How to Boost Your Immune System: Sleep Better
2020 has shown us how important our personal health is. Having a highly functioning immune system will make you less vulnerable to all the viruses that float around in the air.
The quickest and most efficient way to boost your immune system is to fix your broken sleeping habits.
Last night when we were putting our 18 month old daughter to sleep, something really struck me.
Most adults would sleep better if they treated themselves like a baby before bed.
Most adults don’t have a bedtime routine to begin the process of falling asleep. It’s a simple fix that will fix both how long you sleep and how deeply you sleep.
I mean, if we treated our baby the way most adults treat themselves before bed she would never fall asleep.
If we gave her a tablet or a phone to stare at in her crib do you think she would ever fall asleep? Absolutely not.
If we kept her room bright as we laid her in the crib do you think she would ever fall asleep? Absolutely not.
If we put her down to sleep at a different and random time every night do you think she would ever fall asleep? Absolutely not.
I bet you do all these things. And they’re the reason why you’re not sleeping well, or long enough.
Your sleep quantity and quality is determined by your circadian rhythm, and your bedtime routine is a surefire way to keep that rhythm healthy and functioning at a high level.
Your circadian rhythm is essentially your “wake/sleep” cycle. It’s evolved to be in line with the rising and setting of the sun. It’s the reason why you wake up in the morning when the sun is rising, and why you fall asleep at night after the sun has set. We’ve evolved to be awake in light and asleep in dark.
Lack of sleep will mess with your hormonal and cognitive function.
Nearly 50% of Americans are sleep deprived. That makes us bad at driving and bad at thinking.
Lack of sleep also causes us to overeat, and eat crappier foods. Chronically undersleeping causes us to gain weight and greatly increases our cravings for "junk food".
We have evolved to sleep for about 8 hours a night. If you sleep for 6 hours per night you are cutting off about 20% of your lifetime sleep. That's a gigantic margin that can cause a lifetime of hormonal imbalance, cognitive decline and functioning at a lower level.
Following these 3 simple steps will allow you to perfect your night time routine so you can finally start waking up feeling refreshed and ready to go.
