Sleep Tool Kit

Respect your time between the sheets, and follow these tips for a satisfying slumber.

How to achieve your most satisfying snooze yet

G etting a good sleep is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. When you sleep the body fixes itself, recharges, reboots and makes miracles happen while you rest. It’s essential for your brain, liver, gut and your ability to rest and repair. When you sleep you also clear the brain of stress.

Not getting enough sleep makes you more susceptible to overeating, and getting less than six hours sleep per night can lead to fat deposits in the belly and becoming overweight – regardless of exercise levels!

“Sleep affects your entire health profile, from weight, skin, energy, fertility, and longevity and disease risk,” says health researcher, educator and best-selling author Jason Shon Bennett. “Every 90 minutes of sleep you miss, you generally eat around 500 calories more.” People getting a good night’s sleep are also 550 per cent less likely to contract a virus.

Here are Shon Bennett’s 20 Steps to Sleeping Well extracted from his book My 20 Golden Rules: Your Guide to Exceptional Health.

Make sure your bedroom is comfortable, clear, cool and well ventilated and your mattress is firm, your pillow the right size and you have clean, fresh sheets.

Avoid alcohol

Alcohol may make you fall asleep but it also causes you to wake a few hours later. A cup of caffeine-free herbal tea can be more soothing and less disruptive.