Sleep vacation at Sea Ranch!
How better to honor World Sleep Day?
What is World Sleep Day?
World Sleep Day is an annual event, intended to be a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to sleep, including medicine, education, social aspects and driving. It is organized by the World Sleep Day Committee of World Sleep Society (founded by WASM and WSF) and aims to lessen the burden of sleep problems on society through better prevention and management of sleep disorders.
You need to Celebrate World Sleep Day at Sea Ranch
We know each morning of the week you drag your groggy selves out of the comfort of your warm beds. Your sleep filled eyes barely manage to guide you to that first cup of coffee as you wait for the shower to warm up.
Magically, mysteriously you are dressed, out the door, sitting in your office’s parking lot wondering how you even made it there in one piece.
All of a sudden you realize you need a Sleep Vacation at Sea Ranch!
Lack of slumber a real health problem
According to a report done by the National Sleep Foundation, 60 percent of Americans have difficulty sleeping almost every night. Even the Centers for Disease Control acknowledges the importance of sleep! Many motor vehicle crashes, industrial disasters, and medical and other occupational errors are frequently linked to insufficient sleep.
A lack of sleep can cause a multitude of problems. Think of all the times you’ve fallen asleep, nodding off while driving, especially at a stop light. Because of sleepiness you experience difficulty performing even the simplest tasks , or have recall problems. These all may contribute to very hazardous outcomes.
Many chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, as well as from cancer, increased mortality, and reduced quality of life and productivity are culprits of a lack of healthful sleep. And we all know how our daily lives are working to steal sleep from us. With our tech toys calling us round-the-clock and what seems to be a 24 hour work schedule, it’s no wonder many you are sleepless in Sacramento!
5 Tips for Your “Sleep-cation”
Don’t you worry! Finally, we have the scoop on how to plan for a marvelous sleep enhancing and refreshing holiday. So follow along as we offer up five tips for a Sleep Vacation in Sea Ranch.
1. Discover your circadian schedule and stick to it!
According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep is regulated by two body systems: sleep/wake homeostasis and the circadian biological clock. Homeostasis tells us when we need for sleep while Circadian rhythms are the physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle.
The trick is to determine what your your bio-clock or chronotype is. In other words, when you’re more likely to fall asleep during a 24-hour period. According to clinical psychologist and sleep specialist Michael Breus, your genetics can tell you when it’s the perfect time to do just about anything. He has described four types (as seen in this CBS interview):
Lion:
“Lions” are morning hunters at the top of the food chain. They like to kind of have things in a very particular order, don’t like to deviate, and are early risers. Generally they are morning-oriented, driven optimists with a medium sleep drive.
Bear:
Bears are extroverts that people love to hang out with. They go-with-the-flow and are good sleepers. These fun-loving, outgoing people prefer a solar-based schedule and have a high sleep drive.
Wolf:
Wolves, named after these nocturnal hunters, are real night owls. They are night-oriented creative extroverts with a medium sleep-drive.
Dolphin:
Real dolphins doze with only half of their brain at a time (which is why they’re called unihemispheric sleepers). The other half is awake and alert, concentrating on swimming and looking for predators. Dolphin sleepers are highly intelligent but problem sleepers. Many insomniacs fall in this category. They are intelligent,obsessive-compulsive, neurotic light sleepers with a low sleep drive [sleep drive = your need for sleep].
Discover Your Chronotype
You can learn what your chronotype is by taking this quick quiz- The Power of When. Once you’ve nailed your sleep routine it’s important to remember, not to change up, even when on vacation.
Regular sleep schedule strengthens and supports that rhythm. By having different bedtimes and wake times your bio clock gets all confused. A muddled up bio clock in turn causes difficulty sleeping, lower performance during the day and ultimately a lousy day.
So even while on your sleep vacation, once you have discovered a sleep schedule that suits you, based on your chronotype and the demands of your daily life, remember to simply stick to it.
2. No caffeine after TWO o’clock
Actually my husband insists for me not a drop of caffeine past NOON if I plan to sleep the night away!
While there’s no nutritional need for caffeine in the diet many of us just can’t get through the day without it. That morning cup of joe is often what helps us get up and go. The reason is caffeine is a stimulant. That’s why people use it after waking up in the morning or to remain alert during the day.
That’s why at Sea Ranch Abalone Bay you’ll always find a bag of Little Green Bean Roastery Coffee in our cupboards.
Once in the body, caffeine-whether in coffee or chocolate or energy drinks- begins to act quickly. It will take effect within 25–45 minutes. It temporarily makes us feel more alert by blocking sleep-inducing chemicals in the brain and increasing adrenaline production.
Worse, caffeine is metabolized slowly — it takes between 6–8 hours to reduce its stimulant effects by only one-half. So when you sip 4 p.m. coffee just before you head into the evening rush hour or even worse, later after dinner, it’s no small wonder you can’t fall asleep. You may even find your chronotype may lead you to be even more dependent on caffeine use.
Tips to Reducing Caffeine Intake
Here are ten tips to help you reduce your caffeine intake and increase the chances for a good night’s sleep whether at home or on your sleep vacation:
- Know your ingredients. Study the ingredients on foods and drinks and watch out for caffeine. Caffeine is added to many sodas and energy drinks.
- Decrease caffeine consumption gradually. Plan your caffeine withdrawal in stages. Because caffeine is addictive, reducing your intake of caffeine needs to be done gradually to avoid uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Plan your caffeine withdrawal in stages. Throw out one-third of your morning coffee today, wait three days and then throw out another bit so you are drinking half. This reduction will help lessen caffeine withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, irritability, jitteriness, and nausea.
- Water down drinks that contain caffeine. They will still have the taste you enjoy, but contain a lower amount of caffeine and carry less risk of caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
- Try something new. Consider changing from coffee in the morning to tea.
- Try decaf. Switch to decaf coffee, decaffeinated soda, or even better, water or fruit juices.
- Don’t add to a caffeine habit. Ask yourself if you really need that extra cup in the late morning. If the answer is no, then skip it.
- Try a tea shortcut. Brew tea for a shorter amount of time to reduce the amount of caffeine in it.
- Instead of a large cup of coffee, next time order a small. Did you know that Starbucks medium and large both contain two shots of espresso, while a small has only one? Always ask to have yours made with decaf.
- Mix it up. Alternate one cup of coffee with one cup of herbal tea, or one can of soda with one can of caffeine-free soda or water.
- Check your pain reliever. Many over-the-counter medications, especially headache remedies and menstrual pain relievers, contain caffeine. If yours does, change to a different kind.
3. Time your exercise for the morning
According to the National Sleep Foundation, people sleep significantly better and feel more alert during the day if they get at least 150 minutes of exercise a week. A morning’s walk or gym work out in the early hours has another bonus: deeper sleep at night. When you exercise outdoors in the morning, you’re sure to get a daily dose of sunshine, which can help regulate your sleep/wake cycle. Research showed that when people had more natural white light exposure during work hours they slept an average of 46 minutes more per night. Further, they were generally happier, too.
Afternoon workouts, especially aerobic ones—may even help with overcoming insomnia. By doing a 30-minute session of vigorous aerobic exercise your body temperature rises for about four to five hours.
With Sea Ranch’s miles and miles of hiking trails your sleep centered vacation is easily accomplished. Sea Ranch has three recreation centers that makes exercise not only easy to accomplish, but also enjoyable.
When NOT to Exercise
To assure a great night’s sleep it’s recommended that most people should avoid strenuous workouts in the late evening or right before bed. Plan your exercise routine to be completed within four hours before bedtime. This allows sufficient time for your body temperature to drop and allow you to unwind and relax for a restful night.
Remember, don’t skimp on exercise — just make time for it earlier in the day. Instead of doing a crossfit workout at 9P.M, try yoga or simple stretching, to help you unwind and relax for a restful night.
4. Stop Drinking alcohol THREE hours before bedtime
Think again if you believe that nightcap will help you sleep better at night. Once consumed, alcohol metabolizes over a period of hours, depending on several factors including your gender, size, and weight, the amount you drink, and food you’ve consumed.
While alcohol may help induce sleep, overall it is more disruptive to sleep. In fact, consuming alcohol at bedtime causes restless, fragmented sleep and alters the amount of time you spend in the different stages of sleep. After drinking that one last glass of wine, you’re apt to spend more time in deep sleep and not enough time in REM sleep.
Alcohol should not be used as a sleep aid. The immediate and short-term impact of alcohol is to reduce the time it takes to fall asleep. But when used as an aid it may lead to alcohol dependence. Further when you wake you’ll face fatigue, mental sluggishness, irritability, all of which can carry over to affect your sleep the next night.
5. Power off and prepare for bed
Electronics have now become a real part of today’s lifestyle. In fact access to wifi is a very important amenity for guests at Abalone Bay. Even while on vacation a number of Americans fall asleep with their smartphones in their hands. While you are able to stay engaged with the world late into the evening the exposure to the light that your devices emit affect a good night’s sleep.
Both the light exposure from your devices and mental activity it takes to work them are causes for wakefulness. Artificial light disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm possibly because it causes the suppression of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone.
To have a real sleep vacation you must simply unplug and power off.
Why Sea Ranch is your sleep vacation location
Our past guests can tell you why Abalone Bay in Sea Ranch is your best sleep vacation location:
- Very peaceful and relaxing stay.
- Peaceful, quiet location allowed me to catch up on sleep
- Each morning we woke up to the most exquisite view.
- Relaxing with stunning views from this vacation home.
- The accommodations were excellent, the beds and furniture beautiful and comfortable and the setting was spectacular.
- One of the reasons that you can have a real sleep vacation at Sea Ranch is the avoidance of light pollution. You’ll not find a single street light to shine in your eyes. All homes and buildings have down pointing lights. In Abalone Bay you’ll find blackout curtains in the east facing window of the master bedroom. Even the skylight has built-in blinds.
Tips for bedtime
Follow this list to prepare for your bedtime to assure a deeper sleep.
- Put your phone away. Don’t keep your phone near you when you sleep, and avoid all artificially lit screens (like televisions, iPads, and iPhones) right before bedtime
- Remove the clutter from your bedroom. Hang up your clothes or stow away in the cupboards.
- Black out the windows.
- Set your room temperature to 65 degrees.
- Listen to relaxing spa music or read a good book
- Take a bath and snuggle in for a long, peaceful night.
Learn more about taking an Unplugged Vacation in Sea Ranch.
Are you ready for your unplugged, sleep vacation at Sea Ranch?
Book your vacation now!
Having a good time sleeping would be a great vacation.