Earlier this month it was Mental Health Awareness week.
You might have expected an issue of The Power Up on that theme, but I’ve been giving myself a little break of late for the good of my own mental health. Plus, I considered that there would be no shortage of content and communications about mental health from many other sources, so why give you even more to add to the mental load? It seemed counter-productive.
Instead, I took a step back and participated in a series of talks, discussions and activities as part of Mental Health Awareness week at work.
A strong theme was an emphasis on self care. That is to say that at a time when there seem to be more external reasons to be stressed, anxious and depressed than ever, we owe it to ourselves to do everything within our own power to fortify our own bodies and minds as best we can through proactive and positive mental, physical and nutritional activities.
High on the list of things we can do to boost our health and wellbeing is to get adequate sleep and rest.
In recent years scientists have drawn ever more links between the quality of our sleep and our ability to function to our fullest potential.
From mental sharpness, to improved mood, reduced stress and many physical health benefits, improving the quality of our sleep is just about the most significant thing we can do to boost our wellbeing.
So it seemed like a natural choice to dedicate an edition of The Power Up to the topic of sleep, and how and why to improve it.
In this week’s edition, I’ve unearthed articles and videos/podcasts covering:
- 10 benefits of a good night’s sleep
- The 7 types of rest that every person needs
- Sleeping too little in middle age may increase dementia risk
- How to get a better night’s sleep
- Quantity Vs Quality: Why the way you think about sleep might be wrong
- Snoozing and losing? How to finally stop sleeping through your alarm
- Valuable lessons from 6 months of sleep hacking
- 5 common sleep myths experts want you to stop believing
- The 7 habits of exceptionally good sleepers
Plus plenty of bonus content too.
As ever, I hope you find something in this edition that helps you get better quality rest, so you can recharge for whatever matters most in your life.
Enjoy!
ON SLEEP / FEATURE
10 benefits of a good night’s sleep
The role of sleep on our overall health and wellbeing is becoming better understood from a scientific standpoint.
Click to read just 10 of the many proven health benefits of getting adequate sleep.
ON SLEEP / RECHARGE
The 7 types of rest that every person needs
Have you ever tried to fix an ongoing lack of energy by getting more sleep — only to do so and still feel exhausted?
If that’s you, here’s the secret: Sleep and rest are not the same thing, although many of us incorrectly confuse the two.
We go through life thinking we’ve rested because we have had enough sleep — but in reality we are missing out on the other types of rest we desperately need.
The result is a culture of high-achieving, high-producing, chronically tired and chronically burned-out individuals. We’re suffering from a rest deficit because we don’t understand the true power of rest.
Rest should equal restoration in seven key areas of your life. Read more…
ON SLEEP / MIND
Sleeping too little in middle age may increase dementia risk, study finds
Could getting too little sleep increase your chances of developing dementia?
For years, researchers have pondered this and other questions about how sleep relates to cognitive decline. Answers have been elusive because it is hard to know if insufficient sleep is a symptom of the brain changes that underlie dementia — or if it can actually help cause those changes.
Now, a large new study reports some of the most persuasive findings yet to suggest that people who don’t get enough sleep in their 50s and 60s may be more likely to develop dementia when they are older.
ON SLEEP / BODY
How to get a better night’s sleep
Most people know they need to eat right and exercise to be healthy. But what about sleep?
We spend about one-third of our lives asleep, and sleep is essential to better health. But many of us are struggling with sleep. Four out of five people say that they suffer from sleep problems at least once a week and wake up feeling exhausted.
So how do you become a more successful sleeper? Grab a pillow, curl up and keep reading to find out.
ON SLEEP / SPIRIT
Quantity Vs Quality: Why the way you think about sleep might be wrong
When most people think about sleep, they treat it like a simple subtraction problem. “I went to bed at 10 pm and woke up at 6 am,” the normal thinking goes, “Eight hours passed between my bedtime and wake time, so that means I got eight hours of sleep! I’m solid!”
Unfortunately, this isn’t how sleep actually works. And if you’re thinking about sleep in this way, it might be why you’re “sleeping” for the recommended seven to eight hours per night and still waking up exhausted each morning.
Why? Treating sleep like a subtraction problem focuses only on sleep quantity. It totally ignores sleep quality.
ON SLEEP / HABITS
Snoozing and losing? How to finally stop sleeping through your alarm
Getting out of bed isn’t always easy — why, even the biggest morning people among us have found themselves occasionally hitting the snooze button for 5 more minutes of restful bliss.
But what about when we sleep through our alarms entirely?
If you’re sleeping through your morning wake-up call more often than not and don’t know what to do about it, we’ve got you.
Keep reading to learn why this might be happening and ways you can overcome it.
R E C O M M E N D E D
Rise & Fall Bed Sheets
Fed up with bad sleep and poor sheets the Rise & Fall founders set out to track down insanely comfy sheets that don’t cost the earth, or hurt it. After thousands of hours, and hundreds of samples, they found them.
Rise & Fall go to great lengths to ensure the finest quality products and the fairest possible supply chain.
Subscribe to their mailing list for a 10% discount on their already great prices.
B O N U S
C O N T E N T
Valuable lessons from 6 months of sleep hacking
Tried and tested, data-backed habits to improve your sleep.
13 weird-yet-proven ways to improve your sleep and feel revitalised
Binaural beats, breathing techniques, light boxes, lavender and many more.
5 common sleep myths experts want you to stop believing
The truth about 8 hours, snoring, catching up on sleep deficit at the weekend & if it’s possible to sleep too much.
7 nutritional ways to get The 7 habits of exceptionally good sleepers
What good sleepers do well – often without realising.
How to be a high-functioning night owl
A compassionate guide for late risers – because not everybody is made for 5am productivity.
Podcast: Better sleep with insomnia coach Martin Reed
Martin Reed is a health coach who specialises in helping clients with insomnia & sleep issues.
“Each night, when I go to sleep, I die.
MAHATMA GANDHI
And the next morning, when I wake up, I’m reborn.”
