What is clean sleeping?
If celebrity health guru Gwyneth Paltrow is doing it, it must be worth doing. The actress bases her own lifestyle on clean eating but also advocates clean sleeping to keep your energy levels high. Read on to discover more about the health trend set to take over this year.
Clean sleeping is a play on the clean eating trend and it’s not about doing the laundry. It’s all about sleeping in as natural an environment as possible in order to get at least seven or eight hours of good, quality sleep each night. If you can get 10 hours of sleep, that’s even better.
It is claimed that even before you think about what you are eating, you should think about getting enough deep sleep, as that determines your appetite and energy levels for the next day.
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Why do we need to clean sleep?
Poor quality sleep can lead to a whole raft of disastrous happenings, including bad moods, weight gain, reduced immunity and impaired memory. Not only that, it plays havoc with your beauty regime.
Tiredness can induce stress and also stimulates cortisol and insulin — the hormones that tell your body to store fat. You can also feel hungry and overeat when you haven’t had enough sleep because your appetite suppressant levels drop.
Clean eating aids clean sleeping!
The health trend clean eating is all about limiting processed and sugary refined foods, and eating healthy options from each of the food groups in their natural state. You can use clean eating as a basis to structure your diet, get proper nutrition, remove toxins, lose weight and feel generally healthier. Eating whole foods also keep you satisfied for longer so you are less tempted by junk food.
Clean eating can be linked with clean sleeping as your sleep quality can be put down to what you are eating in the day. It’s best to stick to light, healthy meals if you want to be well rested.
Caffeine and alcohol are things to avoid when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep as they are stimulants. Not getting enough fibre has also been linked to shorter, disrupted sleep, according to a study carried out last year.
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More ways to get better sleep
If you think your sleep is suffering and you could get a lot more, try following a few of these pointers to help you drift off more easily:
- Ban electronic devices in bed – the bright lights will only distract you from the task in hand – getting to sleep! There’s always the temptation to check your texts or emails when you wake up in the night.
- Exercise – it’s a great way to help you snooze. As little as ten minutes a day can improve your sleep quality, especially when done on a regular basis.
- Consistent bedtime routine – reading a book, meditating or having a bath are all good ways to get to the land of nod as your body will learn to recognise times for sleep.
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Above all, a good quality mattress is essential if you want to be able to drift off more easily. For help choosing one that would best suit you, contact our sleep experts today on 01772 786 666.