Sleep - 8 Foundations of Health 💤

Stephen Horney ·

8 Foundations of Health

Patients are typically only focused on their pain or injury, and we get that, but we see the state of their health and body as a whole. The body is made up of interconnected systems functioning in sync with each other, and the body can only be as strong as the weakest link.

Remember - our whole goal is that if you read these and follow our advice you will NEVER need to see us in the clinic :)

#2 SLEEP

Tips for Falling Asleep?

  1. Wind down ritual for 2-3 hours before bed - the nervous system has inertia so don’t wind it up when you should be winding it down. Part of the wind down routine should also be blocking blue light.

  2. Blue Blocking Glasses (see ugly picture above) - if blue light enters the eye it will tell the body to halt the natural hormonal cascade (including Melatonin release) that is supposed to happen before bed. Recently, Warby Parker started producing lenses that block 70% of blue light.

  3. Shower with a transition from warm to cold - one of the main indicators for our body that it’s time to go night night is temperature. A transition from warm to cold doesn’t always happen because we live in houses, but we can simulate this with a shower that starts on the warm side and ends on the cooler side

Tips for Staying Asleep?

  1. Sun light ASAP in the morning - get those peepers exposed to NATURAL light as early as possible to start the production of Melanopsin which is the precursor to Melatonin. PS - Make sure there are not eye glasses or contact lenses to obstruct the sweet sweet sun.

  2. Visualization meditation - Dreaming, imagination, and visualization all have similarities in the brain. If you want to stay asleep longer, do some direct exercise for that part of the brain while you are awake by frequent visualization meditations. To find these types of mediations and learn more about the appropriate mindset give a quick look and listen here

  3. Ooler unit - remember when we told you that the body used temperature to get its cues on whether you should be awake or asleep? Well, this cold pad that goes under your sheets is a life hack is to keep things colder in the morning so your body thinks it's still night time.

  4. Eye mask + Ear Plugs - your partner may leave you, but at least you are having restful sleep, am i right?? If you can’t get the room dark enough in the morning put on one of these eye masks and see your way to sweet sweet slumber. They also come with free ear plugs so double covered!

 

A little thing that feels like it's worth a mention:
 This Sunday Steve was mentioned in the NY Times in a piece about winter surfing.  If you have a spare sec and want to check it out - here it is :)

DON'T FORGET WE BRING IT EVERY WEEK ON SOCIAL!