It's dinner time and tonight's the night, it's the night you've decided that you are going to make it to bed BEFORE midnight. You've already promised your self upon waking that there just can't be any more late nights, as you're starting to feel the effects of little to no sleep, and it's waging war on your body and mind.
 | It's late, but you're not sure just how late yet. The house is finally quiet, and you're mind is a mess of escalating thoughts, about all those things you could be doing, or have wanted to be doing all day: to check on your social media accounts, upload pics, surf your news feeds and catch up on the goss of the day. Maybe you've even stored up a whole lot of links you are just dying to click on. You're beside yourself exhausted, but you tell yourself you'll only be a few minutes and somehow you're never to tired for this. |
By the time you check the clock again those few minutes seemed to turn into a couple of hours and it's way later than you realized. Ohhhhh no, you know what's coming in the morning and as if you are jet propelled rocket launcher, you high tail it to bed. Better get to sleep as fast as you can so the few hours of sleep you are going to get is worth it. You quickly jump into bed, only when you finally lay your weary head down on the pillow, you find your eyes pop open, and if your bladder doesn't remind you, you need to get up, your mind certainly overtakes and goes over and over all the things you should have done today or will try and get done tomorrow, or the weekend......so much for trying to get as many hours of sleep in as you can. Physically you're done, you're out of gas, but your mind well that things still spinning away in high gear.
| Does this remind you of anyone?? It might just be that those few minutes you promised yourself on technology before bed is what's disturbing your sleep patterns. “We have biologically shifted ourselves so we can’t fall asleep earlier,” said Charles A. Czeisler, a professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School. “The amazing thing is that we are still trying to get up with the chickens.” |  |
The result is less sleep -- and less time for the body to recover. Routinely getting fewer than 8 hours of sleep compromises alertness, reaction time, efficiency, productivity and mood, according to Australia’s Sleep Health Foundation.
Harvard Medical School suggested that the light of screens is interfering with our innate sense of day and night. Blue light, particularly prevalent in the kind of low voltage LEDs which are used in laptop screens, phones and tablets, prevents the body from delivering the surge of melatonin which tells us it's time for sleep. The problem is without this surge of melatonin how are we supposed to feel tired, and then know when it's time for bed, let alone is sleep going to arrive when we need it to.
Harvard Medical School suggested that the light of screens is interfering with our innate sense of day and night. Blue light, particularly prevalent in the kind of low voltage LEDs which are used in laptop screens, phones and tablets, prevents the body from delivering the surge of melatonin which tells us it's time for sleep. The problem is without this surge of melatonin how are we supposed to feel tired, and then know when it's time for bed, let alone is sleep going to arrive when we need it to.
Well don't you think it's time to take back the night?
Here are some of my top tips for avoiding the non surge of melatonin just as we need it.
 | My number 1 TOP TIP Get f.lux! Best software EVER!!! f.lux makes your computer screen look like the room you're in, all the time. When the sun sets, it makes your computer look like your indoor lights. In the morning, it makes things look like sunlight again. |
Tell f.lux what kind of lighting you have, and where you live. Then forget about it. f.lux will do the rest, automatically. I LOVE this software, even better it's FREE (what's not to love?). I have noticed a HUGE difference using this software. It's amazing how many hours I could do on the computer until installing this, now i'm lucky to get an hour before the yawns start coming and i'm ready to sloth down for the night. For Android users their is Twilight so i'm told, let me know how that goes if you use it?
My number 2 TOP TIP
Try and create a bedtime ritual for yourself (yes i know this is hard to stick too, but your body will truly thank you for it), I have decided to remove the excuse of ohhhh I need my phone by the bed because that's how I know what the time is....ahhhhhh yip that's just my ploy, my way of pulling the wool over my own eyes because you and I both know that the last thing i'll do at night or first thing i'll do in the morning is scan that phone for emails, messages and maybe a news feed or two. So i'm off to get a clock, yip a good ol beside the bed clock. Reading is great at night, when was the last time you read a book (if you enjoy reading I mean, if only a magazine before bed?) I adore books and have hundreds, but when was the last time I read one......hmmmmm before i got a smartphone I do believe, how about you?
Maybe a bath is in order for you or meditating, I love to meditate before bed, it's relaxing and i'm less likely to let my mind run off on it's own thought pattern, of keeping me awake!!! So no technology in the bedroom means relaxation and hopefully that beautiful rush of Melatonin to put me to sleep.
My number 3 TOP TIP
If you are a techy person and have to have your phone, tablet, computer in your bedroom give yourself that sweet sweet break of putting all devices on a sleep cycle. That way that email that comes in at 4 am from somewhere across the other side of the world will not wake you up and disturb that much needed sleep. Every time you get a response to anything your mind wakes up with a hit of adrenalin with the stress or excitement of response. It is great practice to set your own boundary or maybe you have to set that boundary with your boss, that your sleep is a high priority, because without enough of it, there is no way you are going to function properly and do your best job.
Now hopefully after reading this you gorgeous people out their will start getting that AMAZING rush of Melatonin just as your body needs it and your weeks are filled with great sleep and energy filled days.
Let me know how you get on with these tips on Twitter using the hashtag #yorinnersparkle or comment below if you have any other top tips to help get us off technology and back into better sleep routines.
Love, Blessings and Sweet Dreams to all!
Rebecca Fox R.M.
My number 2 TOP TIP
Try and create a bedtime ritual for yourself (yes i know this is hard to stick too, but your body will truly thank you for it), I have decided to remove the excuse of ohhhh I need my phone by the bed because that's how I know what the time is....ahhhhhh yip that's just my ploy, my way of pulling the wool over my own eyes because you and I both know that the last thing i'll do at night or first thing i'll do in the morning is scan that phone for emails, messages and maybe a news feed or two. So i'm off to get a clock, yip a good ol beside the bed clock. Reading is great at night, when was the last time you read a book (if you enjoy reading I mean, if only a magazine before bed?) I adore books and have hundreds, but when was the last time I read one......hmmmmm before i got a smartphone I do believe, how about you?
Maybe a bath is in order for you or meditating, I love to meditate before bed, it's relaxing and i'm less likely to let my mind run off on it's own thought pattern, of keeping me awake!!! So no technology in the bedroom means relaxation and hopefully that beautiful rush of Melatonin to put me to sleep.
My number 3 TOP TIP
If you are a techy person and have to have your phone, tablet, computer in your bedroom give yourself that sweet sweet break of putting all devices on a sleep cycle. That way that email that comes in at 4 am from somewhere across the other side of the world will not wake you up and disturb that much needed sleep. Every time you get a response to anything your mind wakes up with a hit of adrenalin with the stress or excitement of response. It is great practice to set your own boundary or maybe you have to set that boundary with your boss, that your sleep is a high priority, because without enough of it, there is no way you are going to function properly and do your best job.
Now hopefully after reading this you gorgeous people out their will start getting that AMAZING rush of Melatonin just as your body needs it and your weeks are filled with great sleep and energy filled days.
Let me know how you get on with these tips on Twitter using the hashtag #yorinnersparkle or comment below if you have any other top tips to help get us off technology and back into better sleep routines.
Love, Blessings and Sweet Dreams to all!
Rebecca Fox R.M.
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