The 5:2 Sleep Fest

There has been a lot of talk recently about the 5:2 diet and how it is a way to improve your health into old age and, that as an added consequence, participants lose weight (the natural side effect of being on a calorie restricted regime). I do not intend to go into depth about it in this post - but if you want more information then here is the TV programme that started it all.

The basic principle of the 5:2 fast is that you eat normally for 5 days of the week and restrict your calorie intake on two (non-consecutive) days of the week. This has proved to be one of the easiest type of fast to follow on a regular basis and, for the long term health benefits of a calorie restricted diet to be achieved, this needs to be a lifestyle change - not a short diet fad.

Since the awareness of this diet I have come across many articles proposing the 5:2 principle applying to other areas of our lives. For me, one of the most interesting was the use of technology for a young family and going without the internet for 2 days out of 5 to promote more family time. I am aware that I use too much technology and am quite nervous at the thought of being technology free for two days a week!

This got me thinking about applying this idea to sleep but following last week's theme of pampering ourselves to sleep, I thought about the 5:2 sleep fest, not fast!

In this fast paced world we are slowly becoming more sleep deprived and this is having a long term impact on our long term health. Alarmingly studies have shown that these effects start when achieving just 6 hours or less sleep a night.
So if you are someone who is aware that they are slightly sleep deprived and would like to refocus on their sleep levels then how about considering a routine where for two evenings a week you make a conscious effort to relax, unwind and go to bed with enough time to get a full 8 hours sleep?
This should help restore your sleep levels and help write off recently accumulated sleep debt.
The other 5 nights would then mean a 'normal' bedtime. Please note the word normal there - this does not mean staying up later than usual, just as on the 5:2 diet a non-fast day means to eat normally, not over indulge!

Really enjoy those two nights and pamper yourself into unwinding and relaxing. Just as when fasting for only 24 hours you can tell your 'Hungry Self' that you will eat tomorrow, you can tell your 'Busy Self' that you will do the chores, the projects etc tomorrow. You will also have the added bonus of being more rested and so be able to perform any tasks or projects more efficiently and quickly.

Setting a target of 2 early nights a week also seems more achievable and focused than a general sweeping statement of 'I must get more sleep.' and using the 5:2 principle you can chose which nights of the week you do this to fit in round your lifestyle.

So why not give it a go and see if you can have a 5:2 Sleep fest too!

Sweet dreams!

Pamper yourself to sleep

I don't know about you but I hate rules and guidelines, I find them very restrictive even if they are trying to help me. When it comes to getting a good night's sleep there seem to be loads of them and they can seem quite strict and very forbidding! Take these for example

- stop drinking caffeine in the afternoons
- set up a bedtime routine
-switch off technology an hour before bed time


One of the tricks that I learnt about sleeping well was to change these round in my head, so that they seemed as if I was pampering myself. And I was, because a good night's sleep is an affordable luxury in this fast paced world!

Mentally rephrasing the above statements I came to these conclusions

Why not try drinking herbal teas instead of tea or coffee? When my doctor told me to come off caffeine I found it really hard and felt deprived, and still allowed myself a morning cup of tea. I explored the world of 'decaffeinated' but just felt as if I was being let down as it didn't taste quite right. After a while I came to realize that as herbal teas tasted nothing like real tea it was just a different taste and not a substitute, this helped me a lot. I then discovered that herbal teas did actually have a lot of health benefits and help my body in more ways than just caffeine elimination. Check this page for more information.  Now when people start to make sympathetic faces when I say 'I don't do caffeine', I have to stop them as I genuinely do not feel deprived but feel as if I am making healthy choices for my body.

How about having a bath before you go to bed? This is a lovely bit of pampering, I add some bath salts or oils, dim the lights/use candles, play soothing music to really help me relax and unwind. Then using lovely creams and oils to moisturise my skin and body afterwards and slipping into clean, fresh smelling pj's all adds to the luxurious, pampering feeling. It also means that I have an easily enforced no screen time before bed too! I have a bath whenever I have to get up really early the next morning and see it as a treat not part of a strict routine.

If you are a couple or family why not start having 'Family Time' together each evening? Yes, this means turning off computers, ipads etc so that you interact together in the the last couple of hours before bedtime. Play games, read books aloud, watch a film together (the TV screen is less stimulating for your eyes and brain than a computer/phone screen.) Quality time with your family or partner is always a great feel good session and this way has so many added health benefits as well.

I hope these ideas have given you food for thought on how to pamper yourself a little each day to enable yourself to relax and unwind before bedtime!

Sweet dreams. 

Oxygen Masks

In the safety briefing on the aeroplanes (you know that bit at the beginning of a flight that no-one really listens too) we are informed that in the case of having to use an oxygen mask that we should put one on ourselves first and then help those around us to put on theirs.
It makes sense because the drop in oxygen can happen so quickly that if you were to spend those seconds helping a child put on their mask, that you would be unconscious before you would be able to put on your own.
I find that our instinct as women is to put others first, especially if we have children and families. We are able to put so much pressure on ourselves, running a business and a household that we burn ourselves out.
In order to make more time in the day for others we sacrifice the very thing that would help us perform better in the first place. Sleep.

In this modern fast-paced world sleep is the essential that we think we can do without. Sleep seems to take up so much time. It seems easier to go to bed just half an hour later so that we can finish a work assignment, make a cake for the cake sale, check the emails one last time, stay longer at an after hours work function, catch a TV programme etc. It doesn't appear to have any major affect, so we repeat it another night, telling ourselves that we will catch up at the weekend.

Then the weekend is busy too, and so is the following week and before we fully realise, bedtime is creeping slowly but surely to a later and later time and we are failing to get a regular 7-9 hours sleep we need each night and are regularly surviving on 6 hours or less. Although you may feel tired or sleepy and believe there to be no immediate short term affects, the research shows otherwise.

There will be immediate affects on your performance and alertness, so staying up late to finish your work will impact on your ability to be efficient at work the following day. Sleep deprivation also can affect your alertness when driving or operating machinery, your effectiveness at making decisions, as well as causing stress in relationships - both personal and professional.

Long term sleep deprivation starts affecting your health including blood pressure, weight control, mental impairment and contribute towards the development of diabetes and strokes.

So putting this all into perspective - cutting back on your sleep to do more is actually making people less effective.
Here are some ideas that can help us ensure that we put on our own oxygen masks first and make sure we get enough sleep to for our own health and to help others in a more productive and effective way.

- Is it possible to take a power nap during the day? Join the ranks of the famous who nap - Churchill, Edison, Da Vinci and even Bill Clinton. A quick 20 minute power nap can help restore your energy levels and help in increasing productivity. Many companies are working with this idea and providing 'snooze' areas for their employees!

- Working all evening does not give the brain a chance to relax and wind down and sleep quality is improved by setting a time to switch off work related activities and spend time with your family and friends in the evening. This also has the added benefit of making you more productive the next day.

- Prioritising household tasks and delegating at home can also free up time to help you relax and sleep more effectively.

- Have a set bedtime and stick to it. Numerous studies have shown that regular sleep patterns not only  improve the quality of sleep but also helps your body prepare for sleep so that you are able to fall asleep more quickly and once asleep, stay asleep.

During life there will be times when you need to put others needs before your own sleep (when having young babies or caring for someone who is ill) but for the majority of the time the simple fact of putting ourselves first and ensuring that we get a great night's sleep means that we are able to be more productive, efficient and ultimately help those around us.

Sweet dreams!