Set Yourself Up for a Great Night’s Sleep

In this continuation of our new series: All Things Sleep, we discuss what to do today to get great sleep.

How do we get amazing sleep? It may be easier than you may think with these 6 easy steps.

1. Set the right temperature
The first and simplest step you can take is to adjust the temperature in your home when you sleep. Research shows that the ideal temperature for sleep is somewhere between 60 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Get in the mood for sleep
Second, set the mood. This means shutting down devices, dim the lights, and let your body recognize that it’s time to sleep. Our bodies are programmed to rise and sleep with the sun, which means lights can cause our melatonin levels to drop.

Melatonin is a natural hormone that regulates our sleep, and the more you produce, the healthier your sleep. You can help tell your body that it should produce melatonin by turning off lights and keeping your room dark during your sleep hours. This means lowering the blinds, turning off the TV and keeping your phone away from your bed.

To prepare for a good night’s sleep, try doing yoga or reading a book to ease into sleep.

3 Cut out the late-night snacking
Next up: avoid late-night snacking! Too often, our evening snacks include sugary, carb-filled snacks. Ideally, when you “fast” between dinner and breakfast, you allow your body to access and burn fat while you sleep, which helps regulate hormones and optimize weight. When you break that fast with a snack after dinner, it disrupts your body’s natural evening cycle and can interfere with your REM cycles and your overall health!

Not only can late-night snacking cause weight issues, but so can adding stimulants like caffeine to our bodies too late in the day. Last week Dr. Nick and Dr. Traci discussed the issues associated with afternoon coffee and high cortisol levels. Well, in addition to causing stress, high cortisol levels can disrupt your metabolism!

4. Create an evening or night-time routine
Once you’ve eliminated these stressors and interruptions to your sleep, it’s time to establish an evening routine. Having a nighttime routine can help you keep out stressors like work or chores and can help your body recognize that it is time for bed. Use the last hour before bed to prepare your mind and body for sleep, and you may notice an immediate positive change in the quality of your sleep.

5. Use supplements to help support your natural sleep cycle
Another important aspect of protecting your sleep is choosing quality supplements to support your body’s natural sleep cycle. Magnesium is one of the key nutrients that our bodies need. People suffering from tight muscles, cramping, disrupted sleep, headaches, and more may be suffering from a magnesium deficiency.

Try our quality Magnesium natural nutraceutical and support your sleep health: https://store.maxliving.com/products/magnesium-glycinate

6. Chiropractic adjustments may help you get a good night’s sleep
The next, and arguably most important, part of supporting positive sleep is to get adjusted!

Subluxation, or misalignment of the spine, can interrupt your sleep due to discomfort or deeper issues in the health of your nervous symptom. Chiropractic seeks to remove pressure on the spine and spinal cord, relieving pain and helping the nervous system function properly. This, in turn, will help your body function and produce the proper hormones and reactions that allow you to get good, quality sleep.

Something else your chiropractor can help you with is the proper position to sleep in for quality, healthy sleep. It may sound disappointing to side sleepers, but the best position to sleep in is on your back! At night, your back settles and relaxes, and the position you sleep in can positively or negatively affect your spinal health. If you want to improve your sleep but aren’t sure how to sleep comfortably in a healthy position, reach out to your MaxLiving chiropractor for guidance: https://maxliving.com/locations/

For more information on the essential changes, you can make today to include your sleep, tune in to this new installment in our healthy sleep series!

Check out some related articles about this topic: Need Help With Weight Loss, Better Health, Solid Relationships and More? Get Great Sleep

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