You want to improve your health. You want to thrive! Get sleeping! In a world filled with never ending lists of things to tackle, this sounds counter intuitive. But sleep is one of the most significant, available (ironic, I know!) and cost-effective resources that you have at your disposal to significantly move the needle to aid your performance.
We’ve all had ‘those’ nights- the long ones where the clock ticks expectantly whilst sleep seems to evade us… and invariably this always seems to tackle us when it feels as if we can ill afford to be without deeply rejuvenating rest and quality sleep. The truth is, good quality sleep every night, should be mandatory as it’s one of the key determinants of our capacity to thrive. Sleep is a Health Imperative, which research shows is crucial to avoid the development of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as well as cognitive impairment.
- Did you know that simple things like improving your diet or investing in some black out curtains can ensure you get the quality sleep needed for optimum performance?
- Try out the installation of free blue blocking software on your electronic devices (or better yet, detox your usage of electronic devices from 6pm until bed time!)
Our team at Made to Thrive are passionate about sleep! Sleep has changed the ball game, so I recently purchased myself a pair of BON CHARGE Blue light Blocking Glasses – the world’s most advanced blue blocker light filtering eyewear and the benefits have been astounding!
Join me as I review my new shades and unpack sleep insights from my own experience as well as years of scientific research.
Light exposure
Exposure to natural light is one of the greatest gifts we could give our bodies. When we are exposed to sunlight, the skin absorbs Vitamin D which is a vital nutrient that reduces the risk of weight gain, heart disease and cancers. Vitamin D improves sleep, wards off seasonable depression and helps to prevent bone density loss.
Each morning this week, preferably within a couple hours after waking, figure out a way to expose your eyes without sunglasses (yes you read right!), ears, skin or entire body to as much natural sunlight or as much blue light as possible (just 10-20 minutes counts!). Decades of studies by John Ott have proved that deviations from natural patterns of light exposure to our eyes, has led to diseases.
At night, eliminate as much artificial light exposure as possible. Research studies have shown that artificial blue and sometimes even green light between 400 – 550nm, suppresses melatonin causing a shift in the body’s circadian rhythm when it passes through the body after dark. A circadian rhythm is the body’s 24-hour internal clock that is running in the background of our brains and cycles between sleepiness and alertness at regular intervals. Melatonin is the crucial hormone that tells our bodies when it’s time to sleep. If our bodies are not able to produce melatonin, our sleep, and consequently our circadian rhythms as well as our ultimate health, are negatively impacted.
Reducing screen time or installing blue light blocking software on our electronic devices can be really beneficial to ward off the negative effects of artificial light.
Changing the light bulbs in your home to incandescent bulbs (available for online purchase in South Africa), or to the BON CHARGE Lumi Lighting Blubs will also greatly reduce your negative exposure. Use Promo Code SteveStavs to receive a 15% discount on all BON CHARGE orders.
My BON CHARGE Sleep+ Glasses
Both blue and green light fall into the sleep disruption zone. Delving into further research on this topic, the team at BON CHARGE partnered with an Australian optics specialist and developed a red tint lens which blocks 100% of blue and green light between the ranges of 400 – 550nm. These lenses are fitted into the Sleep+ glasses and allow the production of melatonin despite being in an environment of artificial light.
I put on my Sleep+ glasses 2 – 3 hours before bed and then enjoy deeply restful sleep. If I’m travelling across time zones, I also wear them as they are great to re-align my body clock and mitigate the effects of jet lag.
There are many different colour lenses to choose from when it comes to blueblocker glasses so BON CHARGE have developed a range of differing lens’s and style options to ensure you select the glasses that are right for your personal situation. Prescription glass lenses are also available!
Made To Thrive clients receive a 15% discount on all BON CHARGE orders when entering the promo code SteveStavs on check out. Order yours today!
