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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | MAY 2018 | 81 It's been a LONG, physically and emotionally strenuous day and all you want to do is drift off into a blissful night's sleep. The chores are done, the children are tucked in and you are headed to your bedroom to finally relax. As you prepare to wind down, you climb under the covers, turn on the TV, grab your PDA to catch up with friends on Facebook or to take your turn on Words with Friends, and finally, with an exaggerated soothing sigh, you reach over to set the alarm clock on your bedside table. Exhausted, you fall right to sleep, but wake only a few hours later and lie there staring up at the ceiling in the dark, or glaring at your alarm clock, wondering "Why?" Or, perhaps you can't fall asleep no matter what you do, and so you toss and turn for what seems like an eternity, getting more frustrated with every moment you are not sleeping. Then, your alarm goes off and you find yourself once again exhausted, grumpy and feeling like you don't know how you are going to make it through another day. You can't understand why it is so hard to get a good night's sleep. It is because you set yourself up for failure! TVs, cell phones, computers, iPads and alarm clocks all emit a high level of blue light. Blue lights may be special at Kmart, but not at bedtime. Blue light actually interferes with the production of melatonin, a hormone that induces sleep. At night, your body naturally gets you ready for bed, secreting melatonin. This substance makes you sleepy, keeps you sleeping and sets off a series of biological processes for the coming day. Exposing ourselves to excessive light (especially blue light) before going to bed is one of the worst things we can do for our sleep pattern. It confuses the brain — our brain is getting ready for night-time, yet it is receiving a signal from the light to suppress melatonin and be alert. Give your circadian rhythm an assist and avoid blue lights as much as possible at least an hour before bedtime. Even with your eyes closed your brain can detect the light and affect your sleep pattern. So extinguish as much light from your bedroom at night as possible — use black-out curtains on your windows, wear a sleep mask, turn off TVs and computer monitors, conceal alarm clocks from view by covering, turning away, etc. If a nightlight is needed in the bedroom, hallway or bathroom so you can navigate safely in the dark, use a red wavelength light. Red is the only color of light that does not interrupt melatonin. Using a red nightlight will allow you to get up to use the restroom or check on the kids without affecting your ability to return to bed and go back to sleep. Try finding some new ways to relax before bedtime which do not call for melatonin-crushing blue lights—perhaps a bubble bath by candlelight, listening to your favorite tunes, enjoying a cup of caffeine- free tea or curling up with a good book. Sleep is all-important to your health and well-being, so when it's interrupted, its effects are far- reaching. Here's to wishing you a good night's sleep… now lights out! Light Sleeper?

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