by Taru Fisher on July 18, 2009
Sleep: the fundamental way we rejuvenate ourselves.
Sleep is a lifesaver, especially as we age. It is during sleep that the body repairs itself and the mind resolves issues left over from the day’s activities.
So, how much sleep is enough? We’ve been told 7 to 8 hours a night is necessary, but one size doesn’t fit all. How do you know if you are getting the right amount for you?
There are several ways:
- Do you feel rested and refreshed when you get out of bed in the morning?
- Are you able to stay awake later in the day while reading a book or watching TV?
- Do you feel sleepy when driving during the day?
If you answered “no” to any of these questions, here are some suggestions to help you get the sleep you need.
- Establish a routine sleep schedule.
- Avoid using the bed for activities other than sleep or intimacy.
- Avoid substances that disturb sleep, such as caffeine and alcohol.
- Take a 20-minute power nap during the day. Do it no later than 3 p.m. While this seems counter-intuitive, it really helps rejuvenate you for the rest of the day and helps you stay awake in the evening. I use a wonderful software program on my iPod called Pzziz. It uses NLP and hypnosis to put me in a restorative sleep and wakes me up in 20 minutes rested and ready to take on the world again.
- Develop pre-sleep rituals that help you relax, such as a warm bath, a light snack or a few minutes of reading.
- Bedtime is a time to relax, not replay the stresses of the day. Leave worries behind.
- Keep your bedroom dark, quiet and a little cool.
- If you can’t fall asleep, leave the bedroom and do a quiet activity. Go back to bed only when you’re tired.
For the best sleep, no TV or computer right before going to bed. Try reading a book until your eyes feel heavy, your comprehension drops and you start to nod off.
If your mind races, take a deep breath through your nose to a count of 6, hold briefly and exhale through your mouth for a count of 4. Repeat until you fall asleep.
Tagged as:
naps,
Pzziz,
rest,
Sleep
by Taru Fisher on November 24, 2007
Powerful Aging is the antithesis of anti-aging. It’s not against aging, it’s a mind set of seeing aging as a natural and worthwhile process. It’s a process which brings us wisdom, the courage to finally be who we really are, and the impetus to continue to evolve and serve others and our planet.
I get upset when I see the stereotypical presentation of aging in commercials that show somewhat silly and obviously inept older people. I also decry the commercials that make us want to inject our bodies with foreign substances so we can look younger, and somehow be more acceptable to our peers and those younger than we. There are ways to help our bodies age gracefully, beautifully, and naturally that don’t involve the drug companies.
There are so many ways we can embrace the aging process and make it just one more phase of a fulfilling and enjoyable life.
One of the most important things we can do as we age is to improve our health. Since we replace all the cells in our body every seven years, we continue to have the opportunity to create new and better cells until the day we die. Yes, I said the “d” word. From the moment we draw our first breath, we are on a great journey towards death. What a tremendous opportunity to create a meaningful life! If we remember our time on this earth is limited, we will live as we are meant to live — with passion, purpose and in service to making the world a better place.
How do we do this? We start by making our bodies stronger through consistent exercise — if we aren’t already doing so — by doing both strength training to keep our muscles strong and some aerobic exercise to keep our heart and lungs strong. This will allow us to remain functionally fit throughout our life-span and have a quality of life that’s worth living! Of course, we’ll probably live longer, and we deserve a life where we feel vibrantly alive while we are living.
We look at the foods we put into our bodies for fuel and cell replacement, and if they are lacking, we make better food choices. If our lifestyle needs updating to provide more sleep, we create strategies to get the sleep we need to regenerate. If we have become so busy we’ve forgotten how to make time for friends and family, we make time because it’s in our social interactions that we continue to find a reason for living.
I’ll have more tips for powerful aging in future entries, but now it’s time to get ready for that much needed rejuvenating sleep!
Taru
Tagged as:
Sleep
