Wake up refreshed and renewed..

You know that feeling, when you wake up tired and irritable. It takes a while to get going and you might need a cup  of coffee before you’re really awake. You may feel like you’re dragging yourself through the day only giving half your energy to everything that you do.

In the afternoon you might find yourself reaching for some sugar to give you some energy but that works only for a short while before you’re either back in the biscuit jar or you have to go for a nap (if you can). And while you dream of your bed all day, you find that when you get there your mind has taken hostage and you’re wide awake.

And so the cycle continues.

Sound familiar?

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society:

• Adults need 7 or more hours of sleep per night for the best health and wellbeing.
• Short sleep duration is defined as less than 7 hours of sleep per 24-hour period.
• Adolescents need 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night.

We all know that sleep is necessary for our physical and mental health, but very few know how important it really is.

• Lack of Sleep costs the United States over $411 Billion Annually from work related accidents, absenteeism and car crashes directly related to sleep deprivation (reported by Fortune Magazine.)
• Almost 20% of all car crash accidents and injuries are associated with sleepiness.
• 3-5% of obesity in adults could be caused by lack of sleep.

In recent years there has been sleep has been subjected to intensive research but I don’t need to quote a whole load of facts and figures to you for you to know how you feel when you’re tired. Instead here is a mindfulness recording that you can use if you’d like your quality of sleep to improve.

Why? Because when you sleep well:

• your cognitive functioning improves (i.e. you think more clearly)
• You feel happier
• You have more get up and go
• You’re less irritable & impatient
• You’re healthier (and you’re less likely to reach for sugar)
• And lots more benefits

Listen regularly and you will notice a difference, you may even jump out of bed in the morning!

You can use it:

• before you go to bed
• as you’re drifting off
• if you wake up during the night

You don’t need any mindfulness experience to follow this, just click, play and follow it as best you can.

Enjoy and do let me know how your sleep improves, I would love to hear from you [email protected]

Ellen