Having a long stressful day seems like it would make you pretty tired by the time you got home. In reality, it’s being tired that makes days long and stressful, as much as it is the other way around. If you find yourself feeling less than vital and energized during the day, the problem might be that you’re not getting enough well-rounded sleep.
Normal sleep occurs in a cycle made up of two main stages called the rapid eye movement (or REM phase) and a second non-REM phase, which is subdivided into three or four smaller stages. Each cycle of four to five stages lasts about two hours. We go through several of them at night and quality sleep requires the completion of each one.
To assure complete cycles, try getting to bed early and starting your sleep cycles earlier at night. See if you can wind down as evening approaches by avoiding smartphones, web surfing and TV watching 30 to 60 minutes before hitting the sack. Aside from the content, the blue light emitted by such electrical devices can be very stimulating. Reading books or listening to classical music as bedtime approaches may be beneficial and cool temperatures can also help. So can meditating or spending five to ten minutes practicing slow deep rhythmic breathing as you lay in bed. Supplements like melatonin, GABA and magnesium have well-known calming properties that can support relaxation, rest and fully completed sleep cycles.
