Glean reasons and tips to prioritize sleep and easy ways to relieve stress over the holidays. Heidi shares insights from this article by the Mayo Clinic. 

Guided meditation options: Breathing Meditation by Diana Winston @ UCLA, Empowered Me Meditation by Deepak Chopra

Click here for Heidi's "how to turn your brain off at night" post.

Take Aways

• "You may be able to sleep your way to a longer life." -Mayo Clinic article.
• If you cut your sleep short for a prolonged amount of time, it may raise your risk of heart attack, dementia, and diabetes.
• Sleep is restorative. 
• The brain and body perform many critical tasks while we sleep.
• While we sleep, our immune system makes repairs.
• Heidi's parents and grandparents prioritized family, church, and community over sleep most of their lives and they lived and are living long (AND PURPOSEFUL) lives! 
• Heidi's push back to prioritizing sleep: Always have a goal or purpose you're working toward. Giving up some sleep to attain that goal is usually worth it. 
• Tips to getting better sleep: create a bedtime routine, keep your room dark, exercise regularly, pay attention to your medications, get a check up, get a new mattress, stick to a schedule, don't drink alcohol.
• Stress relief tips (Starts at 20:37): exercise mindfulness, use guided meditations, take 3 deep breaths when feeling anxious, go for a walk, be in nature, read, be in sunlight, crochet, and accomplish tasks.
• It relives stress to check things off your to-do list. 
• Express your frustrations to someone who loves you and who won't be directly influenced by the decision or situation you're ranting about.

You're amazing. You can conquer anything. Hugs!! -Heidi

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