Sleep is a delicate phenomenon, easily disrupted by the most trivial of factors. Even a mere semblance of rest may not truly provide our bodies with the complete sleep cycles necessary for rejuvenation. Sultan Dajani, a trusted Community Pharmacist and advisor to DragonflyCBD sheds light on this matter in further detail…

Sleep Cycles

Sleep cycles can generally be split into non-REM and REM phases (Rapid Eye Movement). Each sleep cycle generally lasts around 90 minutes and if our sleep is interrupted, we go back to stage one and start going through the phases again. So, if sleep is broken the deep sleep stages may not be reached.

• Stage one: We fall into a light sleep and our eye movements are slowed down
• Stage two: Still in a light stage, the brain waves start to slow
• Stages three & four: The brain produces delta waves and this is when you will start to experience deeper and restorative sleep. This is when the body  begins to repair itself.

REM sleep is the most active stage. Our eyes move quickly , our brain is active, our blood pressure and heart rate go up and it’s in this stage that we dream. The REM sleep is a phase that’s closely linked with mental recharge and is believed to play an important role in learning, memory, and emotion, helping to regulate mood.

#1. Routine: Try to keep to your normal sleep times. This will help your body know what it should be doing and will make sure you are ready for sleep at the end of the day. It also aids mental health to know what we are doing day-to-day, and this in turn helps us sleep better.

#2. Exercise: If you can, get some daily exercise. It will release endorphins, the happy hormones, which makes us feel better and more equipped to handle things, giving us a calmer mind when it comes to settling down for the night. Exercise also expends energy and tires us out.

#3. Beauty sleep: A lack of snooze time is bad news for our skin. That’s why a good night’s shuteye  is described as getting your beauty sleep, for good reason. Research shows that even one bad night doesn’t do wonders for your face and skin. In a recent study, forty observers were asked to rate twenty photographs for tiredness, facial cues, and sadness. The faces of sleep-deprived people were perceived as having more hanging eyelids, redder and swollen eyes, paler skin, more wrinkles/fine lines, and droopier corners to the mouth.

#4. Note things down: Something that keeps us awake at night is the sheer number of thoughts that race through our minds. It can actually be trying to remember them that stops us from switching off properly. Keep a notepad handy and jot down any thoughts that come into your head as you get ready for bed. Also write down tasks that need to be done the next day, this will help you ‘release’ them from your memory.

#5. Sleep ZEN: There is a natural way that you can help your sleep and ease anxieties. A few drops of DragonflyCBD (p.43) as part of your daily routine ticks all the boxes for helping you feel relaxed, which also means better quality sleep to fully restore mind and body.  DragonflyCBD Oil has been shown to reduce anxiety, and the World Health Organisation has recognised that CBD may have the potential to help health issues such as anxiety and insomnia.

#6. Talk: Keep in contact with friends and family, it will help you feel more connected. Talking also helps us to release pent-up thoughts or share problems or worries, which when shared can make us feel instantly better. Avoid the temptation of retreating into yourself. With lockdown easing we all understand the worries and anxieties that lie ahead

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