Get Your Paleo ZZZZs On!

Getting a good night sleep is far more important than most people think.

We’re likely all guilty of foregoing  good night’s sleep myself on occasion, myself included.   Working late, getting up early to train or to take care of the kids or simply trying to squeeze too much into one day’ time can all end in the same consequence:  sleep deprivation.

While it might not seem like a big deal to routinely get five hours of sleep per night, for example, if you chug your way through the day with excessive caffeine and sugar consumption to give you ‘energy’, it really is a bad idea.

If you’re not getting your deep sleep and your REM, your body cannot, in very simple terms, repair itself.   Aside from the immediate results we can actually see, like dark circles or bags under the eyes, or feel, like a decreased ability to focus, the long term effects begin to get dangerous the longer we fail to make sleeping properly every single night as much a priority as eating a proper Paleo diet and getting regular exercise.

If it seems like a fantasy to be able to get up each morning without an alarm, perhaps you can address going to bed earlier in order to get more sleep on that end.

Seemingly small things, like not having a TV in your bedroom, not eating a large meal right before bed, not having caffeine after a certain time each day and making sure you have a good mattress all contribute to how sound you’ll actually sleep.

My husband and I recently started using the Zeo sleep monitoring device which, by wearing a headband to sleep (yes, admittedly we look only a little bit dorky when we turn in for the night), sleep patterns are recorded by our iPhones and in the morning, we can see how much sleep we got, as well as how it broke down into deep, light or REM.   Then, with the info we get, we can address how to better improve our sleep.

If you’re someone who’s been taking sleep for granted, have a think about the long term breakdown you may be setting yourself up for.  

Regardless of whether you’re an athlete, a busy exec or  a student working two jobs while taking class full time, you need your sleep.  Even those with the busiest schedules can usually find at least a little more time for rest by analyzing their calendars and determining which things may not actually be such a top priority that their health should suffer as a result.

Hunt, gather, forage, eat, move….sleep!