HEALTH REPORT
The secret to a better night’s Sleep!
W hat’s keeping you up at night? Try these seven clever secrets to reduce stress and get enough sleep. 1 Know how much you need Although your sleeping patterns can change, you may actually need as much – or even more – sleep as you did when you were younger. Most adults require at least seven to eight hours of shut-eye every night; interestingly, anecdotal evidence suggests that can extend to eight to nine hours a night in winter. However, according to a study undertaken by the University of South Australia, less than a third of adults get eight hours sleep a night – and women aged 30 to 60+ years are the most sleep- deprived. 2 Add magnesium to your mix This marvellous mineral helps the body and brain to relax, reducing both stress and nervous tension and helping you to enjoy a deeper sleep, not to wake during the night, and to stay asleep for longer periods. Look
4 How are your hormones? A woman may find that, at the beginning and end of her menstrual cycle, lowered progesterone levels make it very difficult to sleep. Also, during menopause, hot flushes and anxiety can both cause restless and uncomfortable nights, with racing thoughts. Try keeping a sleep diary for a couple of months and see what the triggers may be – caffeine, spicy foods, alcohol and even some medications are all potential culprits.
for a magnesium powder supplement that has been blended with synergistic cofactors to enhance absorption and uptake by the body. 3 Check if you are actually stressed Sleep researchers have discovered a pattern of disturbed or interrupted sleep and unrefreshing sleep in people suffering from depression. Unrefreshing sleep is defined as being sleep that is lacking in the extremely slow delta brain waves which cause the period of deep sleep during which the body repairs itself, releases growth hormone, produces antibodies against infection and renews cellular tissue. It’s estimated that as many as 90 percent of people with undiagnosed depressive illnesses experience poor sleep, only to put it down to stress, or home or work pressures. If stress is the cause of your insomnia,
try learning a relaxation
technique, such as a guided meditation or deep breathing technique, and practise it every night at bedtime.
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ISSUE 64 • 2022
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