Sleep Health

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Sleep Health

Q&A

How to Prioritize and Achieve the Best Quality Sleep with Tiera Skovbye Riverdale and Nurse’s actress Tiera Skovbye opens up on her sleep and wellness while sharing her tips and tricks for prioritizing and getting the best nights sleep.

What are your best tips and tricks for getting a good night’s sleep?

As an actress, why is it important to get a good-quality sleep?

P H OTO C O U RT ESY O F M EG A N TO R I G L I A

I have a few tips and tricks up my sleeve these days. For me right now the biggest one is trying to put my phone away at least 30 minutes before I go to sleep, whether that’s to read, journal, or meditate. It makes a huge difference for me to not have a screen be the last thing I look at before I try to fall asleep.

Some other really helpful little tricks I love are having a hot bath before bed, and a hot calming tea. It really helps to find a routine that helps you feel calm and grounded before you sleep, whatever that looks like for you.

Well, I think regardless of what you do for a living, good-quality sleep is a vital part of a healthy life. For me, a huge part of my job is memorizing lines, and if I don’t get enough sleep it’s harder for me to remember all my lines.

How big of a role does sleep play in your overall health and wellness?

For me, getting proper sleep is key. As someone who suffers from anxiety, I can really feel the toll that not enough sleep can take on my mental health. It’s important for me to listen to my body and prioritize sleep the same way I would exercise or eating healthily.

Do you have a nighttime routine before bed?

My routine tends to change a bit depending on whether I’m working or not at the time, but a few things always remain the same. After I do my skincare routine, once I get into bed, I try to put my phone away and fill out my gratitude journal and either read for a little bit or fall asleep to a meditation app.

What advice do you have for people who don’t prioritize sleep?

I feel like my biggest advice is that it will eventually catch up to you. Burnout is real and if you aren’t prioritizing your health, it will eventually start to take its toll on your body. Listen to your body, learn how much sleep you truly need, and find a routine and you’ll start to realize the positive effects it has on your health and well-being.

Q&A

Circadian Rhythms and Tips to Keep Your Clock Consistent

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Dr. Kristen Knutson and Dr. Rosei Skipper

Try and maintain the same sleep/wake times each day — even on weekends. Your body will feel best when you wake up and head to bed on a regular schedule.

Make sure to get some light in the morning, especially if you’ve had a tough time waking up. This could mean taking a brisk walk outside or even just choosing a sunny window to sit by for your morning coffee.

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Avoid bright light in the evening — especially if you have trouble falling asleep. You may want to choose a paper book at night, and to make your bedroom as dark as possible. If you use a screen at night, try turning down the brightness.

Keep your daily schedule as consistent as possible — especially if you’re working from home and don’t have the structure of an office. In addition to maintaining a routine sleep schedule, make sure to eat at regular intervals throughout the day. If possible, avoid large meals at night, as they can disrupt sleep.

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Exercise can help keep your body on track, and it doesn’t have to be intense. Something as simple as regular family walks can benefit everyone’s mood and health, including your four-legged members’.

Speaking of pets, have you noticed that they don’t always have the same sleep pattern as humans? That’s because their circadian rhythms are different than ours. So if you find your cat pouncing on your head at 3 a.m., it may be time to banish kitty from the bedroom.

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To learn more ways you can improve your quality of sleep, visit healthiersleepmag.com.

This article was supported by World Sleep Society and the Healthier Sleep Magazine.

How Rick Campanelli Ensures His Whole Family Stays Well Rested Canadian TV and radio personality, Rick Campanelli reveals how he balances work, family, and sleep!

As a father of three sons, how do you ensure that the whole family gets the proper amount of sleep?

We’re a very busy family that’s on the go non-stop. We tire ourselves out on a daily basis and make sure we’re in bed at a decent time each night. We’re very happy and ready to go the next day if we get eight hours of sleep every night. Most of the time it’s nine or 10 hours. Most of the time it’s early to bed and very early to rise at the Campanelli household.

What are your best tips and tricks for getting young children in bed?

When it comes time for my young boys (aged five and seven) to go to sleep, we run through our routine. We eat dinner no later than 6 p.m., and we make sure their bellies are nice and full. After dinner we usually watch a family movie then brush our teeth. After we clean our teeth, we all get in bed with a book. The boys are very tired at this point and falling asleep just comes naturally. They’re usually asleep by 8:30 p.m. and up the next morning by 6:30 or 7 a.m.

How do you ensure that your sleep isn’t compromised while balancing work and family?

Sleep is never comprised! It’s a priority for us. Sleep and rest, a healthy diet, and exercise and activity are how we’ve been living for years.

What advice do you have for other families regarding sleep?

Sleep must be a priority to perform the following day. Lack of sleep ruins all productivity the next day.

Trust me, I know — I’ve been there!

How has your sleep been impacted since becoming a father?

When I first became a father, I lost many hours of sleep on a nightly basis. Now that my boys are older, and their sleeping patterns are better, I’m also able to sleep better and to get my required eight hours of sleep. I needed to make sacrifices years ago when my boys were babies as any father or mother would.

You’ll never meet a new parent who gets a good night’s sleep.

Rick Campanelli is represented by Jessica Martins at Hero Artists

Publisher: Nicole Kansakar Business Development Manager: Melanie Kosev Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Content and Production Manager: Raymond Fan Designers: Kylie Armishaw Content and Web Editor: Karthik Talwar All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve Toronto Star or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.

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Sleep Better and Live Better with a High-Quality Mattress from Leon’s Sleeping on a high-quality mattress can change the quality of your sleep, which can help improve your overall quality of life.

Tania Amardeil

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f you’re not getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night, you’re not alone.

One in four Canadians isn’t meeting that benchmark and even more have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. One in five adults doesn’t find their sleep refreshing and one in three has difficulty staying awake during waking hours. We’re a nation of sleep-deprived, tired people — but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Finding the perfect mattress for your sleep needs at the best price can be a challenge, as there are countless options from dozens of retailers at a dizzying range of prices. Mattress shopping can feel overwhelming at best and downright daunting at worst.

Fortunately, the solution is close to home. Leon’s Furniture, which has been Canada’s number one choice for quality furniture since 1909, offers the guaranteed lowest prices on mattresses and a 200 Night Sleep Comfort Guarantee that’s unmatched within the industry. You can shop with confidence and make sure that you’ve selected the dream mattress that’s best for you — and your wallet.

WHY LEON’S?

200 NIGHT SLEEP COMFORT GUARANTEE A better night’s sleep, guaranteed.

A better sleep — guaranteed

The power of a good night’s sleep

Visit your local Leon’s showroom to see its mattress collection or shop online at leons.ca to find the perfect mattress for all your sleep needs.

This article was sponsored by Leon’s.

Getting an adequate amount of sleep each night has been shown to be vital for many physical processes such as cell regeneration, human growth hormone secretion, immune system strengthening, and energy restoration. Not catching enough Zzz’s has been linked with obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, injuries and accidents, depression, irritability, memory problems, and reduced well-being, according to research. Many people don’t realize the extent to which the quality of their sleep is directly connected to their emotional, mental, and physical health.

Poor sleep contributors include chronic stress, poor mental health, poor sleep hygiene (including exposure to artificial light at night, caffeine consumption too late in the day, and an irregular sleep schedule with inconsistent bedtimes and waking times), and a bad sleeping environment. A key part of your sleep environment is your mattress. The quality of your mattress has a major impact on your sleep quality, comfort, and overall well-being.

Considering we spend roughly a third of our lives in bed, it’s also a sensible place to make an investment.

Simplifying the mattress-shopping experience It’s recommended that mattresses be replaced every eight to 10 years, but many Canadians toss and turn throughout the night on sagging, lumpy, or uneven mattresses that are well past their prime. Sound familiar? You deserve better.

Leon’s takes sleeping seriously and understands that everyone’s different when it comes to finding the ideal sleep set-up. Sleep Experts in every Leon’s store, as well as online, can help guide you and answer any questions you have while making your mattress purchase.

Not sure if you should go for a plush, medium, or firm mattress? What about innerspring or memory foam? Have you taken your sleep position into consideration? Leon’s knowledgeable team members will help you find your perfect mattress fit, which is guaranteed to give you more comfort, relief, and an overall better night’s sleep.

Even better, Leon’s 200 Night Sleep Comfort Guarantee — the longest sleep comfort guarantee in the industry — allows you to try out your new mattress for up to 200 nights to ensure you’re fully satisfied with your purchase.

Considering we spend roughly a third of our lives in bed, it’s also a sensible place to make an investment.

FREE LOCAL DELIVERY On all orders over $498.

SLEEP EXPERTS Specialists available in-store and online to help guide your mattress purchase.

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Sweet dreams, sweet life Leon’s also offers the best prices on brand name mattresses and its 60-Day Price Guarantee means that all pricing is guaranteed to be the lowest for 60 days, giving you peace of mind. If the price of your mattress drops within 60 days, Leon’s will gladly refund you the difference.

You deserve better sleep, and a new mattress can help you achieve it. Leon’s believes that when you sleep better, you live better — and the research confirms it!

FINANCING AVAILABLE Pay for your bed over time so you have one less thing to lose sleep about.