Sleep… you literally can’t live without it. And the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday in a pandemic year? Well, that’s really hard to avoid. Good sleep is difficult thing to come by; whether it’s your job or family, or both, life is busy and there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. And turkey day along with its trappings is, for many, an obligation.

What to do? We all know that sleep comes in cycles from light to deep. We tend to go in and out of all the sleep cycles. It’s widely believed that these cycles and deep sleep itself is essential for building and restoring what’s called “brain plasticity,” or our ability to process new information. We have trouble remembering things from the day when we haven’t slept well. 

You can, however, remember this solid tip for maintaining good sleep through the holidays. It’s nice to enjoy a glass of wine with festive meals but be careful not to overdo it. Too much alcohol disrupts sleep patterns, making it difficult to maintain the deep sleep stage, which is crucial. If you’re not getting deep sleep, you’re going to wake up fatigued no matter how long you stay in bed. It is recommended not to drink alcohol in the last few hours before going to sleep.

If you feel thirsty after dinner drink water—just not too much right before bed, and definitely skip the post-dinner coffee. Turkey often gets the blame for holiday weekend fatigue, but science shows that when and how you eat and sleep, will have an impact on the quality of sleep you get and your fatigue levels heading into the following work week.

Getting more and higher quality sleep can improve your health and wellbeing. If you feel like you’re not getting enough quality sleep, we might be able to help. Learn more about the science of sleep on our Facebook page!