Sleep

Yesterday I talked about sleep and the effect on the hormone cortisol. Many of you may have experienced a sleepless night or have trouble sleeping. One night is not a big deal, however, you probably noticed that you didn't feel as well the next day.

Setting a sleep ritual is important if you have difficulty sleeping. You should try to go to sleep at about the same time every night and waken about the same time every morning. When I follow this ritual by getting to bed at my usual time, my internal alarm clock will waken me at the same time every day.

Another thing to keep in mind is that as you get older, you have less periods of the deeper levels of sleep. So you tend to sleep in level 1 or 2. In level 1 sleep, you literally will wake up when you naturally turn or move which is about every hour. Hence if you have a clock by the bed, when your eyes open you see the clock. Every hour you see the clock and you think you have not slept. In fact you have slept, but not at a deep level. Put the clock so you cannot see it when you awaken at night.

For more information about sleep, see my other posts related to sleep under the keyword sleep.