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Sleep Goals 2019

It’s that time of year again where everyone is setting resolutions that they hope to keep all year long. Setting resolutions and goals are hard, even for me! A lot of my goals tend to be unrealistic. So this year I sat down and thought about goals that are actually achievable! The best goals to set are the ones that will not only help to mentally but physically for the future focusing on becoming a better you! The most important kind of goals you can set are sleep goals! Sleep is so important to everyone. Sleep plays an important role in good health and well-being throughout everyones life! Sleep helps your brain work properly, helps with your physical health, and helps you function throughout the day. I know when I have a poor night of sleep, I can barely function the next day, and typically end up coming down with something in the matter of days! Let’s all vow to better rest and becoming a better self with sleep! More Sleep 2019!

Getting a good night of sleep, ya know can sometimes hard. It is either my brain cannot shut off or the neighbor’s dog is barking. There is always something! As important as sleep is, we should focus more on how to achieve sleep goals like setting the tone, limiting screen time, and having a comfy bed! Here are a couple ways to make sure you can achieve your sleep goals in 2019!

  • Limit screen time at night: The lights from the screen and all those text messages and notifications coming through are a big distraction! Staring at the screen not only messes up your body’s internal clock, but it also makes it more difficult to actually fall asleep. Limiting screen time can be hard, but let’s try silencing your phone 30 minutes before bed! From there on, it will be easier to increase the time!
  • Set the tone: Setting the tone will help you sleep! Darkness matters! Embrace the darkness!  As the sun goes down earlier, it also comes up earlier. Get those blackening shades up to rest longer in the morning. If the shades don’t help, set the tone with a warm bath, some relaxing music, or a book! Put the phone down and give your brain some time to wind down.
  • A Comfy Bed: You want the high-quality sleep, you are going to need high quality items. The mattress and pillows are the most important part of how well you sleep at night. Make sure your mattress is still in good shape! If it is older than 7 years old and you aren’t having good sleep quality, it might be time to think about getting a new one. Make sure your pillows are fluffed every night for maximum comfort. If your neck is sore when waking up, it is good idea to replace your pillows. If you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out to our customer service team, they are here to help!
  • Sleep Schedule: This one will probably be the hardest one to follow (trust me, I struggle with this) but setting a time every night to go to bed and setting a time every morning to wake up!  Although this might not seem like it at first, this will improve your overall sleep quality!
  • Do more when the sun’s out: Being productive during the day will help your body when falling asleep. Going for a workout in the middle of the day or right after work will help you feel tired when you are ready to go to bed. A short walk outside will also help. Fresh air and exercise will help the body when it comes to falling asleep at night. You’ll want to enjoy as much sunlight as there is! The sunlight will keep our body’s internal clock in check.

2019 is going to be the year of sleep! Setting the goal to improve sleep quality is not selfish, it is necessary! Following these steps will help you become a better you in 2019!

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Sleeping with a stuffy nose

It is officially the worst season of all! No, not Holiday season! Even though Holiday’s can be a pain in the butt. I am talking about cold and flu season! Those dreaded invisible germs that sneak into your body and wreak havoc. The reason I am even bringing this up is because I just had the worst stuffy nose and I couldn’t sleep! Nothing is worse than being so tired yet you feel like you can’t breathe. So, being the millennial that I am I jumped on my phone and asked good old Google what helps you sleep with a stuffy nose. My mom was already asleep so I couldn’t ask her. DUH!

I did find some good tips if you are trying to sleep with a stuffy nose and I thought I would share a few with you.

1 . Skip the night cap! I know what you are thinking! A nice drink before bed might help me fall asleep and not feel the suffering of my stuffy nose! Well that alcohol can actually make your stuffy nose worse and even aggravate sinus pain. So, skip the wine and have a nice decaf hot tea. Perhaps a valerian tea or decaf green tea.

2. Keep those little nasal passages nice and moist. I know we all hate that word but get over it for a second and listen! When you keep your nose hydrated it makes blowing and breathing easier. Try using a over the counter saline solution to help keep your cute little button nose moist. Dry air is the enemy when trying to fight a stuffy nose. Use a humidifier to keep dry air away. I also like to use my essential oil defuser by my bed and use peppermint oil with lavender. Peppermint essential oil will help clear your nasal passages and the lavender will help you relax and sleep.

3. If you are anything like me and you hate taking medication you may jump to “natural” remedies first but if those don’t work try some gold old fashion medication. If you are sick try taking a decongestant but if you think your stuffiness is from allergies try taking a antihistamine.

4. Keep you head elevated. Prop your upper body up with lots of pillows (need more pillows to do this? Try shopping at Pillows.com. I hear they have a good selection) Keeping your head above your heart will help decrease mucus from pooling in your nose. EW

5. Know when to call the doctor. If you have sever congestion and sinus pain that just wont stop it may be a sinus infections that would require treatment. Sometimes toughing it out and waiting till it passes is a good idea but sometimes it is time to call the doctor and get checked out. Don’t let a sinus infection go on too long without treatment nasty thing cans happen. Don’t believe me? Google it.

Ok, last pro tip! If one nostril is stuffed but the other is clear just jam some tissue in the stuffy side and pass out! Have you ever done this or am I the only one?

Sweet dreams Pillows fans and stay healthy!

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Beauty sleep and your health

Every day is a great day to start improving your life, so why not start today?! With September being Self-Improvement Month, we thought it would be a good idea to look at how self improvement affects the body and more importantly how sleep ties into self improvement! It’s time for a positive change in your life that will make you happier and give you a better quality of life!

Self improvement is the quest to make ourselves better in every aspect of life. Self improvement is all on you! Your success, personal goals and overall health begins and ends with you. Concentrating on improving one area will make it easier to improve overall. Lets focus on sleep! One of the best changes you can make in your life is your sleeping habits.

First let’s talk about what happens to the body when you are sleep deprived. Did you know that more than a third of Americans are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis? I know I fall into that category a few too many nights a week. Balancing work, healthy eating, exercise and proper sleep can be exhausting but is worth all the effort and here is why. Little sleep dulls the activity in the brain’s frontal lobe, which is the locus of decision-making and impulse control, will make your brain make bad decisions because you do not have the mental clarity. It is almost a little like being drunk. Sleep deprivation also leads to deficits in cognitive function, whether it’s reaction time, decision-making, or memory. Poor sleep has been linked to greater risk of depression and anxiety, increased risk of heart disease and cancer, impaired memory, reduced immune system functioning, weight gain, and greater likelihood of accidents.

Now that that’s out of way, let’s talk about the positives! Here’s the run down on sleep. Sleep is important for pretty much every one of your physical systems. Sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle. It makes you feel better, benefits your heart, weight, mind, and so much more. Sleep is not downtime, sleep actually is fuel for your body.

Here are some reasons why sleep is so important to us!

Sleep boosts your mental health. It’s is the mind’s best friend. Everything stems off of your brain, from your happiness to how well you age. Many mental issues stem from lack of or problems with sleeping. To increase your mental with sleep, there is a couple changes that will help. Lifestyle changes you can make is limiting caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine. Alcohol depresses the nervous system but wears off quickly which is why you tend to wake up more often throughout the night after a night of drinking. Nicotine is a stimulant that speeds up the heart rate, which is not good for sleep either. As hard as it is to give up something completely, instead try avoiding these substances 6-8 hours before bedtime. Physical activity is good for both your body and your sleep cycle. Exercise will help you fall asleep faster, put you in a deep sleep for longer, and you will wake up less during the night. As good as exercise is for you, I wouldn’t suggest running a marathon right before bed. Maybe some light stretches to help you transition into sleep mode. Sleep hygiene is a variety of practices that help your sleep quality. A few practices include having a regular sleep-and-wake schedule, limit map time to 20 to 30 minutes, making the room dark and free of distractions. Put your phone down, nothing good ever happens after 2 am, or in our case 11 pm. This is where you need to focus on your sleep and only your sleep. Relaxation techniques will also help get your mind in the mood for sleep. Some of these techniques are meditation and deep breathing exercises. Go fill up the tub, throw a bath bomb in there and relax. This will actually have counter anxiety of racing thoughts.

Weight gain is a touchy topic, so obviously we’re gonna talk about it! The amount of sleep you get can actually put a damper on the number on the scale. A healthy body requires a healthy amount of sleep. It appears that a sleepy brain craves junk food, and with no impulse control, it is harder to say no to cravings. It’s like a negative domino effect that leads from one bad decision to another. Sleep also affects your metabolism. Too little sleep triggers a cortisol spike. This means that you are more apt to hang onto fat. If you have sleep deprivation, after just 4 days, your body’s ability to process insulin decreases. Insulin is important as it is a hormone needed to change sugar, sugar, starches, and other food into energy. With your body’s ability to process insulin decreases, diabetes could be in the future for you. In the end, too little sleep hampers your metabolism and contributes to weight gain. So the more you sleep, the more you have control of what you are putting into your body.

Sleep can also improve your memory. While you are sleeping, your mind is hard at work. Sleep is very important for many aspects of brain functions, such as cognition, concentration productivity, and performance. Sleep can maximize problem-solving skills, and enhance memory. Poor sleep has been shown to impair brain function.

Studies have shown that little sleep is linked with serious health problems like heart disease and heart attack. Now, I’m not saying that lack of sleep causes heart disease, it’s more of an increase of the risk factors. Basically, when you sleep, your blood pressure drops and it is important for your blood pressure to fall during the night. With little sleep, your blood pressure will not fall low enough which could lead to possible complications later on. We know that when our immune system is down, we typically get sick, but did you know that sleep could be the one affecting your immune system? Well I got some information for you. When you sleep, your immune system releases proteins which help promote sleep. These proteins actually stimulate and coordinate white blood cell activity which fights infections and inflammation. Lack of sleep can make you sick because of the reduced number of antibodies and killer cells in you.Even more reasons to catch some more ZzZzZ

So I don’t know about you, but it sounds like getting more sleep can really help our overall health. So let us all jump into bed, grab our cozy blankets and fluffy pillows and take better care of our heath! Sleepwell pillows fans!