By: Diane Han
We are thrown with a variety of responsibilities on a daily basis, and finding a balance and staying sane is not easy. This past year is no exception with the stay-at-home orders to transitioning from face-to-face to virtual (Zoom meetings and lots of virtual celebration events) interactions. Home may have become the safest place for us to continue our “normal” responsibilities. As everyone continues to navigate their lives around COVID-19, work, school, and leisure activities have inevitably been incorporated into our home routine.
To stay sane from all of these unexpected changes, mine has been prioritizing self-care activities and balancing my work, school, and personal obligations. In particular, I have put in the effort to designate my bedroom as a stress-free zone, where it is the only place in the house to get in my beauty sleep and recharge. No other school, work, and personal responsibilities are brought into that space.
So, why do we sleep? Why do YOU sleep? Besides ensuring we are alert during the day and have the energy to perform daily tasks adequately and safely, there is another component sleep has on our health (1). Health is often associated with physical activity and diet, but there’s little emphasis on sleep (2). Not getting enough sleep have been shown to have a negative impact on overall heath and quality of life, such as chronic disease development (3). More so, getting under seven hours of sleep may lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and/or hypertension (4). This brings us back to the importance of living a healthy lifestyle that includes getting adequate sleep. A healthy lifestyle consists of many interlacing components: diet, physical activity, mental and physical health, etc. These are all important for supporting a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle. In fact, eating a healthy and well-balanced diet has been shown to improve sleep (5,6). Research shows the parallel relationships between sleep, lifestyle, and overall health (2,3,4,5).
Here are some tips and tricks you can incorporate for better sleep:
FOODS
- Kiwi (rich in vitamins C and E, potassium, folate and antioxidants)
- Tart cherry (juice)
- Fatty fish (rich in Omega-3)
- Nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and cashews) (6)
ENVIRONMENT
- Have the sleep environment “QUIET”, “DARK”, “RELAXING”, and at an appropriate (not too hot nor too cold) temperature (7)
- Block out excess light (wear a sleep mask / cover windows) (8)
- Be consistent: Set fixed “sleep” and “wake-up” times (8)
- Do something relaxing and calming 30-minutes before bedtime (e.g. disconnect from electronic devices) (8)
- Reserve the bed for sleep and rest (8)
LIFESTYLE
- Get some exercise in during the day to help fall asleep easily at night
- Limit large meals, caffeine, and alcohol before going to sleep (7)
REFERENCES
1. Perry GS, Patil SP, Presley-Cantrell LR. Raising awareness of sleep as a healthy behavior. Prev Chronic Dis 2013;10:E133-E. doi: 10.5888/pcd10.130081.
2. Mukherjee S, Patel SR, Kales SN, Ayas NT, Strohl KP, Gozal D, Malhotra A. An Official American Thoracic Society Statement: The Importance of Healthy Sleep. Recommendations and Future Priorities. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2015;191(12):1450-8. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201504-0767ST.
3. Rangaraj VR, Knutson KL. Association between sleep deficiency and cardiometabolic disease: implications for health disparities. Sleep Medicine 2016;18:19-35. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2015.02.535.
4. Linz D, Woehrle H, Bitter T, Fox H, Cowie MR, Böhm M, Oldenburg O. The importance of sleep-disordered breathing in cardiovascular disease. Clinical Research in Cardiology 2015;104(9):705-18. doi: 10.1007/s00392-015-0859-7.
5. Kurotani K, Kochi T, Nanri A, Eguchi M, Kuwahara K, Tsuruoka H, Akter S, Ito R, Pham NM, Kabe I, et al. Dietary patterns and sleep symptoms in Japanese workers: the Furukawa Nutrition and Health Study. Sleep Medicine 2015;16(2):298-304. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2014.09.017.
6. Suni E. Internet: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/nutrition/food-and-drink-promote-good-nights-sleep (accessed Dec 31 2020).
7. Prevention CfDCa. Internet: https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/sleep_hygiene.html (accessed Dec 30 2020).
8. Suni E. Internet: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/healthy-sleep-tips (accessed Dec 30 2020).
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