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Wellness Wednesday Guide: Sleep

Benjamin Tholotowsky Health and Well-being, Wellness Wednesdays , , , , , , ,

You’ve heard us say it before – but we’ll say it again… sleep is super important and is a crucial support for a healthy body and mind! Let’s be real here for a second. I totally understand that it’s not always the easiest to get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, but that’s the number that the experts at the National Sleep Foundation recommend. (Yeah, alright so we know a lot about the topic of sleep and its importance, but there’s no way we could know more than the experts over there, that’s for sure! If you don’t want to take our word for it at least take theirs.) Sleep is often overlooked during times where we have a lot on our plate. Think midterms, finals, big papers, etc. Maybe this is a good opportunity to take a look at some of our previous articles on scheduling, planning, and effective time management so you can knock those assignments out of the park, or check our article on naps. Just an idea! Studies have shown that we need sleep in order to effectively retain all the knowledge we cram in our brains last minute. However, I’m sure you already know this! You’ve heard it time and time again, yet for some reason, we still overlook sleep and disregard it more often than we would like to admit. If you’re reading this at 3 AM and have been staring at a textbook or PDF’s for the last 7 hours take this as a sign to get some much-needed rest. If you’re still not convinced, let me try and throw some compelling points your way. If you join(ed) us for our Wellness Wednesday workshop you might recall: 

  • Proper sleep plays a huge role in supporting physical health (such as supporting the immune system and lowering the risk of certain diseases).
  • Proper sleep helps support positive mental health.
  • Proper sleep helps improve cognitive functioning, like memory retrieval and learning. (There’s that whole memory retrieval thing that I was telling you about!) 

If you’re anything like me then you’ll find yourself saying something along the lines of this. “Yeah yeah. Okay, I get that sleep is important. But so is endless scrolling on TikTok and Instagram in bed.” Or,  “what if I miss an important text?” Alright, maybe TikTok isn’t THAT important but I’ll still keep my phone by my bedside just in case. Big no! The key to proper sleep starts well before we even close our eyes. Since we’re in 2021 and it still needs to be said – it’s best to keep devices off and stored away from our bed. Think of bed as a place where we sleep and not a place where we should be scrolling social media. This might be upsetting for some (like myself, honestly), but I don’t make the rules – I’m just the messenger. Think about it though, if we condition ourselves to think of our bed as a place where we scroll social media or watch YouTube then it would make perfect sense that we might resort to that if we can’t sleep. Something as simple as a phone in bed has the potential to destroy any good sleep habits we’ve made! An effective sleep routine can do wonders and help us get the sound sleep our bodies deserve. Here’s an example of what works for me. 

  • First, I’ll set a reminder for a wind-down time at night and an alarm to wake up in the morning. Remember, I’m aiming for 7-9 hours! Eventually, my body will know this schedule and I won’t need any kind of alarms. 
  • I make sure to avoid all caffeine past 5 PM. I’m a coffee addict but I’ll switch to tea at night. I’ve found this helps tremendously.
  • I’ll try my best to avoid screens ~30 minutes before bedtime. (The blue light stimulates the brain and keeps me wired. No thanks. Though, I must confess… I’m not perfect at this.)
    • Putting down technology gives me a good chance to read that book I’ve started but never finished. The best part? No blue light from books! And a side note: E-Ink has no blue light. E-reader fans rejoice!
  • Lastly, Before I slide under the blanket I’ll put my phone to charge on my desk across the room.
    • 1. No distractions or temptation to indulge in endless scrolling on TikTok or Instagram. 
    • 2. When the alarm goes off in the morning I’ll have to get up and out of bed. Thus, reducing the chance of me slithering back under the covers. 

If for some reason I just can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes I’ll hop out of bed and do a little more reading under a light that’s a warmer color. The more orange the light output the better it will be on your eyes at night. It’s never good to lay in bed awake for more than 20 minutes, according to the experts.

If you’re looking for a little more help in improving your snooze we run a great program called Refresh Sleep. It’s a 7-week online program filled with a whole bunch of tips and tools for better sleep. Best of all, it’s free! 

If you have any other questions about sleep feel free to reach out to us in the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness! We’ll always have an answer to your questions (or point you in the right direction to find an answer). Never hesitate to contact us if you need anything. 

Office of Health Promotion and Wellness

Phone: (773) 325 – 7129

Email: hpw@depaul.edu

Social Media: Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook: @healthydepaul

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Take Care of Yourself, Take Care of Others, Take Care, DePaul!

Wellness Wednesday- Mindfulness & Gratitude

caugust9 Wellness Wednesdays , , , , ,

What are you grateful for today?

Hey pals, welcome back for another edition of HPW’s Wellness Wednesday series. Today’s theme is mindfulness and gratitude.

Photo provided by Mindful.org

Mindfulness consists of gaining self-awareness and acceptance towards one’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions without judgment. Below are some mindfulness activities that we encourage you to try!

  1. Meditation

Meditation embraces the present moments by training your body and mind to be relaxed. Find a comfortable place to sit, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. Check out The Division of Mission and Ministry’s latest guided Midday Meditation.

  1. Starting the Day with Intentionality

This practice is at best after you wake up in the morning, before starting your work and/or school day and before you check your phone. The first step is to sit up in your bed or sit on a chair with your back straight and close your eyes. Take three long, deep breaths. Then ask yourself “What is my intention for today?” or use these prompts to guide you:

How might I show up today to have the best impact?

What quality of mind do I want to strengthen and develop?

What do I need to take better care of myself?

During difficult moments, how might I be more compassionate to others and myself?

How might I feel more connected and fulfilled?

The next step is to set your intention for the day, make it plan, and write it down.

“Today, I will focus on being kind to and myself”

“Today, I will focus on completing as much as I can until 5:00 PM”

Then throughout your day, check-in with yourself by re0visitng your intention statement.

  1. Five Senses Activity The goal of this exercise is to keep yourself grounded in the present moment by noticing your surroundings.

What are 5 things that you can see?

What are 4 things that you can feel?

What are 3 things you can hear?

What are 2 things you can smell?

What is 1 thing that you can taste?

  1. Mindful Breathing for One Minute.

For one minute, focus on your breathing. Breathe in through your nostrils and out through your mouth. Place your hand on your stomach and notice how your hand gently rises and falls with your breath.

  1. STOP

S: Stand up.  Stand up, close your eyes, and breathe slowly and deeply.

T: Tune in to your body. Notice your bodily sensations, feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Breathe in positivity and breathe out negativity.

O: Observe. Open your eyes, observe your surroundings. Lift your eyes and take in your surroundings. Be grateful for your surroundings and embrace the beauty of it.
P: Possibility. Ask yourself what is possible? What is new? What is your next forward step?

For more mindfulness activities, click here.

The Science of Mindfulness

Research studies show that mindfulness decreases anxiety, reduction in perceived stress, decrease depressive symptoms, and improves on emotional and mental well-being. There is an online program that is called  Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). It is an eight-week evidence-based program that offers mindfulness training to help individuals with their stress, anxiety, depression, and pain.

When engaging in this mindfulness training, MBSR studies show that the left frontal activity of the brain is enhanced which means that the brain is developing resilience. Studies also show that there also an improvement in our immune system when we engage in mindfulness activities. So, our bodies’ ability to fight infection starts to improve when we engage in mindfulness. MBSR studies also show that having mindfulness activities as a part of a treatment plan for individuals who have mental health illnesses, such as drug addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder helps prevent relapse from depression. 

 

Expressing gratitude is another mindfulness activity. Expressing gratitude is showing thankfulness and appreciation to someone, including yourself.

 

Here are some ways to practice gratitude:

  1. Praising the Small Victories.

There is success in the small victories too so let us celebrate them. Remember that progress matters, not perfection. You are still winning, even if it is a small win. Claim your victory.

  1. Keep a Gratitude Journal

Photo provided by positivepsychology.com

Daily, write down the things that you are thankful/grateful for. Start writing down “I am thankful for…”. Once you start, it is hard to stop. After you start writing a list then you will recognize the many blessings that you have received.

  1. Writing an Appreciation or a Love Letter to You and/or a Loved One

Sometimes we emotionally and mentally beat ourselves up to more than we show appreciation to ourselves. Today, we encourage you to give yourself some grace by writing an appreciation or a love letter to yourself. We also sometimes forget to show appreciation and love to our family and friends, so we encourage you to take some time to write a love/appreciation letter to them.

  1. Verbally Telling your Loved One What You Appreciate Them For

Tell your friend and/or family friend how much you appreciate them and remind them that you appreciate them.

For more gratitude activities, click here.

The Science of Gratitude

Research studies show that expressing gratitude increases one’s happiness, energy, self-esteem, and strengthens resiliency. Studies also show it decreases chronic pain levels and reduces blood pressure levels. Showing gratitude starts the production of dopamine and serotonin which are our “feel-good neurotransmitters”. Gratitude also stimulates the hypothalamus and the ventral tegmental area. The hypothalamus’ role is to keep the body in homeostasis, which means to make sure everything is balanced. So, this part of the brain regulates stress and the ventral tegmental area is involved in developing and expressing feelings and emotions such as feelings of pleasure.

Also, the more you practice gratitude, the more you train your prefrontal cortex to retain positive thoughts, emotions, and experiences and kick out the negativity.

Remember, mindfulness & gratitude are not about invalidating difficult emotions—it’s about acceptance. 

Click here for the recorded Wellness Wednesday Zoom session.

Wellness Wednesday- Refresh Sleep

wcharles Wellness Wednesdays , , , , , , ,

One of the most important activities in our day is sleep. It is as important as food, water, and air and very much an active period in our day. Scientists are still looking into how and why our bodies are programmed for sleep, but what we do understand is sleep’s critical function and why we need it for optimal health and well-being. In today’s Wellness Wednesday we talked about sleep, but more so how to refresh our sleep. Watch a recording of of it right here.

For university students, good sleep may sometimes be difficult to achieve. You may find yourself pulling all-nighters, feeling groggy during the day, or even find yourself constantly waking up during the night. While studying and ensuring assignments are turned in on time are important for university students, so is sleep!

There are two basic types of sleep; non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM). Sleep begins with NREM  which occurs within minutes or even seconds of falling asleep. NREM is marked by stages 1 to 4, with stage 2 being repeated before finally entering REM sleep. REM is usually achieved about 90 minutes after the onset of sleep. REM usually lasts only a short time at first but lengthens with each cycle and can last up to an hour.

Stages of Sleep – The Dream Merchant's Shop

So why should you care or even invest in sleep resources? Sleep helps to improve our memory, and decreases stress and anxiety. It is vital for both physical neurological reasons. Sleep helps to repair tissues throughout the body and helps to strengthen our immune system. It’s important to remember that quality sleep improves the brain’s ability to consolidate and process factual information. With good sleep, the brain can better collect and store memories, which is helpful not just in our academic lives, but in all aspects. What would happen if we didn’t get enough sleep? Well, lack of sleep has often been linked to decreased memory, poor immune function, cardiovascular disease, impaired judgement and depression among other health issues.

Now you’ve had the what, asked the why, so here’s the how. As we continue to social distance and stay at home, it is important to keep healthy sleep habits. Things such as alcohol, caffeine, and even technology can interfere in our quality of sleep.  Here are three easy measures you can take right now to refresh your sleep.

  1. Utilize technology

Sleep apps, circadian alarm clocks, or even white noise devices can help you get a more restful sleep. They can help with logging sleep, doing meditation before bed, and even mimic natural sunlight to wake you up more naturally.

 

  1. Keep a sleep journal or routine

A sleep routine is a series of actions you can perform each night before going to bed. These actions can help prepare your mind and body for rest. A sleep routine can help you fall asleep more easily and stay asleep during the night. Your routine is unique to you! Make it yours! Some examples of things you can include are creating a cozy environment, making sure your room is at the right temperature, quiet and dark, reading a chapter from a book or using a diffuser.

 

  1. Try Mindfulness meditation

Studies show that mindfulness meditation is helpful for sleep because it evokes a relaxation response by breaking your train of thought. This technique involves focusing on your breathing and bringing your mind to the present, focusing on the now rather than the past or future. Mindfulness can be practiced at any time of the day and doesn’t have to be done for a long period of time. Even a minute or two can help in practicing mindfulness.

 

So what are you doing to refresh your sleep?

If you’d like more information on how to refresh your sleep make sure to sign up for our Refresh Sleep email-based program by midnight on April 22, 2020. Sign up with this link: https://tinyurl.com/r78xoee