In the quest for optimal health and well-being, the importance of quality sleep cannot be overstated. It's the foundation upon which our bodies regenerate. However, in today's fast-paced world, achieving restful sleep has become a distant dream for many. This article delves into the essence of quality sleep and how to enhance it, adhering to the principles of Functional Patterns (FP). We will cover why meditation for sleep and mouth tape for sleep may not be enough for optimal recovery.
Understanding Sleep and Its Importance
Sleep should be a passive activity making a good night sleep free of moving around. Although, it's also an active process involving various restoration functions inside the body. Quality sleep improves our immune system, brain function, and aids in muscle recovery. The effects of chronic sleep deprivation can be detrimental, leading to a myriad of health issues that may be hard to notice when constantly feeling tired.
Addressing Sleep Challenges
Understanding the root causes of sleep disturbances is crucial. Factors such as stress, poor posture, and environmental factors in the evening or night can disrupt sleep. FP protocols address these issues by promoting a way of living to reduce physical stressors that impede restful sleep rather than just a lifestyle that varies based on trends.
The Role of Mouth Tape For Sleep
External factors like using mouth tape for sleep may make a difference for some people but this likely falls short of addressing the root cause of suboptimal sleep. Mouth tape for sleep when done consistently long term may have significant postural changes to posture if someone mostly mouth breathes. In this case, it’s critical to avoid progressing too fast when taping too much of the mouth at first that could cause waking up mid sleep. Start off only applying a small piece of tape to the mouth to progressively train nose breathing over days or weeks while awake or asleep.
Meditation For Sleep
Many people might turn to meditation for sleep thinking it’s useful for improving recovery. Although some people may experience perceived benefits, we recommend at FP to tune into the boredom instead. The goal here is to assess the state of the body without forcing specific thoughts, positions, or breathing patterns. Developing body awareness through this assessment will facilitate solving dysfunctions and anxieties on the body when practicing FP protocols. It seems that traditional meditation for sleep falls short of translating to becoming a better problem solver.
Optimal Sleeping Basics
In a time where there are plenty of fads promoted to improve sleep, try the following behaviors for optimal sleep.
- Set a schedule and stay consistent with wake up times and bedtimes at less than 1 hour windows each day.
- Stick to the amount of sleep between 6-9 hours where you feel well rested when waking up.
- Complete moderate or greater intensity work at least 1 hour before bed.
- Get outdoor sunlight at the sunrise, midday, and sunset as much as feasible to time circadian rhythm.
- Replace artificial light at night including electronics and indoor lighting with fire or red lights.
- Make your bedroom as dark as possible and or wear a sleep mask to cover your eyes.
- Eat any food at least 3-4 hours before bed.
- Choose sobriety from all recreational drugs such as alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine.
- If you find yourself mouth breathing, try mouth tape for sleep.
- If you wake up from noises, consider ear plugs or some kind of ambient noise when you sleep.
- Focus on tuning into the boredom by doing nothing anytime during the day instead of meditation for sleep.
Photo by Benjamin Voros on Unsplash
Functional Patterns Take on Sleep
At FP, we have found that optimal sleep, once all of the basics are accounted for, relies on how efficient we move. Movement efficiency around the FP “First 4” - standing, walking, running, and throwing - is what builds a resilient structure and the ability to get well rested sleep.
FP training emphasizes the correction of dysfunctional movement habits to improve overall health, including sleep quality. Proper joint alignment attained with myofascial release (MFR) and corrective exercises around the FP “First 4” can significantly reduce discomfort that may be the culprit behind poor sleep. Proper joint alignment allows you to be more in control of your body resulting in being able to fall asleep and stay asleep much easier. FP corrective exercises are relatively very high intensity when they commonly combat the weakest muscles compared to a mattress or body position during sleep.
Conclusion
Quality sleep is a complex interplay of physical, environmental, and lifestyle factors. By applying Functional Patterns principles, individuals can address the root causes of sleep disturbances to foster an environment that supports regeneration. Mouth taping for sleep and tuning into the boredom may be useful tools for optimal sleep instead of traditional meditation for sleep. Most importantly, making optimizing the FP “First 4” - standing, walking, running, and throwing - a priority offers a pathway to not only improved sleep but also enhanced overall well-being.
If you're interested in Functional Patterns, we recommend you to find a FP Practitioner near you.
Learn more about Functional Patterns and sleep in the following resources:
- Beyond Sleeping Positions: Optimizing Sleep and Reducing Chronic Pain – Functional Patterns
- Solving the Insomnia Puzzle: Restful Sleep through Functional Patterns
- Non-Sleep Deep Rest: Bio-Hack or a Hack Job? – Functional Patterns
- Enhancing Sleep Beyond the OURA Ring: An In-Depth "OURA Ring Review" And Solutions
- Magnesium vs Melatonin: The Key to Better Sleep – Functional Patterns
- Overcoming debilitating BACK PAIN | Movement, Diet, and Sleep with Ashley Kramer
- Functional Patterns SLEEP - What is the Best Sleeping Position - from 9 years ago
- Project Function Podcast on Sleep
- Functional Patterns: Biohacks like getting morning ☀️ will only get you so far.
- Naudi Aguilar: Optimal mechanics > Relaxation > Sleep > Endogenous anabolism
