Haley Twist
At Burn, we know that your days spent balancing a family, work and other responsibilities, healthy eating, and exercise can feel overwhelming, crazy, and downright chaotic! You might even have such busy days that when your head finally hits that pillow at night, you’re out like a light.
However, sometimes all the craze has the opposite effect on your sleep and can lead to restless nights that leave you feeling exhausted before your day even begins. Your sleeping habits can have an enormous effect on your performance at camps, energy levels, and your overall wellness, so we’re bringing you ten tips to ensure that you’re well-rested, energized, and ready to take on every new day!
1. Stick to a sleep schedule. Try your best to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, even on the weekends. (And stop pressing snooze!)
2. Avoid caffeine 4-6 hours before bed. Caffeine tends to hide in unexpected places, like teas and chocolate. These can interfere with your sleep cycle if consumed too closely to the time you go to bed!
3. Eat lighter meals in the evening, and similarly to your caffeine intake, avoid food 2-3 hours before you go to sleep.
If you find your mind racing about the day you’ve had, you may not have had enough time to process it.
4. Exercise consistently! Working out helps to promote restful sleep, so experiment with what time of the day works best for your exercise. Whether in the early morning or late evening, determine a time that fits your schedule and stick to it!
5. Unplug at least an hour before bed. Bright lights that illuminate from our laptops, tablets, and phones can have the opposite effect on our brains that we want before sleep.
6. Think about your day (and the day ahead) before getting into bed. If you find your mind racing about the day you’ve had, you may not have had enough time to process it. Take some time before bed to think about your day and make notes about what you need to do tomorrow—but don’t get into bed until you’re done!
7. Take deep breaths. Breathing can be just as important outside of camps as it is inside! Deep breathing mimics how your body feels when it’s truly relaxed, so try inhaling and exhaling deeply for a few rounds once in bed, and see if it helps to calm you.
Ensuring that your body has the proper fuel it needs to feel optimally healthy and energized is key to a healthy sleep cycle.
8. Get the essential vitamins and minerals you need every day. Ensuring that your body has the proper fuel it needs to feel optimally healthy and energized is key to a healthy sleep cycle. Try a supplement like Shaklee’s Vitalizer to make sure that you have the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and probiotics you need to feel your best. Talk to your Head Trainer at your local Burn to learn more about it.
9. Get some sunlight first thing in the morning. Bright lights help trigger your brain to stay alert and wide awake, so exposing yourself to some natural sunlight in the morning can help you to feel significantly more energized.
10. Boost energy in the morning by drinking lemon water upon waking. We swear by this trick Burn Nation, and our Founder, Devan Kline urges absolutely everyone to try it. Adding lemon slices to your water not only gives you a natural energy booster, especially when consumed first thing in the morning, but it also helps you build alkalinity, speed up your metabolism, and combat high body fat.