As an online health, fitness, and body transformation coach, my passion lies in empowering men and
women to become the leanest, strongest, most energised, and happiest versions of themselves.
I take a holistic approach by creating customised diet, exercise, and lifestyle plans.
Evan Beales
www.evanbealescoaching.com
It’s all about you…
EXERCISE. NUTRITION.
SLEEP. HYDRATION. HAPPINESS.
Sleep yourself slim. Hold on a second; before you stop whatever you’re doing, jump into the nearest bed (that sounded a bit wrong) and hope to wake up a few pounds lighter; let me explain. Although strictly speaking, sleep alone won’t make you slim, and this article isn’t even about getting slim as such, I just thought that the word “slim” went nicely with the word “sleep” and figured it might pique your interest. But sleep has to be one of the most underrated health hacks, and it can do wonders for your mood, productivity, brain function, energy, hormone regulation, body composition… the list goes on. And then, to tie it back into the slim thing, poor sleep can also impact your ability to lose weight.
When it comes to improving our physical and mental health, we always go big. The newest fitness craze. The perfect diet. The latest supplement. The most cutting-edge technology. But what we often overlook are the simple things. The things that we can so easily and inexpensively tweak that can have such a positive impact on our well-being. And sleep is one of them.
There is no doubt that as we enter our midlife years, sleep becomes more difficult. This is very common and is something I work on with most of my clients. Now, personally, I can’t really relate to this as I’m one of those very annoying people who can sleep anytime, anywhere. But of course, this could be something to do with me following the points I’m about to share with you. So, let’s get to it.
Eight hours sleep a night is the goal. The holy grail is between 10pm and 6am; the body physically repairs between 10pm and2 am and physiologically repairs between 2am and 6am. If you can’t manage this, just do your best to get as close as possible.
Caffeine is a big culprit for ruining sleep. I’m sure, like me, you can’t live without your beloved coffee but aim to ditch it after lunch. It generally takes the body around 10 hours for the caffeine to be cleared from the bloodstream and eliminate its stimulatory effects. Sorry, don’t hate me; this includes your late-night cuppa… unless it’s decaf, of course.
Aim to finish eating big meals three hours before bed. This will help you avoid heartburn and interrupted sleep.
Minimise alcohol consumption. Having a late-night tipple might make you sleepy, but it impairs your natural sleep cycle and interrupts valuable deep sleep.
Turn off all electronics one hour before bed. We’re pretty much all addicted to our phones, so I know this isn’t easy, but it will make a huge difference. The blue light emitted from screens makes it difficult to nod off. Spend the final hour reading an actual book with paper pages, listening to relaxing music, talking with your partner, meditating, or soaking in the bath.
Most of us struggle to switch off. Our brain is forever racing. At night, get all these thoughts down on paper. Do a brain dump. Spend just 5 minutes jotting down everything on your mind and revisit it the next day.
Make your bedroom dark, quiet and cool. Even the tiniest bit of light in the room coming through the curtain or from a device can disrupt your sleep. Consider an eye mask, and if you’re sensitive to sounds, aka, have a snoring spouse, maybe earplugs too. Ensure your room temperature is cool by turning the rads down or opening a window.
And then, finally, more about technology. Turn off all devices in your bedroom at night. Sorry, this includes your mobile phone – if it’s not off, put it in flight mode. If you must have your phone on, move it as far away as possible to avoid detraction, light disturbance and EMFs.
I’m confident that if you follow these tips, you’ll no longer be staring at the ceiling for half the night and will be sleeping like a baby in no time.