Good Sleep Good Health

Sleep is very important to maintaining good health.

Your diet and lifestyle choices have a huge effect on your ability to sleep.

Just like food, your sleep pattern affects your cells' cycle, growth and repair process and it also affects your hormones.  

Some medications will actually suppress different phases of sleep, and certain conditions like sleep apnea will lead to fragmented sleep.

Shift workers have a four to five times higher risk of developing cancers and diabetes because of their erratic schedules which hinder restorative sleep. 

Eating food in the 3 hour period before going to bed can upset your master clock and stop your body from settling into the deep, restful and restorative sleep that you need.

It's useful to get at least 30 minutes outside in the sunshine during the day, because your body uses certain levels of light to align circadian rhythms, which in turn help you to fall into that deep sleep.

Lack of deep, restful sleep leads to impaired cognitive performance and slows your reaction times.

Basically, your body uses sleep time to heal and repair itself, and not just the physical body, but your mental state as well. 

That's another reason why you need to eat well, get plenty of sunshine and exercise regularly .. it all helps you to sleep well at night ... making up the complete health package.

I read this today and thought it definitely worth sharing ...

"Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives.  Such striving may seem admirable, but it is a way of foolishness.  Help them instead, to find the wonder and marvel of an ordinary life.  Show them the joys of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears.  Show them how to cry when pets and people die.  Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand.  And make the ordinary come alive for them.  The extraordinary will take care of itself." - William Martin.

It gives me that thought .. if I could go back, knowing what I know now, I would do things differently.

Also, I just have to show you our new bedding!!

A friend described it this way - "I think a hippie just threw up on your bed"

... which is exactly the look I was going for :)

I slept very soundly last night.

Nite all.