Easier said than done for workaholics and night owls like me, but worth a shot even for just one night, once a week. And it’s not even early early really, but sleeping (and not just going to bed) before midnight can do wonders for our well-being. Like time lost, lost sleep is also never recovered. When I think of all the (pointless) all-nighters I used to pull so easily as a university student, and all the late nights I still have now as I try to get 30 hours worth of living in 24, I know for sure that Rip Van Winkle has nothing to worry about from the likes of me.
Aside from the obvious restorative effects that sleep gives us, and the improved disposition and energy level that a good night’s rest brings us the next morning, there are also medical benefits to getting our zzzzzzs in before midnight:
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An hour of sleep before midnight is worth 2 hours of after-midnight sleep because *melatonin production is at optimal levels before midnight, says the Centre for Integrated Healing. (*melatonin is a natural hormone which promotes healing and boosts our immune system; our body produces it at night because it is light sensitive. Also important to sleep in the dark because melatonin production decreases when there is light in the room).
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We get more non-REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep earlier in the night, and can thus benefit from more restful slumber. Non-REM sleep is characterized by quiet deep sleep and the absence of dreams: our body and muscles relax fully, our cells rejuvenate, our skin rehydrates, our body repairs itself. So getting our 8 hours between 9 pm – 5am gives us more non-REM sleep while sleeping from 3am – 11pm will result in our not feeling as well-rested…because we really are not.
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Sleeping earlier helps our body cleanse and heal itself. A Fertile Healthy article notes that, “When dark falls, the body naturally wants to sleep. Overriding this desire for sleep interferes with the natural rhythm of cleansing. According to traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, as well as Western naturopathic healing philosophy, the most important hours for detoxification and rejuvenation are before midnight.”
Waking up earlier is also an amazing and very rewarding benefit of sleeping earlier. I love early morning sounds and smells… the feeling of being as fresh and renewed as the morning dew, the quiet anticipation of waiting for the rest of my family, the rest of the world to wake up. Aside from sitting quietly, inhaling the morning with a hot cuppa, reading the morning paper (online), early risers can also enjoy:
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Farmer’s Markets – St. Lawrence Market, The Brickworks, Dufferin Grove… Toronto is a city with its own green market oasis, mostly accessible by TTC. Enjoy fresh bread, hot drinks, a kaleidescope of fresh fruits and veggies… and meet a lot of other morning birds!
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An early morning stroll, jog, bike ride or yoga in the park – nothing fancy really; just an opportunity to be outside by yourself or with a loved one or friend while reaping the benefits of exercise. If we lived by the beach (a lifelong dream…), I would run, do cartwheels and yoga right at the shoreline. But walking through city sidewalks, — watching restaurant staff unload delivery trucks, dog-owners walk their dogs — and city parks is just as cathartic. Not as conducive to doing cartwheels, but definitely cathartic still.
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Time for a good, long breakfast – mornings are usually a mad rush to get ready for the day but when I do get up before everyone else, or at least with my daughter, I have time to get breakfast ready at a leisurely pace…and time to make something extra too like organic multigrain blueberry pancakes with nitrite-free bacon from Tony’s, or omelettes and smoothies.
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Sunrise – being a solar-powered person, I get such a rush and energy infusion when the sun is out. Seeing it come up to greet the world in the morning heightens the pleasure. While on holiday by the beach, my daughter and I would literally jump out of bed to greet the morning sun. Again, it really is just as fantastic to experience sunrise in the city… and although we don’t always actually see the sunrise, being up while the day breaks out into a sunny grin is enough to power a person happy.
All that being said and written, here’s hoping to go to bed before midnight tonight!
References:
CENTRE FOR INTEGRATED HEALING http://www.healing.bc.ca/foundation_12.shtml
NOVA SCIENCE NOW http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3410/01-ask.html
THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE RESOURCES FOR SCIENCE LEARNING http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/sleep.html
