Who hasn’t had a night when they’ve spent countless hours desperately trying to fall asleep only to finally succeed as that alarm provides a jarring reminder that another day in paradise beckons. While some might have a sanguine, such is life response, for many others it can put an emotional and cognitive dent in their day scrambling their emotions, making them more forgetful and blunting their focus.
The good news is that there are steps we can take to illuminate our clouded brains. Taking a ½ hour nap, exercising, enjoying some invigorating sunlight and kicking back with a cup of coffee can help to recalibrate those higher processes that have become unhinged.
Establishing a habitual sleep wake cycle by going to sleep and getting up at the same time each day, preferably sometime around 10pm and 6am, can help to regulate our circadian rhythms promoting healthy and sustaining brain biochemistry which has synchronous benefits for every cell in our body. Maintaining this routine can also help to return to a regular pattern of sleeping that is eluding us.
For those who find it difficult to cement this ordered form of behaviour exposure to early morning sunlight as well as going for a walk before sunset might make it easier to disengage from late nights allowing the body to effortlessly fall asleep at a more regenerating time.
