To empower you...

October 10, 2023 Rhoanne Urlanda

Welcome to Heart to Heart with Honeydew! This week, I empower you to take control of your sleep...for a few very important reasons!

Imagine this: Sleep - the key to adding years to your life.

According to recent studies, consistent and high-quality sleep can do wonders for your well-being. But here's the catch: not getting enough shut-eye can put you at a higher risk of a heart attack. Yikes.

In fact, those who struggle with insomnia were found to be 69% more likely to suffer from this life-threatening condition.

And now that you know this...how important to you is great sleep?

With all of the above in mind, let me remind you of another astonishing impact sleep has on your body. It affects almost every single cell and organ, which means that optimal sleep translates to optimal functioning.

But here's the thing - the reverse is true as well. A recent small-scale study discovered that when participants reduced their sleep by just 1.5 hours, going from a solid 7.5 hours to a mere 6, their cells suffered the consequences.

So, what should this tell you?

That sleep is the holy grail - for health, for youth, for vibrant lives. Let's cherish the protective effect that sleep has on our cells and make it a priority to optimize our sleep. You're worth it!

With all this talk about the benefits of sleep, I want to make sure that I don't tell you all of this to scare you.

I share all of this to empower you.

If you're someone who doesn't get great sleep, take steps to make it happen!

Here are just a few things you can do (which I've done personally - to help me achieve better sleep):

1. Talk with your doctor: Make sure there's not an underlying issue that they could help solve.

2. Block out the world: This means dark shades, white noise, and ditching the phone before bed.

3. Optimize your resting place: Invest in high quality sheets and pillows that make you want to dive into them each night.

4. Use sleep aids sparingly: It seems like everyone has the latest and greatest sleep aid to sell. From old school Nyquil to melatonin and tart cherry, it can all become addictive (which means your body will need more of it to fall asleep each time). Use these sleep aids only when you really need them.

There are tons of other tips I could give, but these are the basics I've used to ensure great sleep.

Does it happen every night? Of course not. But I do my best to ensure that I'm giving my body what it craves at night - and that's sleep!