature usually peaks around 6 PM, and then it starts to decline until it’s at its lowest point around 4 AM. Then, it gradually begins its rise. With this increase in core temperature, brainwave activity increases, thereby waking us up in the morning. Along with the nightly drop in core body temperature (not just feeling hot or cold), brainwave activity also begins declining until we begin to feel groggy and sleep onset occurs sometime between 9 to 11 PM.

Many things can disrupt this natural rhythm. One is not getting enough sunlight in the morning. There has been much research done that studies the effects of being exposed to more or less light during the day and how this impacts your sleep. There has long been evidence that exposing yourself to bright light early in the morning is one of the best motivators for feeling great and having a good day. But light is also important as your natural melatonin hormone diminishes and your state of wakefulness begins.

Another is exercise.
It is important to discuss exercise! I am a big proponent of daily exercise. All the research says that elevating your heart rate with some form of daily activity or exercise is showing all kinds of overall health benefits, from lowering cholesterol to decreasing heart disease to loosing weight. It also helps in improving your sleep.

But, since our bodies like to be cool as we head toward bedtime, it is likely best to keep the racket and soccer ball types of activities to earlier in the day. Engaging in high-energy exercise or sport in the evening does in fact increase the energy flowing through our bodies, heats us up and actually slows the onset of sleep. If you want gentle exercise and fresh air in the evening, a neighborhood stroll is definitely in order.

So…keep cool as night approaches.

Change

“Make me one with everything,” the Buddhist monk said to the hot-dog vendor who was hawking food near the temple.
The vendor made a frank with mustard, ketchup, relish, and onions. The monk took it and handed over a twenty-dollar bill.
The vendor stashed the cash in his apron and turned his attention to the next customer.
“But where’s my change?” the monk inquired.
“Change must come from within, my friend,” said the vendor.

Why am I sharing this with you? My belief is that in order to make concerted, long-lasting change, the desire to do so must come from within. You need to engage not only your thought processes, but also your spirit. When the desire (for change) comes from within you, your chances for succeeding are much greater. Your goal is to improve your sleep. Sometimes, it seems so much easier to take a pill and hope that this will improve the situation. And sometimes it does, but often briefly. But when it comes to sleep, you need to get your spirit involved for long-lasting habit improvement in your sleep patterns.