SLEEP

101
 SLEEP1
01

Wit
houtsl
eep,t
her
eislowenergyanddisease.Wit
hs leep,thereisvi
tal
it
yandhealth.
Mor
ethan20lar
gescaleepi
demiol
ogic
alstudiesal
lreportthes ameclearrel
ati
ons
hip:
theshort
eryoursl
eep,theshorteryourlif
e.

Therei
sabigdifferencebetweentheamountofsleepyoucangetbywit
h,andtheamountyou
needtofunc
tionopti
mally
.Int
oday’
sfast
-pac
eds oci
ety
,si
xorsevenhoursofs
leepmaysound
pret
tygood.I
nreali
ty
,though,
it’
sareci
peforchr
onicsl
eepdepri
vati
on.

Whil
esl
eeprequir
ementsv
arysli
ghtl
yfrom pers
ontoperson,
mostheal
thyadul
tsneedbetween
7to9hour
sofsleepperni
ghttofunct
ionatthei
rbest
.Ify
ouwouldcarr
yons l
eepi
ngifyour
al
armcl
ockwasturnedoffthenyouares i
mplynotget
ti
ngenough.

However,
it'
snotjustthenumberofhoursyouspendasl
eepthat'
simport
ant-it
'sals
othequali
ty
oft
hosehours.Thisiswhereyoucanmax i
misethehour
sthatyouarespendinginbed.Evenif
youcan’
tgetenoughs l
eepduetopersonalc
irc
umstanc
es,youcanatleastgetthebestqual
i
ty
poss
ibl
e.

©THENATURALEDGE
SLEEPHYGI
ENE

Thedefini t
ionofhygi
eneisasetofcondi
ti
onsorpract
icesconduc
ivetomaint
ainingheal
thand
prevent
ingdisease.Whenrel
atedt
os l
eep,i
tmeansav ari
etyofdi
fferenthabi
tsthatar
e
necessarytohavegoodnight
ti
mes l
eepquali
tyandful
ldayti
mealert
ness.

Get
ti
ng(
ornotget
ti
ng)gr
eats
leepev
eryni
ghti
sof
tenduet
otwoi
mpor
tantf
act
ors
:

1.Yourdai
lyhabi
ts
2.Y
ours l
eepingenvi
ronment
.

Opt
imi
si
ngbot
hoft
hes
eiskeyt
osuc
ces
sful
sleep.

YOURDAI L
YHABITS
Thet
hingsyoudoduri
ngthedayandl
eadi
nguptosl
eepi
ngatni
ghtc
ani
mpac
tyours
leepj
ust
asmuchastheenvi
ronmenty
ouchoos
etos l
eepi
n.

1.EstablishARegul arRout i
ne
Gett
ingi ntoaregularroutineofgoi
ngtobedandr i
singatthes ametimesever
ydayi
soneofthe
mosti mpor t
antpr
ac t
icesy oucanperf
ormforbet
ters l
eep.
Par tofkeepi
ngahealt
hybedti
me
rout
inei stokeepitupev enontheweekendsbyav oidi
ngs t
ay i
nguplateandsl
eepi
ngin.
Deprivingy our
sel
fofs l
eepdur i
ngthemidweekandbi nge-
s l
eepingontheweekendsdoesmore
harmt oy oursl
eepc yclesthangood.

2.Avoi dCaffei neAndNi coti

neCloseT oSl
eep
Caffei neandni cot
inear
es ti
mulant
sthatcanmakei
tdi
fficul
ttogotosleeporst
ayasl
eepunti
l
thec hemi cal
swearoff. I
deallythes
es houl
dbecons
umedearl
ieri
ntheday,es
peci
al
lycaffei
ne.
Thisinc ludes:
l T ea
l Co ffee
l Da rkc hocol
ate
l E ner gydrinks
l F izzydr i
nkss uc
hasc oke

3.AvoidAlcoholBefor
eSleep
Whilealc
ohol(adepres
sant)c
anhelpyouf
all
asleepfas
ter
,i
tc ont
ri
but
estopoorqual
i
tys
leep
l
ater.I
tal
soblocksREM sl
eep(themos
tres
torat
ivet
ypeofsleep),
meaningy
ouwakeupfeeli
ng
groggyandunfocused.

4.TurnScreensOff
El
ec t
roni
cdev i
cesemitsuffici
entlighttomiscuethebrai
nandpromotewakef
ulnes
s.Usi
ngthem
befor
ebeddel aysyourbody’
sinternalcl
ock,suppr
essesther
eleas
eofthesl
eep-i
nduc
ing
hormonemel at
onin,andmakesitmor edifficultt
ofal
lasl
eep.

©THENATURALEDGE
5.ExposureToDaylight
Yourci
rcadi
anrhythm,theint
ernalcl
ockthatregul
atesperi
odsofsl
eepandwakef ul
nes
s,i
s
t
rigger
edbylightanddarkness.Gett
ingampleamount sofnatur
all
i
ghtduri
ngthedayandles
s
l
ightatni
ghthelpskeepy ourci
rcadi
anrhythm i
nharmonywi t
htheext
ernalworl
d.

6.Ex erci
se
Wor kingout
,andespec i
al
lymoderat
e-i
ntens
it
yaer
obi
cex
ercis
e(e.
g.wal
ki
ng)i
sbenefic
ial
for
reduc i
ngtheti
meittakestofal
las
leepandincr
eas
est
helengt
hofsl
eep.

7.Rel
axationT echniques
Pract
icerelax
at i
ontechniquesbef
orebedti
met ohel
pgety ourbodyandmi ndpreparedforsleep.
Dwelli
ngonpr obl
emsorbr i
ngi
ngargumentst
obedc ankeepy ouawakeandwor r
ying.Acti
vi
ties
suchasmedi tati
ngands t
ret
chi
ngcanhelpeas et
hestr
essesi nthebodyandmindbef orebed-
ti
me.Wr i
ti
ngy ourfrustr
ati
onsouti
naj our
nalcanal
sobether apeuti
candstr
essrel
ieving.

8.Don’
tForceSleep
I
fyoucan'
tsl
eep, goi
ntoanotherroom anddosomethi
ngrel
axi
ngunt
ily
ouf
eel
tir
ed.
Lyi
ng
awakeandfr
ustr
atedwil
lonlyfur
thercompoundtheprobl
em.

9.UseNapsWi thCare
I
fyouhavetroubl
esleepi
ng,avoi
dnaps
,especi
al
lyi
nt heaf
ter
noon.Powernappi
ngmayhelp
yougett
hroughtheday,buti
fyoufindt
hatyoucan'
tfall
asl
eepatbedti
me,eli
minat
ingev
en
shor
tcat
napsmayhel p.

10.ChangeYourPercept
ion
Star
tthi
nki
ngaboutsl
eepasaki ndofwork,orli
kegoi
ngt
othegy
m(wit
hthekeydi
fferencethat
i
tisbothfr
eeandenjoyabl
e.)I
nst
eadoflogginghowmanyst
epsy
ou’
vedoneonyourFit
bit
,
tr
ackandboastaboutyourshut
eyecount!

“
Ifyoutoldanat hleteyouhadat r
eatmentthatwouldreducethechemic
alsassoci
ated
wi
thstr
es s
,thatwoul dnatural
lyi
ncreasehumangr owthhormone,t
hatenhancesrecover
y
rat
e,thatimprov esperf
ormance,theywouldalldoit
.Sl
eepdoesal l
ofthos
ethings.
”
CaseySmi t
h,HeadAt hl
eti
cTrai
ner,Dal
lasMaver
icks

Sleepisli
kef
ood,waterandai
r,t
hebas i
cbiologi
cal
needthathumanshavetohavetos
urvi
ve.
BUTi fyouwantt
ogobey ondsurvi
valt
heny ouhavetoopti
miseyours
leepandreal
i
seit
svalue,
toenhancenotonlyy
ourhealt
hbuty ourperf
ormancetoo.

I
fyouwanttobes t
rong,fas
t,andful
lofenergy
,getenoughgoodqual
it
ysl
eep!Dot
hatand
t
heres
twillf
alli
ntoplacemuc hmoreeasi
ly.

Soci
etyr
einf
orc
esthatsl
eeplossequal
sabadgeofcour
age;youdon’thav
etos l
eeps oyoucan
getthej
obdone.Y
et,all
thesci
encesayst
hisi
scomplet
erubbi
sh.Youmightt
hinkthatway,but
yourper
for
mancewill
suffer.
©THENATURALEDGE
Bui
ldi
ngYourRout
ine

Bui
ldi
ngaregul
ars
leep/
wakecy
cleandsti
cki
ngt
oitasof
tenaspos
sibl
e,ev
enont
heweekends
,
wil
lpayy
oubackwithi
mprov
edsleepandmoreener
gy.

1
.Thinkaboutyourmorni
ngs,whaty
ouneedt
ogetdoneandwhatt
imey
ouneedt
obeoutt
he
doororengagedwithyourday?

2.Selectawaket i
met hatgi
vesyouenought imetoc omplet
eyourmor ni
ngrout
inewit
hout
rushing.Bereali
st
icaboutthi
s.Gi
vey ours
elfnolessthananhourforthesi
mplestwake-
upr
outinethati
ncludesri
sing,
bathi
ng,havingbreakf
ast,andgett
ingori
entedf
ortheday.

3.Onceyourwaketi
meisset
,workback7to8hourst
odeter
minet
heri
ghtbedti
mefory
ou.
Sevenhoursi
sthemini
mum youshoul
dbeaimi
ngfor
.Andremember
,thi
sisy
ourac
tual
bedti
me,nott
hetimeyoust
artt
ogetreadyf
orbed.

4.
Towi
nddownbef
orebed,
giv
eyour
sel
fatl
eas
t30–60mi
nut
esbef
orey
ourac
tual
bedt
ime.

5.
Bepr epar
edt
omakeadj
ust
ment
sonc
eyou’
ves
tar
teds
leepi
ngandwaki
ngonar
egul
ar
schedul
e.

6.All
owy our
sel
fti
metogetcomfort
able.
Norout
ine,event
hemostheal
thyone,f
eel
sper
fec
tly
effortl
essri
ghtf
rom t
hest
art
.Itmaytakeyoual
itt
leti
metoac
cli
matetoyournewsl
eep-
wake
schedule.

7
.Itwil
lgeteasi
er.
Ify
ous t
ickwi
thi
t,ar
out
ineofr
egul
arbedandwaket
imesc
anev
ent
ual
l
yfeel
bothnatur
alandwelcome.

8.MakeGr adualAdj us
tment s:Youwon’ tbeabletochangeyoursl
eepschedul
eov er
night
.The
mos teffecti
vetac t
icistomakes mallchangesslowl
y.I
fyou’
retr
yingt
ogot osl
eepat1 0:
00pm,
rathert
hanmi dnight,forexampl e,t
rythis:
l F ort
hefir s
tthreeorf ournights,gotobedat1 1:
45pm,andthengotobedat11:
30pm forthe
nextf
ewday s
.
l K eepadjust
ingy ours l
eeps cheduleli
ket hi
s.
l B yworki
ngi n15-minuteincrement s,
y ourbodywil
lhaveaneasi
erti
meadjust
ing.

9.Thoughi
t’
scert
ainl
ytempti
ngtohi
tthes
noozebutt
oni
nthemorni
ngt ogetafewext
rawi
nks
,
resi
st.
Thefirs
tfewday sofget
ti
ngupear
li
erwon’
tbeeasy
,butpos
t-s
noozesleepi
sn’
thi
gh
quali
ty
.

1
0.Bepati
entwi
thyour
self
,anddon’twor
rywhenday
sandni
ght
sdon’
tgot
opl
an.
Aimf
or
cons
ist
encyandnotperf
ect
ion.

©THENATURALEDGE
BlueLightExpos
ure
Themoder nworl
disful
loflight,i
nfactyouhav etomakeaneffor tt
oseekoutdarkness .
There’
salsomorebl
ue-wav elengthli
ghtthanever.Thi
sshort
-wavel
engthli
ghti
splenti
fulinmany
energy-
effic i
entl
i
ghtsourcesanddi gital
devices.
Beingawareofwhenandhowmuc hlighty
ou
consumec anhel
pyouprotec tyoursleep,andensureyoufunct
ionatyourbestdur
ingtheday .

Scient
ificst
udieshavepinpoint
edbluel
ightasafor
m ofli
ghtt
hat’
sespec
iall
yaggr
essi
vei
n
tr
igger
ingsleepl
essness
. Bluel
ights
uppress
esmelatoni
nproduc
tionf
ormorethantwi
ceasl
ong
asotherli
ghtwavelengt
hs ,
andalter
sci
rcadi
anrhyt
hmsbyt wi
cethedegree.

I
nterf
erenc
ewi t
hthebody ’
s24-hourci
rcadi
anr hyt
hmsc anhaveasi
gnific
anteffectonheal
th,
creat
ingpr
oblemswiththecardi
ovasc
ular,metabol
ic,andimmunesys
tems,di
stur
bingmood,
andc ompr
omisi
ngc ogni
ti
vefuncti
on.Wheny ourcir
cadianrhy
thmsar
eoutofwhac k,y
outhi
nk,
feel
,andperf
orm bel
owy ourbest.

Bl
ueLightFi l
ter i
ngSoftware&Apps
l Therear eanumberofappst hatworktoreduc
ebl uel i
ghtex posuredur i
ngev eninghour s.
l Manys martphonesandt ablet
sincl
udet hes
eblue- l
i
ghtfilteri
ngappsaspar toftheiroperat
ing
systems .Appl e’
sNightShif
tisabuilt
-i
niOSapp, thatcanbes cheduledtos hif
ttowar mer,
redderwav elengthl
ightintheeveningsandbackt obright,mor ehighl
ybl ue-wav el
engthli
ght
inthemor ning.
l Fl
uxi safrees of
twarethatadjus
tstheli
ghtofyourc omput ertomatc hthec ycl
eofnat ural
sunlightwher ey ouli
ve,andadjustli
ghtint
heev eningstor educebr i
ghtnes sandbl ueli
ght.

Bl
ue-l
ightBl ocki
ngFi lt
ers&Gl asses
l Bothfil t
ersforsc r
eensandbl ue-l
ightbl
ocki
ngey ewearareav ai
labl
e, toreduceunwanted,
poorlytimedex posure.
l Tar
get ed,spec i
alt
ylightbulbs.
l Oneoft hemos teffec ti
veway stomanagelightexposureistous eLEDl i
ghtbulbsthatprov
ide
thes pec i
fickindofl i
ghtthat’
sbes tf
ordayandnight.
l Energyeffic i
entLEDl i
ghtbulbsarenowmadewi thourcir
cadianbiologyinmind, desi
gnedto
minimi z
et henegat i
veeffec tsofbluewavel
engthl i
ghtatnight
—andt akeadvantageofthose
sti
mul ati
ngeffec t
sdur i
ngtheday .

Scr
eensAtNi ght
l I
t’sonet hingt or el
axi nfrontoft hetelev i
si
onf or
awhi ledur ingt heev ening, andqui teanothert o
hav ey ourheadbur i
edi ny ours martphoner ight
upunt ill
ight sout .
l Thedegr eeandi ntensityofar t
ifici
al andbl uewav e-
lengthl i
ghtex pos uremat t
er.
l Givey ourselfamobi l
edev icec ut-
offt ime.
l Thec l
os ery ougett obedt i
me, t
hel essinteracti
veyourmedi
ac ons
umpt
ionshoul
dbe.
Studiess howt hats oci
al medi aandot herhighlyi
nter
act
ivef
ormsofmedia(
thi
nk:
video
gamesandappgames )arees peciallydisr
upt i
vetosl
eep.

©THENATURALEDGE
Str
essManagement
I
ntoday’
ssociet
y,wethri
veonper f
ormance,
compet
it
ionandperf
ect
ion,
whi
chunwit
ti
ngl
yleads
tori
si
nglev
elsofstr
ess.Str
esscausesdamaget
hati
softenunder
est
imat
ed,
andit
’
simpacton
oursl
eepcanbepar t
icul
arl
ydamaging

Str
esstouchesall
soci
algr
oupsandall
agec at
egori
es;noonecantrulyes
capeit
.However
,
somepeopl earemor
edeeplyaffect
edbyitsconsequences
,dependingonthei
rper
sonal
,
psychosoc
ial,
prof
ess
ional
andhealt
hbackground.

Thereareseveralwaystocounterst
ressbutonepower fult
ool
canbemedi t
ationwhichcounters
the“st
ressresponse”wit
ha“ r
elaxat
ionres
ponse,”l
eadingtoadecreasei
nbloodpr essur
e,
hear
trate,andox y
genc ons
umpt i
on.Medit
ati
onalsocreatesamoregradualchangeinthebrain,
whic
hi swheremedi t
ati
onreal
lyworksitsmagic
.

Meditat
ionc entr
esyouandal l
owsar epri
ev ef r
om theintens
it
yofthewor l
d,i
thelpsthemi ndto
rec
onfigur eitsel
f.
Asar esul
t,wetendtot hinkofmedi t
ati
onasas pir
it
ualandcerebralpracti
ce.
Butasthoughtc onvert
stoaction,
meditation’sinfluenc
eont houghtsubsequentl
yconv ert
sinto
moremi ndfulandeffectiveacti
on.Themedi t
ati
ngmi ndtakescareofthemeditat
ingbody .I
teats
bett
er,exerci
sesmor e,andshedsphysicallydeteri
orat
ivehabit
s.

Soitisnosurpri
sethatsomeoft hebes tat
hlet
esandteamsinthewor lduses omeform of
meditat
ion.Af
terwinni
ngt he2014SuperBowl t
heSeatt
leSeahawksr evealedtheyhadused
meditat
ionpract
icestohelpstay“i
nthez one”andperf
orm underhigh-st
akess i
tuat
ions
.LeBr
on
Jamesfamous l
ytookthistothenextlevelbymedit
ati
ngduringatimeouti nthe2012NBA
play
offst ohelphi
mr efocusfort
hetas kahead.

Soaswel lasthebenefit
syougetwit
hs l
eepandfeel
ingbetteronadayt odaybasi
syoucan
i
mprovey ourphysi
calper
for
mance.Whenwepus hoursel
vest oourli
mit
sorfindoursel
ves
uni
ntent
ionall
ypushedbyexter
nalc
irc
ums t
ances
,theuntr
ainedmi ndhasdifficul
ty
.

I
twantstogi
vein.I
twantst
oret
reatbackt
oapl ac
eofc omfor
t,saf
ety
, andlowri
sk.But
medi
tati
onbui
ldsacert
ainment
almusclet
hatteachesustotr
ustourselves
.Thi
strustal
l
ows
ust
oac compl
ishmoret
hanwemi ghtcons
iderpossi
bleot
herwis
e.

©THENATURALEDGE
HowT oGetStar
tedWithMedit
ati
on
Ther
earemanyway syoucangoaboutt
hisbutwebel
i
evebyf
artheeas
ies
tistos t
artoff
byusi
nganappony ourphone.
Therear
es ev
eral
outt
her
eandnearl
yal
lofthem havea
f
reetr
ial
peri
od.

Thes
ear ethemos
tpopul
ar:
l Headspace
l WakingUp
l Calm

AtTNEwer ecommendt
heWakingUpappbySam Har
ri
swhi
chwehav
efoundt
obet
he
easi
estt
ofoll
ow.Weal
soli
ket
heiret
hos
:

“
Waki
ngUpi
sri
sk-
fr
ee.I
fyoudon’
tfindi tval
uabl
e,wewi
llgi
veyouaf
ullr
efund.No
ques
tionsasked.

I
fyouwouldli
ket
ousetheappbuttr
ulyc
annotaffordi
t,pleas
eemailusat
suppor
t@waki
ngup.
com s
othatwecangiveyouafreeaccount
.

Whi
leweoper
ateabusi
nes
s,webeli
evethatmoneys
houldneverbet
her
eas
onwhy
someonecan’
tgai
nac ces
stoWaki
ngUp.”

Thefir
st5medi
tat
ionsar
efr
eeandeac
hmedi
tat
ioni
sonav
erage1
0mi
nut
esl
ong.

I
nourex peri
enceitisbestt
omeditat
ei nthemorning,eit
herfirs
tthi
ngorafteryourworkout
.
St
artsmallandgraduall
ybuil
dupthetimet haty
ous pendmedi t
ati
ng.Tr
yandbepat ient
si
nceitcantakeac oupleofweeksbeforey oust
artt
or eal
lynot
icethebenefits
,butsti
ck
wi
thitandy ouwil
lber ewar
ded.

Somethingthatmaybeusef
ultorememberisthatthes essi
onsdonothavetobeenj oyabl
e.
I
nf ac
tonoc casi
onst
heymightbear eal
battl
e!Butjustli
kedoingaworkout
,ify
ouper sever
e
thebenefitswil
lcomelat
err
atherthanduri
ngtheses s
ionitsel
f(j
ustl
i
kemusclesrepair
ing
aft
erexerci
se).

©THENATURALEDGE
BonusExerc
ise:RemoveTheSource
Youmightal
soli
ketotryt
hist
act
icf
orident
if
yi
ngt
heunder
lyi
ngc
aus
esofs
tres
sify
ouf
eel
your
sel
funderpress
ure.

Setasi
de10mi nut
esandlis
talloft
hereas
ons
whichyouthi
nkarecont
ributi
ngtoyourst
res
s.
Nextsortt
hem int
o3categori
es:

1.Thosewit
hapracti
cal
solut
ion.
2.Thos
ethatwil
lgetbet
teranywaygi
vent
ime.
3.Thos
ey oucan’
tdoanythi
ngabout.

Afterthi
swri
teoutaplanwit
htheact
ionsavai
l
abletoyou.Thismightinvol
vesetti
ngy our
sel
f
reali
st
icexpect
ati
onsandpri
ori
ti
si
ngessent
ialcommit
ments.Ifyoufeelover
whelmed, ask
peopletohelpwit
hthetasksyouhav
et odoands ay‘
no’t
ot hingst
haty oucannottakeon.

T
akec
ont
rol
byt
aki
ngs
mal
lst
epst
owar
dst
het
hingsy
ouc
ani
mpr
ove.

l Arey
out aki
ngontoomuc
h?
l Aret
herethi
ngsyouar
edoingwhichcoul
dbehandedov
ert
osomeoneel
se?
l Canyoudot hi
ngsi
namorelei
sur
elyway?

Y
oumayneedtopri
ori
ti
sethi
ngsyouaretr
yingt
oac
hiev
eandr
e-or
gani
sey
ourl
i
fes
othat
y
ouar
enottr
yingt
odoev ery
thi
ngatonce.

Thes i
mpl
eac tofhav
ingever
ythi
ngoutofyourheadandonpaperc
anbev
erypower
ful
for
gai
ningcl
ari
tyonwhatc anbedonetoreducel
evelsofs
tres
s.

ALSO

Trytokeepthingsi
npers
pec ti
veanddon’tbetoohar
dony ours
elf.
Ifyouconti
nuetof
eel
overwhel
medbys t
res
s,seekingprof
essi
onalhel
pcansupportyouinmanagingeffect
ivel
y.
Donotbeaf rai
dtoseekprofessi
onalhel
pify
oufeelt
hatyouarenol ongerabl
etomanage
thi
ngsony ourown.

Manypeopl
efeelr
eluc
tantt
oseekhel
pastheyf
eelt
hatiti
sanadmiss
ionoff
ail
ure.
Thi
sisnot
t
hecaseanditi
simport
antt
ogethel
passoonaspossi
blesoyoucanbegi
ntofeelbet
ter
.

Thefirs
tper
sont
oapproachi
syourfami
l
ydoctor
.Heorshes
houl
dbeabl
etoadv
iseabout
tr
eat
mentandmayr
eferyout
oanotherl
ocal
prof
essi
onal
.

©THENATURALEDGE
2.YourSl
eepi
ngEnvi
ronment

Overt
hecours
eoftheirl
i
fetheaveragepersonwill
s l
eepfornearl
y230,
000hoursassuming
t
heyget8hoursofres
teachnight
.Thesehoursamountt oapproxi
matel
y⅓ ofy
ourli
feti
me,
soi
tmakessensetohaveabedroom thaty
oul ookforwar
dtos pendi
ngti
meineachnight.

Thereshoul
dbeapos
it
iveas
soc
iat
ionbet
weeny
ourbedr
oom andf
eel
i
ngsofr
estand
regener
ati
on.

As l
eepsanct
uaryisac omf
ortabl
eenv i
ronmentthatpromotesrest
ful
sleepforbett
erhealt
h.
Thepurposeofcreat
ingasleepsanctuaryi
storemov edist
ract
ionsfr
om yourbedroom t
hat
i
nterf
erewit
hpropers l
eep,
aswel lastoimprov
es leepqual
itywit
hmat eri
al
sthatproduc
ea
tr
anquil
envi
ronment.

As l
eeps anctuar
yinvol
vesmor ethanjustgoods l
eephy giene.Whileit
’simport
anttoav
oid
fact
orsthatpreventyoufr
om f
alli
ngas l
eepatnight(suchass c
roll
i
ngthr oughsoci
almedia
andbei ngst
imulatedbythebluelightf
rom youriPhone)
, asleepsanctuaryshouldal
sobea
placethatal
lowsy outodecompres sandfeelateaseasy ouent eryours l
umber.

Here’
showt otrans
formyourbedroom i
ntoasleepsanc
tuar
yint
eneas yst
eps.
Byopti
misingyoursleepenvi
ronment,
notonl
ywi l
lyouwakeupfeeli
ngmor eenergis
edand
ref
res
hed, buty
ou’l
lbegintonoti
cethephysi
calandmental
benefitsthatnat
ural
l
yc omewit
h
goodsleep.

©THENATURALEDGE
1.Associ
ateYourBedroom Wi thSleepAndSexOnl y
Thesearereall
ytheonlyac ti
vi
ti
esthatyourbedroom shoul
dbedes i
gnedfor.Doinganyother
acti
vi
ti
esinyourbedroom c ancaus ey
ourmi ndtoassoci
ateitwi
thot
hers t
imulat
ingendeavor
s.
Don'twatchTV,l
ist
entot heradio,ort
alkwithyourpart
nerabouti
mpor t
antli
feoccur
rencesor
probl
emsi nbed.Bri
ngingstimulat
ingcontentorconvers
ati
ontobedc ankeepy ouawake
engagingini
torwor r
yingabouti t
.

2.KeepElec tr
onicsOutOfTheRoom
Allel
ectr
oni cdevic
esincl
udi
ngTV's,tabl
ets,
lapt
ops ,andphonesshouldbekeptoutofthe
bedroom asmuc haspossi
ble.
Forstart
ers
,thecontentmaybes ti
mulati
ngandkeepy ou
awakeasy ouplay"jus
tonemor egame"orread" j
ustonemor epost
."Fur
thermore,
theblue
l
ightemitt
ingfrom manyofthesedevicesi
nterf
ereswi t
htherel
easeofmelatoni
n,ahormone
thatpr
omot ess l
eep.

3.KeepYourRoom Dark
Li
ghtisbadforsl
eepasitcandi
sruptyourc
irc
adi
anrhyt
hm.
Keepyourroom dar
kbyus i
ng
heavywindowshades,
wear i
ngas l
eepmask,andav
oidi
ngst
ari
ngatgl
owingelect
roni
cs.
Seebelowforti
psonblacki
ngoutyourroom.

4.KeepYourRoom Qui et
Noisecankeepy ouawakes omakes ureyourroom isasf
reeofunnecessarysoundsas
possi
ble.Ify ou'
resti
llhav
ingtroubl
esleepi
ngbec auseofnoi
syneighborsorothersi
nthe
housec ons i
derus i
ngearplugstobloc
kouts oundort r
yusi
ngwhitenois
e. Fansandsound
machinest hatmakec ont
inuousrhy
thmicsoundsc anbebothrel
axi
ngandai dindrowning
outdist
ractingors uddennoises.

5.KeepYourRoom Cool
Asyougot osl
eepyourbodyt
emperaturebegi
nst
odr opasitpr
eparesi
ts
elff
orsl
umber
.
Keepingyourr
oom acoolt
emper
atur
e( bet
ween60-67°F/1
5-19°
C)canhel
paidthepr
ocess
ofcooli
ngyourbody
.

©THENATURALEDGE
6.MakeYourBedAsComf yAsPos si
ble
Mostmat t
res
sesaregoodforabout9y ear
s.I
fyourmattr
essisoutofdat
eoruncomfor
tabl
e,
gett
inganewmat t
resscangoal ongwaytowardsgreatsl
eep.Hav i
nganuncomf
ort
ablepi
ll
ow
orbeddingcankeepyoufrom sl
eepaswel l
.I
fyou'
reconstant
lyreadj
ust
ingy
ourpi
ll
owbefore
bedtime,i
tmaybetimetogetanewone.

7.KeepSnac ksWhereTheyBel ong

Eati
nginthebedroom tell
sy ourbrainthatit'
sanarear eservedforact
ivi
ty
, whic
histhe
opposi
teofwhaty ouwantf oragoodni ght'
srest.Wewantt otel
loursensestowinddown,
notact
ivat
ethem withfood!Sokeept hef oodwher eitbelongs,i
nthekitchenordini
ngroom
—thati
nc l
udeslat
e-ni
ghtsnac ki
ng, Sat
ur daytakeout,
orlaz ySundaybrunc hi
ng.

8.Us eASunlightAl
armToWakeUp
Thisprovi
destwobenefits.Fi
rst
lyitall
owsyoutowakeupt oli
ghtwhic
hkic
ks t
art
sthenat
ural
bi
ologicalr
hyt
hm ofyourbody.Sec ondl
y,al
ightal
armcloc
kwakesy ouwi
thanatural
,
graduall
ybri
ghteni
ngli
ght,
helpingy oufeel
refr
eshed,
aler
tandenergi
sedall
day.

Wes l
eepin90-mi
nut
ec y
cles,
brokendownintosepar
atephases.Aconv
entionalalar
m wi
l
l
j
olty
ouawakenomat t
erwhatphaseyouarein.Ali
ghtal
arm wakesy
ougr aduall
y,pull
i
ngyou
gent
lyoutofy
oursl
eepcycles
.Seebelowforrec
ommendat i
ons.

9.UseThePowerOfSc ent
Ours enseofsmell
isdeeplyconnect
edtoourmemor i
esandemot ions
.Infac
t,ar
omather
apy
i
sbas edontheideathatcert
ainsmel
lscandir
ectl
yaffectourner
v oussyst
em. Di
ffusi
ngan
essenti
aloi
lorli
ghti
ngacandlewhil
ey ougetreadyf
orbedc ansendas i
gnaltoyourbr
ain
thati
t'
sti
met owinddown.

I
ns omestudi
eslavender,r
ose,andsandalwoodhavebeenshownt or
eli
eveanx i
ety,
str
ess ,
anddepressi
on—s othosearegreatopt
ions.Youc
analsomakeahomemadel avenderspray
(
withonepartwater,onepartwi
tchhazel,and20dropsofl
avenderes
senti
aloil
)tospri
tzon
yourpi
ll
owbeforey ouli
edown.

10.CreateYourOwnOas i
s
I
t’si
mpor tanttoremov eanythi
ngi nyoursanct
uar
ythatmaycausestr
essormakei tf
eell
ikea
multi
-purposer oom –forexampl e,bi
l
ls,
loosepaper
sortext
books.
Ifyouhav eadeskinyour
room, i
t’
sagoodi deatomov eittoanotherareai
nyourhometopreventt
hes eit
emsfrom
accumulatinginy oursl
eepspac e.Inf
act,oneoft
hebestst
epstostar
tbuil
dingas l
eep
sanct
uaryi stodec l
utt
eryourbedr oom.

©THENATURALEDGE
BlackoutYourRoom
Li
ghts endssi
gnal
stoyourbodythati
t’
sday
time(
akat
imetostayawake),whi
chcansuppres
s
melatoninpr
oduct
ion.
Yourgoalshoul
dbetomakeyourbedr
oom asdarkaspossi
ble.The
goldstandar
dispit
chblac
ki.
e.notbei
ngabletos
eeahandinfrontofyourf
ace.

Theeasies
twayt oachievethi
sisthr
oughtheus
eofblackoutcur
tai
nsorabl
ackoutbli
nd.
Alt
houghthistas
kwi l
li
nvolv
es ometimeandmoney,i
tisaninves
tmenti
nyourl
ongt er
m
heal
th.Andfrom ourpers
pec t
iveoneoft
hemostimport
antonesyoucanmake.

Opti
on1-BlackoutCurtai
ns
Aswithal
loft
hef ol
lowingrecommendati
ons
,thes
ear ejus
tideastogetyoustar
ted.
There
aremanyopti
onsav ai
labl
es oyoumayneedtodoal i
ttl
ebitofresear
chtofindthebestfitf
or
yourownhome( dependingony ourwi
ndowarchi
tec
tureandy ourbudget
).

Thefirstopti
onistopurchaseasetofblac
koutcur
tai
nswhi
chcanbeusedonthei
rownori
n
conj
uncti
onwi t
hy ourex
ist
ingones.I
fyouplac
ethem i
nfr
ontoft
heonesyouhaveyouc
an
st
il
lret
ainthestyl
eoftheroom.

Her
eisj
ustoneopt
i Moondr
on: eam Cur
tai
ns

Opti
on2-AdaptExis
tingCur t
ains
Thi
sopti
onrequi
resalit
tl
emor eeffortbuti
sveryeffec
tiv
e.Si
mpl
ypur
chas
ear
oll
ofbl
ackout
mater
ial
suc
hasthis:BlackoutLini
ngMater
ial
.

T
akethi
sandatt
achitt
othebackofyourexi
st
ingc
urt
ains
.Unles
syou’
readabhandwi
tha
s
ewingmachi
neIsuggestus
ingaseamstr
essordr
ycl
eaners
.

©THENATURALEDGE
Option3-Tr
avelBl
ind
Thiscanbeagreatsol
uti
onastheyar
erel
ati
velycheapandalsopor
tabl
e.Howev er
,theydo
requir
eput
ti
ngupandt aki
ngdowneachday(real
i
s t
ical
l
ythi
sis30secsthough)
.

Herearetwoopti
ons:
GroAnywherePortableBlac
koutBli
nd
Easyni
ghtPor
tabl
eTr avel
BlackoutBl
ind

Opt i
on4-HomemadeBl i
nd/Cur tai
ns
I
fy ouhaveoddshapedwindowsorj ustwantt
omakeabl i
nd/
cur
tai
nthatperf
ectl
yfitsyour
windowsthisc
ouldbeanopt i
on.Forthecurt
ainpur
chaset
hesamemat er
ial
from Opti
on2
andt hens
ews omecurt
aintapealongthetopandplaceonacur
tai
nrail
.

Forthebli
nd,purc
hasethi
skit(
ther
estoft
hes
it
ehass
omegoodopt
ionst
oo)
:
Easybl
indsEasybl
ackoutKi
t

Thedownsi
dewiththeseopt
ionsi
sthatt
heydon’
tlookv
erypr
ett
y,buty
ouc
oul
dpl
acemor
e
at
tr
act
ivec
urtai
nsinfr
ontoft
hem.

Sunl
ightAl
arm Opt
ions

Therear
es everal
goodbrandsonthemar
ket,wit
hlotsofopt
ionsonAmazon.
ThemarketleaderseemstobeLumie,
andthei
rbasicmodelisexcel
l
ent
,howeveri
fyou
tr
avelal
oty oumaywanttolookf
oramoreportabl
eopt i
on.

FITFORTSunl
ightAl
arm
LumieBodycl
ock

©THENATURALEDGE
©THENATURALEDGE