Part 1: Sleeping Well

Two signs of good health are: Good Sleeps & Good Poops!
They are two of the foundation building blocks of our health, and their importance cannot be understated.
Let's talk about the first one. Good Sleeps.

Part 1: The significant basics of Good Sleeps

• Do what you need to do to clear your mind during the day, whether that's journaling, writing things down, having a good chat with someone, praying, keeping a gratitude journal, or expressing yourself in some other way
  
• Use your bed only for sleep or sex, not work or study
  
• Exercise early in the day only
  
• Exercise your brain as well
  
• Eat larger meals early on and a smaller meal for dinner that contains healthy sources of protein and fat, a few hours before bedtime
  
• Habituate yourself to a regular going down and rising up time
  
• Turn all screens off a couple hours before bed and keep them out of the bedroom
  
• Avoid caffeine 4-6 hours before bedtime
  
• Avoid alcohol within at least 3 hours of bedtime
  
• The more hours you can get before midnight, the better
  
• Slow down your life where you can, and/or set a time when the business stops for the day
  
• **Take the time to slow down, unwind, and relax before going to bed. Allow enough time for your body to switch gears from whatever you were doing all day and help the process by physically and mentally doing something different.
  
• Acupuncture, herbal remedies & deep breathing can be excellent adjuncts to your sleep routine.

If you are disciplined in the habits above for at least a month but are seeing no improvements, you may need a health care professional to look into some other areas of your health such as blood sugar/insulin, gastrointestinal health, cortisol levels, endocrine system, neurotransmitters, musculoskeletal system, or nutritive status.

Stay tuned next week for Part 2: The significant basics of Good Poops! ;)

@drkatherinemasters #TuesdayMorningTidbit