“Tis Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care”.
As William Shakespeare puts it in Macbeth (act II and Scene II),
Judging by the good bard’s definition, most of us are walking around with distinctly tattered shirt sleeves. The reason being that in today’s grand scheme of things, sleep is a luxury that most of us tend to forgo.
Be it our workplace or our everyday life, sleep takes a backseat to almost all other priorities. And with the advent of the ‘Smartphone’ era, even those of us who do go to bed early, end up dawdling over our social media accounts before calling it a night. Only to wake up early morning the next day and starting the whole cycle all over again.
Weekends used to be ideal for catching up on our snooze time, but now that is increasingly becoming a thing of the past as we cram our hours full trying to paint the town red so as to make the coming work-week more bearable.
Unfortunately, this has led to a detrimental effect to our overall health. We’ve all heard about the importance of excellent nutrition and exercise. But, if we were to take a holistic view of our mental and physical well being, sleep should be right on top of the list.
Few people know that lack of sleep has severe negative effects not just on our health but our very ability to enjoy life optimally. From rapid weight gain to lack of sexual potency, more often than not, a chronic lack of sleep is usually the culprit.
Health Benefits of Sleep are numerous. Then there is a veritable host of deadly diseases that lack of sleep can lead to:
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Heart Issues
- High Blood Pressure, etc.
Sleep also plays a plays a key role in both our thinking and learning processes.
And its lack thereof hurts these crucial cognitive processes in many ways. First and foremost, it impairs attention, as well as concentration, not just our problem solving abilities but our reasoning as well. Taken together, all of these make it increasingly more difficult to learn new things effectively.
Not only that, it also causes depression and makes us age well before our time.
It is important that we get at least seven to eight hours of sleep daily.
In order to do so, we have to remove all the distractions of our daily lives. In effect “shut off” ourselves when it’s time to sleep. And for that we need to maintain a sleeping schedule and must follow it religiously, even on weekends. When its bed time, its bed time period!
Moreover, the room must be quiet and dark and free from distractions. It’s advisable to not have a TV set in one’s bedroom. Also, comfortable pillows and mattresses are an absolute must. Insomniacs should avoid afternoon naps.
Occasionally, if I need a sleep aid, I enjoy a hot drink such as tea, my favorite is chamomile. My great grandmother was an herbalist. At a young age my mom taught me about herbs and teas. When I want something more than tea, this blend featuring melatonin, calms my mind and body, helping me naturally fall asleep, stay a sleep and awaken refreshed.
I hope these tips help you get a full night of restful sleep and you wake up ready to take on the day.
To your health!
