Dr. Ripudaman Singh asked:


Importance of sleep.

Right amount of rest is essential in taking control of our health and unfortunately it is often over looked. Sleep is something very important. It is great if one could go to bed and wake up with better blood sugar control?

In fact, that may be what you do when you get adequate sleep. Research suggests that not getting the shuteye you need may contribute to insulin resistance. One reason is that poor sleepers often experience sleep apnea, a condition that interferes with normal breathing and has been linked to diabetes.

There has been evidence that sleep by itself helps the body use glucose more efficiently.

One study found that people averaged roughly 5 hours of sleep had 40% lower insulin sensitivity than people who got about 8 hours.

Are you getting enough sleep?

Probably not: most people get 60 – 90 minutes less than they need.

If this sounds like a problem with a simple solution, it is. Spend more time in bed.

Getting enough sleep is as much about quality as quantity, and its not always easy to drift off when you want to, especially when your under stress.

Fortunately, if you are following my 3 step program, you’re already doing plenty that will help you get good sleep : eating right, exercising, and managing stress.

If you can however, try these tips.



1. Don’t sleep in. Snoozing later on week ends to try to catch up on sleep may throw your rhythm out and may be harder to get to sleep at night. If you are going to add sleep time, do it by going to bed earlier.

2. Reserve your bedroom for sleep – Take the TV OUT

3. Leave your worries on paper. If you are one of those who bring your worries to bed – try writing them down on paper with possible solutions. Often times if  you feel like you dealt with the situation it will help you drift off more quickly. A trick I use is even in the dark I reach for my paper and pen to jot down things I can’t get out of my mind.  When I have a clear mind I finally drift off.

4. Know when to go to bed. Figure out a schedule and try to stick with it the best that you can. Often times we loose track of time and get watching TV and before we know it is past midnight.

5. If you wake up in the middle of the night stay in bed, you will have a better chance of falling back to sleep.

 



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