Have you ever fallen asleep in a hammock in a forest or by the ocean? Or perhaps you’ve nodded off by a stream, the foothills of a mountain or verdant meadow while lying in the grass? If you have ever been lucky enough to experience any of these dreamy scenarios, you’ve never forgotten it.
You also know how powerful nature’s experience is and how it lets you wake refreshed and ready to tackle whatever comes next. It’s a sleep you will never forget – but will rarely achieve. In fact, most of us will never achieve such an experience. You see, this is the power of your brain on nature. Now you can put nature’s experience to work in helping you achieve a more restful sleep with Life Environments.
Sleepy? Tired? Frustrated?
If you’re like most of us these days, sleep – or the lack thereof – is a constant excuse for all sorts of our daily foibles and stumbles. Life is hectic and there are no shortages of things to do. While each of us are familiar with the medical warnings and have experienced the plight of not enough sleep, we rarely think of them anymore. Yet, sleep remains one of life’s most common negotiables when it comes to meeting the never-ending needs our insatiable lifestyles. Sadly, our willingness to sacrifice sleep is at the core of our tired lives.
As it turns out, sleep is an extremely complex activity. When we began studying sleep at Life Environments, our explorations delved into four main areas, 1.) Behaviors, 2.) Physiology, 3.) Stressors and 4.) Impacts. While a blog is not the place to explore these areas to any meaningful depth, a few patterns emerged that changed our understandings of the impacts of being sleep deprived and what a healthier sleep is really all about.
Let’s start with how we act. Behaviors are things we do that inhibit our ability to sleep. From mobile devices and television in bed to eating late, caffeine and alcohol, we engage in countless behaviors that inhibit our ability to sleep. We are not the greatest caretakers of our minds and bodies and are woefully ignorant of what they need to thrive.
Then there is physiology. In some cases disease processes make it all but impossible to sleep well. Insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, depression and countless other conditions make healthy and restful sleep all but impossible. If you have ongoing sleep issues, your first step should be a visit with your doctor. However, think twice before starting on sleep medications. They should be your absolute last resort.
Let’s talk about stress. Stressors are the ultimate killers of sleep - and people. Stress turns your mind and body into a fighting or flighting machine where sleep becomes the enemy. Stress releases hormones that prepare you for battle! It’s hard to sleep when your mind and body are preparing for war. Your blood pressure is elevated, vessels constricted, pupils dilated, your heart beats faster and you exist within the realm of heightened alert. Perhaps stress’ most sinister feature is that we often become so used to it we overlook the damage it is doing and has already done to our minds and bodies over time.
Finally, there are the impacts. Sleep deficiency changes you, your mind and body and life experience in so many harmful ways. Do you know that sleep deprivation is associated with Alzheimer’s disease? That’s right. Sleep is when your body cleanses your brain of the toxic proteins that are at the core of Alzheimer’s disease. Sleep deprivation is also highly co-morbid with mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. Sleep is closely connected to emotional regulation. The relationship between sleep deprivation and mental health disorders seems to be bi-directional. That is, mental health disorders can make it difficult to sleep, at the same time poor sleep can contribute factor to the initiation and/or worsening of mental health problems.
Sleep is involved in the regulation of blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Sleep can also impact our diet and physical activity levels. When we don’t get enough sleep our bodies can crave energy-dense foods rich in fats and carbohydrates. We also experience fatigue and sleepiness during the day which can reduce our motivation to exercise and impair our performance when we do exercise.
Sleep deprivation is associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic conditions including obesity, hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol levels), diabetes and hypertension. Having short sleep durations, particularly less than 7 hours per night is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality.
Sleep and the immune system are intently coupled. During sleep there is an increase in important proteins involved in immune function and inflammation (e.g., cytokines). Immune regulation during sleep may help with recovery and repair of wounds or fight off an infection. Consistent sleep can strengthen the immune response supporting a well-balanced immune defense system. This means that good sleep supports a more efficient response to vaccines and less severe allergic reactions.
Long-term sleep deprivation can negatively impact your immune response can enhance susceptibility to infections and a reduced immune response to vaccination. Sleep deprivation is thought to lead to a persistent low-grade inflammation, and also produce immunodeficiency, which both have harmful effects on health.
For the sake of brevity, we are simply going to say that sleep deprivation changes how you think profoundly. Having difficulty concentrating, trouble remembering things, processing information at a much slower pace, inferior balance and coordination, and an increased appetite for calorie dense foods are only a few of the adverse impacts we experience when we don’t get enough sleep.
So, there you have it! All of this time that you have been negotiating your sleep away, you have equally been exchanging your health and wellness. The most important question is what can you do about it?
Getting a Better Sleep Starts Here
As you can see, lots of things conspire to keep you from sleeping well. Achieving a healthier sleep starts by clearing as many of these things away as possible before beginning your journey toward a better night’s sleep. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are 6 major considerations you can do to improve your sleep.
1. Stick to a sleep schedule.
Set aside no more than eight hours for sleep. The recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult is at least seven hours. Most people don't need more than eight hours in bed to be well rested.
Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends. Being consistent reinforces your body's sleep-wake cycle.
If you don't fall asleep within about 20 minutes of going to bed, leave your bedroom and do something relaxing. Read or listen to Life Environments immersive experiences. Go back to bed when you're tired. Repeat as needed but continue to maintain your sleep schedule and wake-up time.
2. Pay attention to what you eat and drink.
Don't go to bed hungry or stuffed. In particular, avoid heavy or large meals within a couple of hours of bedtime. Discomfort might keep you up.
Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol are also contributors to your inability to sleep. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine take hours to wear off and interfere with sleep. Even though alcohol may make you feel sleepy at first, it disrupts sleep later in the night.
3. Create a restful environment.
Keep your room cool, dark and quiet. Exposure to light in the evenings make it more challenging to fall asleep properly. Also avoid prolonged use of light-emitting screens just before bedtime. Consider using room-darkening shades, earplugs, a fan or other devices to create an environment that suits your needs.
Doing calming activities before bedtime, such as taking a bath or using relaxation techniques including Life Environments immersive experience sessions can promote better sleep.
4. Limit daytime naps.
Long daytime naps can interfere with nighttime sleep. Limit naps to no more than one hour and avoid napping late in the day.
However, if you work nights, you might need to nap late in the day before work to help make up your sleep debit.
5. Include physical activity in your daily routine.
Regular physical activity can promote better sleep. However, avoid being active too close to bedtime.
Spending time outside every day is helpful in many ways, including sleep.
6. Manage stress.
Try to resolve your worries or concerns before bedtime. This is where Life Environments immersive audio experiences can play a significant role in helping you achieve healthier and more restful sleep. We will explore this in the next section.
Stress management is essential. Start with the basics, such as getting organized, setting priorities and delegating tasks. Meditation and yoga can ease anxiety.
How Life Environments Helps You Get a More Restful Sleep
While a majority of our customers subscribe to us initially for yoga, meditation and relaxation, most end up using our immersive products to help them sleep better! Life Environments immersive experiences center you in nature’s most spectacular spaces with lifelike experiences traditional nature audio recordings cannot provide.
Life Environments aural experiences deliver lifelike nature that interacts with your brain in ways that inhibit stress naturally while resetting your brain and mind naturally and safely.
How to Use Life Environments Aural Experiences.
Putting Life Environments Immersions™ to work for you begins about 45 minutes before you plan to be asleep.
In a nutshell, Life Environments aural experiences are not used to lull or dull you to sleep. In fact, that these are precisely what you DO NOT want. Our immersive experiences should be listened to JUST BEFORE you go to bed and NOT after you are in bed. The difference in your sleep results is significant using this method.
Let’s take a closer look at how to use Life Environments for a more restful sleep.
Life Environments Immersive Experience Details.
Life Environments Immersions™ aural experiences deliver full-length 30-minute immersive experiences. Visions™ are timed 15-minute experiences with a gentle chime at the 14-minute mark to remind you that your session is ending. Most prefer Visions™ to help melt the day’s pressures away prior to sleep.
Step By Step…
1.) Prepare for bed.
2.) With your mobile device, access your Life Environments account online and sign in.
3.) Choose a Life Environments experience to listen to. Many prefer forests and meadows, but you can listen to streams and oceans to explore as well.
4.) Find a safe and comfortable location to sit and relax.
5.) Life Environments experiences require non-noise canceling headphones or earbuds to deliver lifelike 3D sound. Place your headphones or ear buds on and adjust the volume to a safe level.
IMPORTANT – NEVER fall asleep with listening devices on! Sleeping with hearing devices on can damage your ears, hearing and the wires are strangulation hazards.
6.) Once settled in, start your experience and adjust the volume to a safe and comfortable level, sit back and enjoy your experience!
7.) Once your experience is complete, immediately proceed to your bedroom and enjoy your sleep!
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