Beauty sleep can work wonders

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A dancer’s life is choc-a-bloc with rehearsals, meetings, classes and many other activities. Dancers are busy travelling from place to place for shows and events.

The complicated process of choreography too keeps the mind active with a dancer trying to memorise the routines all the time. In order to achieve so much in a day, it is important that you as a dancer get good sleep. How many hours do you sleep every night? Is your sleep uninterrupted or disturbed? Do you have trouble sleeping immediately? Do you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason? Dancers often suffer from bad sleep for different reasons. I too have these troubles many a time, but over the years, I have learnt to manage to come out of this, and today I will share a few tips for all dancers to sleep tight.

Stick to a schedule
This is one of the most difficult things for a dancer, as the rehearsal schedule and all the travelling for shows and events keep changing all the time. But whenever it’s possible, try to stick to a plan of sleep. Do you sleep and wake up at more or less the same time everyday? If yes, then you are doing the right thing. But if you are not, then remember that erratic bed times do not allow your body to align to the proper circadian rhythms. Going to bed late or getting up later than usual once in a while is fine, just do not make it a habit. Also try and get sleep only at night, as daytime naps will make it difficult for you to get sleep at night. At the most, limit your daytime sleep to just 20 minutes, just like a power nap. Take a power nap between rehearsal breaks, it will freshen you up completely for another rehearsal.

Exercise gets you better sleep
Dance is a great form of exercise, which we all know, but dancers forget that their body needs some amount of physical activity daily. Many dancers take rehearsal breaks and sometimes this break goes on for a few days. Your body, at that time, does not get enough of physical stress and you end up developing problems like insomnia. Your body uses your sleep period to recover its muscles and joints that have been worked out. Even half-an-hour of exercise in the gym or at home or simply brisk walking outside can help you sleep well. Your exercise timing should be in the morning, afternoon or early evening. Avoid late night workout as exercise before bedtime may make it difficult for you to get sleep.

Take a hot shower before bedtime
Hot water helps because it can relax tense muscles. As a dancer, dancing all day and stressing over difficult choreographies can make the muscles sore, and this does not allow you to sleep well. A nice hot shower can help you relax well and relieve all the stress and pain that will help you fall asleep quickly.

Meal timing
Try and eat your meals on time, even if it means taking few minutes off from your practice and eating your food and then getting back to the floor. Never have your meal just before going to bed; large meals or spicy food before bedtime will make it difficult to fall asleep. Keep a gap of at least two hours before you turn in, this allows digestion to happen.

Addicted to caffeine
Many dancers love to drink tea and coffee during breaks and they add up to many cups during a day. But if you are a caffeine addict, then make sure you do not have it at night.
It will keep you tossing and turning in bed for hours. Try to avoid caffeine post 5 pm so that your body can prepare to go sleep.

Read a book before you hit the bed
Studies show that spending even 15-20 minutes reading before you go to bed, gives you better sleep. Try to read anything, be it a dance history book like the historic Natya Shastra or a romantic Mills and Boons. It will help you relax your nerves and make you fall asleep soon.

Avoid alcohol just before bedtime
It is said that drinking helps you sleep better, but while it make you fall asleep faster, it is known to be a depressant and will cause you to wake up during the night. It is better to sleep without consuming alcohol than to have a disturbed sleep all night. So now, I hope you will be able to follow my personal tips and sleep well and be fresh and alive.