Sleep Like a Bear

 

Have you ever heard the term “sleep like a bear”? To be honest I hadn’t until this week. Now I have a goal to do so! Ha. 


To me it just sounds so cool, I want to be big and strong like a bear and if we know one thing about bears we know they sleep A LOT! In fact they hibernate from 4-7 months in any given year depending on the temperature and how the winter months play out. Why do bears sleep so much? Well, that is another story. They sleep because they are sleeping through times of “famine” for them. It’d be hard to find food, forage and get fish when the ground is covered in snow and the lakes or streams are frozen. We of course need to sleep for different reasons, but it still sounds cool right? Let’s learn to sleep like a bear. 


How long do you sleep each night? 5,6,7,8,9,10 hours? Yes I know, it is crazy to think that people sleep 10 hours a night, but they do! And I really envy those people, sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I want all the benefits of sleep but I also want quality time with my family and specifically my wife, and with 2 children that time only really comes at the conclusion of the day! But don’t let me sidetrack this blog from the real focus, I want you to sleep better and here is why……

Sleep enhances your metabolic rate, it helps with hormone regulation and production, it helps us create more HGH (human growth hormone), it helps us burn more body fat and in general store less on our bodies, it helps us think and speak more clearly and of course it helps us perform better in the gym and in the workplace! It even increases our overall life expectancy! The more sleep you get is almost a direct correlation to living a longer life. And even all things aside most of you reading this just want to be healthier and look better naked, clearly look above one more time, sleep helps with those things! 

 

Some will argue that in fact sleep is more beneficial to our health than exercise even is. So if you have to choose less sleep or less working out, it is likely more beneficial for the choice to be less working out and getting more sleep. So, how can we sleep better? Here are simple take aways to help you sleep “like a bear”! 


  1. No caffeine 10 hours prior to bed
  2. Consistent bedtime each night
  3. Create a routine that starts with no screens or TV’s being watched 20-30 minutes prior to bedtime
  4. Have your room completely blacked out if possible
  5. Sleep in a cool temperature room
  6. Sleep with a weighted or heavier blanket
  7. Have a consistent wake up time (yes this helps you fall asleep sooner at night too)
  8. Exercise on a regular basis
  9. Do breathing exercises or static stretching just before getting in bed
  10. Have 1 scoop of Retire 20-30 minutes prior to bedtime to ensure you will fall asleep soon and stay asleep throughout the night. The combination of tryptophan and melatonin will help you rest like a baby but the casein will ensure you sleep and recover like a bear!