Healthy, Natural Sleep – the best medicine for a healthy body & mind!

There are SOOO many ‘cures’ and methodologies for a healthy lifestyle – but in the midst of all the advice on supplements, medical help, training programs, specialist diets and massage treatments … there is often one simple ingredient that is missed…

Perhaps because it’s something that won’t actually cost anything and funnily enough won’t take up any extra time in your day – plus it has INSTANT results!
Yes – Sleep, namely – healthy, natural sleep – not medicated or induced. But by practising some simple steps to calm your body and mind that sees you drift off into a deep slumber and allow natural, regenerative healing.

To find out more how to master your sleep read on – 

What we do the hours before we sleep can directly impact how we sleep – if we can sleep at all. Some of the most important things to remember :

1. Of course lets talk diet first – firstly don’t eat before bed, you should allow ideally 3 hrs of digestion for your body before you sleep, AND be careful about what you eat like avoiding sugars and how much you eat – don’t eat yourself into a food coma, when you start to feel a little bit close to full then you should stop – and also skip the dessert!

2. Avoid stimulants – we shouldn’t have to say don’t drink coffee before bed, though some can still fall asleep – not just coffee but tea to contain caffeine which is a stimulant that only functions to keep us awake

3. Another ‘stimulant’ for our mind you likely have heard, but here it is again – Stay away from screens!! They inhibit a very important natural release of our Melatonin which encourages our sleep. Although reading is a good alternative, try not to read something full of action that engages your mind and imagination too much, have a ‘night’ book, maybe something like anatomy or molecular science! Anything that helps you get drowsy.

4. Exercise and stretch each day – when we do light exercise for a half hour and then stretch out our muscles, the body and muscles will exert some extra energy and then stretching relaxes our muscles – you may have experienced the ‘twitching and tight’ muscles which makes it hard to get to sleep. A great tip for this is Yoga – it does both for exertion and stretch, so morning and night perhaps simply Salute the Sun (and moon) a few times.

5. Calm your mind – more important than most and what the above points all aim at. Learn to clear your thoughts, try meditation or focus on something simple and repetitive like your breath or even count sheep. It all helps to forget your day and welcome sleep.

And one bonus tip! We’ve all had a hard time to sleep when it’s hot and trying to get to sleep seemed to last the whole night. Though Air Con might not be favourable for all, we sleep better when our body is cooler and drops slightly below it’s daily average.

Oh and one more…! Avoid drinking too much fluids or water before sleep and through the night – it makes you need to get up and pee! Just have a bottle of water beside the bed and when you wake up in the morning drink a good half liter of water to start your day.

See our avocado health and nutrition benefits here – Nutrition & Health

Find out more healthy tips for sleep here – click here