Is your sleep routine disrupted with the advent of daylight saving time? Sleep disturbances are no small matter. With these natural remedies, you can spring forward toward restful sleep.
Each March most Canadians move their clocks forward by one hour to honour the daylight saving time tradition, signalling—for many—the beginning of spring. While gaining that extra hour of daylight has its perks, losing an hour of sleep can have more of an effect than just the mild inconvenience of cutting our weekend short.
One of the most common side effects is sleep deprivation. On average, it will take most people one full day to get their internal clocks back on track. However, if you’ve already been having a hard time sleeping at night, it can take much longer.
The importance of a good night’s sleep
Why is good quality sleep a priority? Beyond the obvious reasons—feeling refreshed and able to be productive—there are other reasons you might not have thought about.
Lack of sleep or poor sleep quality can increase your risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes; decrease your immune system’s defences; and contribute to chronic headaches, depression, mental anxiety, and obesity.
Impaired sleep has even been linked to erectile dysfunction and low libido in both men and women.
What can be done to help?
For people experiencing sleep problems, conventional short-term treatments may involve sedative/hypnotics, such as benzodiazepines. However, these are not without their potential problems, including dizziness, drowsiness, constipation, muscle weakness, and the risk of dependency.
Before considering a pharmaceutical therapy, consider these natural recommendations to help you catch those much needed ZZZs.
- Make your bedroom sleep friendly: create a cool, dark, relaxing environment and unplug electronic gadgets such as tablets and TVs.
- Try relaxation techniques such as listening to soothing music and practising progressive muscle relaxation or bedtime meditation to ease you into sleep.
- Refrain from engaging in mentally stimulating activities before bed and also avoid consuming stimulants such as caffeine, cigarettes, or alcohol.
- Exercise regularly.
- Limit napping during the daytime to 30 minutes or less.
- Consider using natural remedies made from hops and valerian.
Is the secret to better sleep in beer?
It was anecdotal evidence that brought the sedative properties of hops to light. Field workers harvesting the plant would often literally fall asleep on the job.
While early scientific studies found no solid evidence to support claims of hops’ sleep-inducing potential, several recent scientific studies suggest that hops do have sedative effects, particularly when combined with valerian.
Recent research has shown positive results for the combination of these fresh, organic plants in tincture form as a fast-acting remedy with the ability to increase the quality and time spent in deep (REM) sleep.
