It's summertime and the living is easy?except that the experts keep telling us that we're such stress-balls that we're not taking all of the vacation days we're entitled to; that we're staying hooked into work while we're supposed to be on vacation (the premise of the hilarious-unless-you're living it plot of RV), and that we're using our vacations to catch up on sleep.
According to the latest sleep stats from Statistics Canada, almost half of Canadians admit to cutting back on their sleep in order to cram more into a day. And, surprise, surprise, we're so wound up by the time our heads hit the pillow that one-quarter of men (25 per cent) and more than one-third of women (35 per cent) find it difficult to fall asleep.
Of course, having kids only adds to your sleep deprivation woes: Canadians who have two or more kids under the age of 15 average 25 minutes less sleep per night than Canadians who don't have any children. And brand new parents can expect to miss out on approximately 500 hours of sleep during that exhausting first year of bringing up baby.
Whether you're having a tough time getting to sleep because of work-related worries (or because you're wide-eyed and waiting for the next peep from your little one), the following strategies can help you to wind down and seize the sleep moment before it's time to start another day.
According to the latest sleep stats from Statistics Canada, almost half of Canadians admit to cutting back on their sleep in order to cram more into a day. And, surprise, surprise, we're so wound up by the time our heads hit the pillow that one-quarter of men (25 per cent) and more than one-third of women (35 per cent) find it difficult to fall asleep.
Of course, having kids only adds to your sleep deprivation woes: Canadians who have two or more kids under the age of 15 average 25 minutes less sleep per night than Canadians who don't have any children. And brand new parents can expect to miss out on approximately 500 hours of sleep during that exhausting first year of bringing up baby.
Whether you're having a tough time getting to sleep because of work-related worries (or because you're wide-eyed and waiting for the next peep from your little one), the following strategies can help you to wind down and seize the sleep moment before it's time to start another day.
- Empty your brain. It's difficult to fall asleep when you keep thinking of one more thing you have to do or worry about. Get those items down on paper so you can close your eyes and relax.
- Put on some quiet music or fire up your baby's white noise machine. Soothing spa-type music or monotonous white music will lull most of us to sleep, particularly if we're trying to doze off in a cool, darkened room. If your room is stuffy, crack open a window or turn on a fan. You'll find it easier to doze off if your room is well ventilated.
- Wash your worries away. Have a relaxing bath about an hour and a half before you want to go to sleep. When you get out of the tub, your temperature will drop, setting a series of biochemical reactions that will cause you to start becoming sleepy.
- Watch your daytime intake of caffeine. Some people are so sensitive to caffeine that they find that they can't sleep at night if they consume any caffeine after 12 p.m. Others find that they can consume caffeine until mid-afternoon.
- Resist the temptation to use alcohol to combat your caffeine buzz. Alcohol may make you feel drowsy, but it interferes with the quality of your sleep, so you'll wake up feeling less rested than if you skipped that pre-bedtime nightcap.
- Don't overdo it with your bedtime snack. A light snack that contains carbohydrates will make you drowsy, but a late-night feast will cause you to sleep poorly because your body will be busy digesting all that food.
- Get some exercise during the day. Exercise helps to reduce your overall stress level; and research has shown that people who exercise regularly sleep better.
So how is your stress level these days? Are your vacation plans coming together as you had hoped (or does your boss give you the evil eye every time you start to fill out a vacation request form)? Are you getting more or less sleep than usual (or just about the same), now that we're into the season when many people's regular routines go out the window?
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