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Hi! We're the founders of the Women's Sleep Summit.

Summer Sleep Tips + Reasons We Feel Tired

Published over 1 year agoΒ β€’Β 4 min read

Dear Reader,

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Happy June!

Hoping this email finds you safe, healthy, at peace, and looking forward to the summer season ahead.

Many important historical events to recognize this month between June representing Pride Month, the Juneteenth Holiday, and PTSD Awareness Month. On top of that, it's Gemini season, and us Geminis are always thirsty to continue opening our minds and learning! As such, each of the links above are aimed to enhance your own awareness and learn ways to thoughtfully honor each of these.

As a clinical psychologist who specializes in trauma/PTSD in addition to sleep medicine (more about me here), I find it essential to educate others about the definition and impact of "trauma": Any disturbing event that has had a lasting negative impact on your psyche is considered traumatic. This broad definition means that we have all experienced trauma, and it is part of the lived human experience. My clinical experiences the last 10.5 years combined with own personal experiences have further illustrated how many of us go about our lives not realizing how our current stress, anxiety, mood levels, and sleep issues are impacted by unresolved trauma, and why access to mental health care and alternative healing communities is so important to our overall health and wellbeing (of which sleep quality is a top driver!).

Thank you for continuing to support us as we have started to send out our monthly newsletters since our very first annual Women's Sleep Summit this past March! Stay tuned for an exciting educational series coming to you this fall...

Each month, we'll be taking it in turns to appear as the Editor, providing you with specialist knowledge, different perspectives, and of course... our unique personalities. Albeit, with a united voice promoting women's sleep health and wellness.

This Month's Editor: Lara Barbir, Psy.D.

As the hottest season approaches us, there are a few things to consider sleep-wise. Higher temperatures outdoors often means higher temperatures indoors--indoors meaning both inside our homes and our bodies! With that being said, a higher body temperature is counterproductive to sleep: if you've ever noticed when you're feeling heated that it's harder to fall and stay asleep, there's a reason for that! Additionally, the summer season approaching also means longer days are ahead (hello, later sunsets, summer bashes, and fireworks!).

Here are some tips to consider for an optimal sleep environment:

πŸ‘‰ Keep your bedroom environment cooler, ideally between 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit

πŸ‘‰ Change your sheets and comforters to lighter ones to account for the warmer temperatures ahead

πŸ‘‰ Ensure that your bedroom is dark (consider black-out curtains) and quiet (consider earplugs if fireworks occur around you)

πŸ‘‰ Make sure to keep yourself hydrated but also to aim for hydrating more in the daylight hours so your sleep isn't disrupted by your bladder being too full!

πŸ‘‰ Enjoy those summer cocktail parties ahead while being mindful of the timing of your alcohol use, ideally consuming your last alcoholic drink 2-3 hours before your bedtime

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Monthly Q&A

This month's pick: What are some reasons I'm feeling tired?

This is such an important question to explore deeper, because a lot of the time we tend to assume that our primary reason for feeling tired is because of insufficient and/or poor quality sleep. However, making that assumption can not only feed into our frustrations about getting the "right" or "perfect" amount of sleep, it can lead us to overlook the many other variables that leave us feeling tired. By the way, "feeling tired" is a mental and physical exhaustion, and is different from "feeling sleepy," which is a struggle to stay awake often indicated by nodding your head off and fighting to keep your eyes open.

Check out the other variables that lead us feeling tired below and think about how likely each of these may be contributing to feeling tired:

  • medications that have drowsiness as a possible side effect
  • boredom
  • being dehydrated
  • caffeine crash
  • spending too much time in bed
  • anxious/irritable mood
  • diet
  • stress
  • depression
  • pain
  • anxiety
  • doing "too much" OR "too little" physical activity during the day
  • being out of shape and/or overweight
  • eyes are tired (e.g., from staring at a computer screen throughout the day)
  • constipation
  • low blood iron levels
  • post-lunch dip in body temperature
  • medical conditions like hypothyroidism

Notice some of your reactions to the above list of reasons for feeling tired. Are there some reasons other than sleep that you think could be part of the problem? This list is intended to empower you to recognize the many variables involved in our energy levels, and to start to make small changes to notice the impact it has.

Wishing you a rejuvenating summer!

Dr. Lara Barbir, Clinical Psychologist & Founder of Transcendent Therapy​

From The Women Who Love Sleep

Poll

Help to choose next month's Q&A topic! There are 3 options to choose from. Click the link to make your selection.

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πŸ‘‰ You're receiving this email because you signed up for The Power of Rest: A Sleep Summit for Women. Couldn't make it live this year? You can still grab the replay here! Plus, limited discounts on sleep courses + services designed to support women on their journey to better sleep health.

πŸ‘‰ Forwarded this email from a sleep-loving friend? The Power of Rest: A Sleep Summit for Women was founded by 8 women physicians, psychologists, and sleep specialists who are on a mission to change the lives of women through quality sleep. Learn practical tools and strategies to improve your sleep + stay up to date here.

Disclaimer: The information provided by The Women Who Love Sleep is for educational and informational purposes only and is NOT intended to be a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health care provider.

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