The Foundation of Wellness: Understanding Sleep Hygiene

Today I wanted to talk a little about a huge issue modern society has and in my humble opinion, doesn’t address enough at the moment. Well, okay, there obviously are plenty of topics that fit the description, but today I’m talking about sleep.

Years ago when I was going through my first coaching certification program, my fellow students and I were practicing using the Wellness Wheel tool, using each other as guinea pigs. I was not in a good place back then and the wheel that came from under my pen scared a crap out of me. Because you know, EVERYTHING needed improvement. And a lot of it. There was absolutely no point of trying to focus on one area or the other, because it wouldn’t change the big picture at all. 

That’s when I came to realize that the quality shift was needed. Thanks to coaching and my wonderful colleagues, I was able to figure out what it might be. I HAD TO start getting more sleep. By any means.

Fast forward to just a few months after focusing on consistent sleep and my wellness wheel looked dramatically different. Every single area has improved. Here are a couple of mechanisms that explain how such a change is possible.

During the deep sleep phases there are two very important processes happening in our brain.

Deep cleaning. Imagine the Manhattan at late afternoon. This time when the bags of trash accumulated throughout the day are taking out onto the curbs. That’s how our brains are before bed - all the “trash” that was metabolized during the day and needs to be disposed of is out of the brain cells to be picked up by the glymphatic system - the brain’s “waste management”. Now imagine the Manhattan again, but the one where the trash isn’t being picked up. Ouch. In a matter of days it won’t be able to properly function. Same thing inside our heads. Trash has to be collected and disposed of timely.

Perimeter check. When we don’t use our consciousness the brain has more free resources to use for uninterrupted check of all the systems in the body. Undistracted, brain can detect lots of conditions at the very early stage, when the body is able to deal with them before they strengthen without any external aid. These conditions vary from mild colds to cancers, believe it or not. If there is not enough sleep, this opportunity is not available.

Of course, there are plenty of other reasons a person might want to rest well. But I personally find the two above the most convincing. 

Are you happy with your sleep hygiene? What methods you use to improve your sleep?

#TamaraTunesIntoWellness #SleepHygiene #SleepScience #BrainHealth