sleep better – part 1: GOOD GET-TO-SLEEP LIFESTYLE TACTICS

We spend a lot of time optimising our days. Our workouts, our diets, our skincare. And then we fall into bed, exhausted, and our minds kick into overthinking. The thing is, sleep isn’t something that happens to you at 10pm. Your body starts preparing for tonight’s sleep the moment you wake up this morning. Work with that, and everything changes. We asked chiropractor, wellness advocate, and friend of bellamumma Samuel Garner to walk us through the habits that actually work, because your body has been trying to tell you something…

The Case For A Morning Walk {and it’s not what you think}

Your body runs on a circadian rhythm, an internal clock that governs alertness, energy and sleep. Morning light is one of the most powerful things you can give it. Getting outside early triggers cortisol {the hormone that keeps you alert during the day} and primes your body to produce melatonin later that evening. That morning walk isn’t just good for your head. It’s setting you up for a better night’s sleep tonight.

It’s Not Just Whether You Exercise. It’s When.

Exercise does wonderful things for sleep. The catch is timing. Intense training elevates adrenaline and cortisol, and doing that late in the evening works against you. Morning or lunchtime is ideal. If evenings are all you’ve got, keep it gentle. A walk, a stretch, some yin yoga. Movement that helps your body wind down, not fire up.

Your Nervous System Doesn’t Switch Off On Command

By evening, the body needs to shift out of sympathetic mode {fight or flight} and into parasympathetic {rest and digest}. Most of us are still firmly in the former when we’re trying to fall asleep.

Making that shift takes a little effort. Sam recommends:
* Dimming lights and stepping away from screens two to three hours before bed, so melatonin can rise naturally
* Swapping work emails for meditation, gentle movement or herbal tea
* Eating a lighter evening meal
* Cutting caffeine by 2pm<

The Thing Nobody Tells You About Alcohol And Sleep

The nightcap is one of the great wellness myths. Alcohol might help you fall asleep faster, but it disrupts your sleep architecture, particularly REM sleep. Even one or two drinks leads to lighter, more broken rest throughout the night. Something worth sitting with. And then there’s stress carried in the body, often the most surprising culprit of all.

“If you wake up with a tight jaw or sore shoulders, that’s your body telling you it was holding tension all night,” says Sam. “That tension sends signals back to the brain, something isn’t relaxed here, and that keeps the stress loop running. Elevated heart rate. Racing mind. The feeling that you’re thinking too much to actually sleep.” It’s a nervous system problem as much as a sleep problem. And it starts sorting itself out long before lights out.

Connect & Contact

Samuel Garner is a chiropractor at Avalon Beach Chiropractic and Wellness
and co-founder of Sauna Amalfi.
Follow at @avalonbeachchiropractic and @saunaamalfi