By: Scott Frisch (contributor to the FM Beacon)
Sleep is in!
Over the last few years people’s interest in sleep has grown tremendously. The Wall Street Journal recently featured a front-page article about a growing number of Gen Z’s. They were boasting of a 9pm bedtime, placing sleep ahead of the party life.
A large number of people have apps on their phones or other devices to measure their sleep. People share their sleep tips on Tic Tok or video themselves sleeping (seriously, it’s a real thing). There’s been an explosion in sleep aids including; watches, rings, head wearing devices, natural solutions, and more.
From cooling and blood flow aiding mattresses to pills in all shapes and sizes, all of these sleep aides claim they will help you sleep better.
Which begs the question. Why are people sleeping worse than ever?
The answer? It’s complicated. To put it simply, we’re asking our brain to do something it wasn’t designed to do. Most of us don’t know the benefits of good sleep and how consistently bad sleep can literally make or break you.
That’s why I’m here. Every couple of weeks, I’ll provide an article giving you the facts and tips about good sleep that you may not find anywhere else.
My journey to better sleep started with a three year bout of chronic insomnia. The health impact was overwhelming, leaving me with depression, anxiety and in bad shape both mentally and physically. Through my own research, I realized the medical community had little to offer in the way of a solution. Insomnia was ruining my life. I needed to fix this situation on my own.
Over the past ten years, I’ve made it my mission to study sleep. I’ve followed the latest research, taking courses on the neurobiology of sleep. I even received a certification as a CBTi (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) instructor from a Harvard based program.
As my knowledge grew and my sleep got better, I befriended experts in sleep research from all over the world, asking questions and learning the best solutions and latest research. I not only recovered, but sleep research became my passion. It’s fascinating what is being discovered almost weekly about sleep and just how important it is.
My hope is to share information that can make a difference to some of you that may be suffering from poor sleep. Improving your sleep is not just as simple as reading an article or downloading an app, it takes effort.
If you’re a poor sleeper, improvement will pay amazing dividends. I’ll pass along great ideas and proven suggestions and provide the latest research results while giving you the truth about why most of the marketed products designed to help with sleep don’t work.
I’ll close this first article with a few interesting things you probably didn’t know about yourself when you sleep.
Did you know:
- Your body temperature changes consistently each day and there’s a reason why?
- You’re paralyzed several times during the night?
- The sun plays a huge role in your overall health, your sleep and how you sleep?
- In deep sleep, blood in your brain recedes and your spinal fluid is used to wash or clean your brain?
Breathing through your nose produces nitric oxide which is great for your blood and sleep?
We’ll cover these topics and many more in more detail. I hope I’m leaving you thinking more about sleep and how important it is to a healthy life. Please message me if you have any questions or have topics you’d like me to discuss!
Have a good night!
Scott
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