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  • Writer's pictureFrance Mayotte Hunter
    • May 12, 2019
    • 3 min read

Time Out

Remember when you could sleep like a baby? Undisturbed sleep became a thing of the past for me when I had my first baby. And even after my kids grew up, worries and details accumulated-- I took it for granted that those days were over. But in my Wednesday blog post Give It A Rest I presented conclusive evidence that getting enough undisturbed sleep each night is critical to overall health and optimal performance. And I believe that change is possible at any age if only we identify with the true benefits and find strategies to make the necessary shift.


Learning about circadian rhythms and how they impact our biological clocks was an important discovery for me. In her book Body Thrive Cate Stillman presents a convincing case for looking to our body and its relationship to nature to maximize human potential. She uses the vantage point of Ayurveda (in Sanskrit, The Science of Life), the oldest healing science, to consider important lifestyle factors for bodymind health and wellbeing. Ayurvedic knowledge originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and is often called the “Mother of All Healing”. Ayurveda places great emphasis on prevention and encourages the maintenance of health through close attention to balance in one’s life, right thinking, diet, lifestyle and the use of herbs. (ayurveda.com).


My personal philosophy is to utilize a combination approach to health and wellness; orthodox medicine after preventative and holistic alternative approaches have been explored. And pharmaceuticals only when necessary. So here's another tool for your toolbox. From my experience, Ayurveda is worth considering for what nature has to teach us. And I especially like what it teaches us about sleep-- synchronizing our sleep cycle by the day/night or light/dark rhythms outside your body as a baseline habit. Here are some suggestions based on what I learned from Body Thrive:


1. SEE THE LIGHT- The first step is to see this as important to you. “A secret to shifting your habits is to update your identity in line with the next phase of what you want for yourself.” If you see morning people as losers who don't embrace the mystery of the night, change will never happen.


2. STUCK IN A RUT- Along with a new identity come new rituals-

  • Most night owls eat dinner late. It is much more conducive to deep sleep to eat three hours before bedtime. So if your target is10pm, you should be finished eating by 7.

  • If you have trouble sleeping soundly, stop using caffeine and alcohol. Switch to decaf, virgin spritzers, and tea. Try it for a week and see how you feel. I find that the better I feel the more I want to feel that way.

  • Create do-able expectations. “ Wind your bedtime back by 15-minute increments per week until you're getting eight hours of sleep a night.” Make this routine your baseline and maybe deviate on the weekends.

3. KEEP IT DOWN- Try not to ramp up after dinner by doing work. It's much better to take a walk, work in the garden, do simple household chores, etc.-- slow movement kinds of activities and relaxed, connected family time.


4. LOSE YOUR MIND- “Set a curfew on some or all nights for turning off laptops, cell phones, televisions, tablets, etc. ”Take a bath or sit in a warm tub. Rub essential oils on your hands, feet and back of your neck; mix coconut oil with lavender oil for a calming, aromatic sensory experience. Essential oils induce theta brain wave states and deep relaxation.


5. ON CLOUD NINE-- I like to lie in bed in savasana (yoga corpse pose) with the lights out and either do a breathing meditation with body scan to relax and clear my mind or I use a sleep meditation from an app on my phone (I like Insight Timer. It's free!). 5 or 10 minutes and I'm out like a light.


6. REST ASSURED- After your travel or the wild weekend wedding, get back to your routine. The health benefits are there even with occasional deviations and some things are just too good to miss!

As you Mind Your Body in the coming week, take Time Out to give yourself the rest you need to be the best you can be.



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