INDEAL Cares is committed to helping to support you in your journey towards optimizing your health. Getting enough sleep is essential for helping a person maintain optimal health and well-being. When it comes to their health, sleep is as vital as regular exercise and eating a balanced diet. During this time, it is important that we all do what we can to stay healthy, and to keep our immune systems strong.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, adequate sleep for adults is between 7 and 9 hours a night. Click here for more specific guidelines, courtesy of the CDC.
Here are some sleep basics you should adopt now to enhance your immune system, courtesy of the Miletic Center:
Start early
· 8 Hours is your new minimum! A lack of sleep suppresses the immune system by 30% - so get more than you think you need to support a healthy immune system.
· Make sure you start early – target a bedtime of 10:00 pm at the latest – and start winding down one hour earlier.
Remove distractions
· Remove phones and electronics from your sleeping space. Instead, try music, reading, meditation, a hot bath and other relaxing activities will help you wind down for quality sleep.
Create a sleep environment that supports deep, uninterrupted sleep
· Ensure your bedroom is dark and quiet and cool – you can consider blackout shades, a white noise machine, and turn the thermostat down to 64 or lower.
· Keep a sleep journal or use an online app to track your sleep. If you’re really into tech tools, consider an Oura Ring – an advanced sleep tracker that is popular with The Miletic Center staff.
If you’re looking for more information on the benefits of sleep, check out this Matt Walker Ted Talk: Sleep Is Your Superpower
INDEAL Cares wishes to thank Dr. Miletic for providing the content for this blog post. Dr. Miletic is a renowned Neuropsychiatrist and former Olympic Weightlifter who founded the Miletic Center, bringing his life experience to his work as a pioneer of the Brain-Body-Mind approach to medicine. To learn more about the Miletic Center, click here.