News: March 2025

How's That Sleep Thing Working Out For You?

Sleep Awareness Week is March 9-15, and there's no better time to embrace your natural circadian rhythm. In a society that values busyness, productivity, and technology, sleep often falls by the wayside as we begin another task, click "next episode," or check our email one more time. Or maybe we lie awake in bed, unable to shut down a racing mind.

Getting seven to nine hours of sleep each night means fewer illnesses, improved heart function and metabolism, healthy weight maintenance, and a lowered risk of chronic health conditions. What many don't realize is how profoundly sleep also affects our minds and emotions. We need enough good-quality sleep for emotional regulation and cognitive function. Otherwise, we can't perform optimally during the day. We make more mistakes, are forgetful, and tend to overreact to minor stressors. Lack of sleep causes us to focus on the negative and lose sight of the positive. Over time, this creates chronic stress, anxiety, and increases our risk of depressive symptoms.

Maybe you already know all this, but don't know what to do about it. Or maybe you're familiar with ways to improve your sleep, but haven't taken action. Use Sleep Awareness Week as your wake-up call! Here are some steps you can start taking now to improve the quality of your nights and days:

1. Morning sunshine: Did you know a great night's sleep begins the moment you wake up in the morning? Staying indoors without daily exposure to natural light confuses our circadian rhythm. Get out in the sun, even if only for an hour each day. Mornings are best.
2. Move your body: Make exercise part of your daily routine, especially if you spend your work day seated at a desk. Exercise has a myriad of benefits, and one of them is better sleep at night. Plus, it energizes you during the day. If you have trouble finding time for exercise, simply fit it into your day by finding ways to move, e.g. walk instead ride, take the stairs instead of the elevator, stretch your neck and shoulders in the shower, stand and bend forward for a hamstring stretch while putting on your shoes, take a walk while on the phone, and instead of scrolling through social media, put on some tunes and dance.
3. Lock in mealtime: Eat your meals at the same time every day. Irregular meal times interfere with your ability to maintain regular sleep and wake schedules. Make sure your last meal of the day is 2-3 hours before bedtime to ensure good quality sleep.
4. Cut the caffeine: The less caffeine you have during the day, the better you'll sleep at night. You might crave coffee after a poor night's sleep, but that caffeine boost will only impede your sleep the following night, and so on.
5. Sleep before screens: Screens are always calling for our attention - even (or perhaps especially) at bedtime. But before scroll through your feed, think about how you'd like to feel and show up in the world the following day. If you want to feel energized, engaged, centered, and ready to face any challenges with grace and positivity, then power down! The light emitted from screens, as well as the stimulation we get from engaging with our devices, upsets our circadian rhythm and makes it difficult to get to sleep. Screen time needs to end two hours before bedtime to avoid disrupting your sleep cycle. Keep the devices out of the bedroom.
6. Feel the rhythm: The body loves routine and consistency. For your circadian rhythm to work optimally, go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
7. Your sleep haven: Make sure your bedroom is very dark, quiet, and on the cool side, with the temperature set between 60 and 67 degrees.
8. No booze before bed: Although it may feel relaxing to wind down the day with a drink, alcohol actually disrupts your circadian rhythm and interferes with deep, restorative sleep.
9. Chill out: Practices such as breathing exercises, meditation, self-massage, gentle yoga, and journaling help you transition from a busy day to a state of relaxation, preparing your mind and body for a restful sleep. You can find soothing and effective self-massages and meditations for sleep on my YouTube channel: (See one below!)

You do not need to implement all of these strategies at once. Baby steps work best. Choose one suggestion from the list, and begin to modify your routine. It will take willingness and persistence to get started, but once you discover how much better you feel when you're well rested, you'll be motivated to keep going!

Sources:
National Sleep Foundation
CDC

Image by pexels.com

Better Sleep in Minutes - Relaxing Scalp Self-Massage

Most of us could do with more, better quality sleep. It can be difficult to shut down a racing mind and transition into a peaceful slumber. This series of "mini self-massages" will help you relax your body, quiet your mind, and get the rest you need to be your best. It only takes a few minutes, so get comfortable and let's release the day and embrace deep sleep.

Join me for this profoundly relaxing scalp massage to soothe the body and calm the mind.

What's new with me ...

I can't believe Sienna turns 12 this month! And she's very excited to be sporting her new braces with purple rubber bands. She had a fun-filled winter break from school, including a family trip to The Gates exhibit and Central Park augmented reality experience.