Our bodies need sleep to repair tissue and rejuvenate our brains, so when we short change that process, we really mess up the whole system. Just like our bank accounts, we can accumulate a debt of sleep, which can have harsher results than not paying down your Visa card!

The good news is you can catch up, but spreading it out over a week, instead of ducking work to catch 10 hours over one day will net better results.

Lowering the brightness in your home as the evening goes on sends a message to your brain to start getting tired, simply because there's less light. 

Keeping a single light on for evening kitchen visits instead of slamming on the full overheads, using night lights in hallways and for your bedroom, replacing your bright, blue-white bulb to a softer, orange-y option can all contribute to a relaxing place for sleep.

Need some motivation to get more sleep? Research has found a connection between sleep  deprivation and weight gain! Getting enough sleep increases our energy, and when we don't get  enough, our brain is going to tell us to look elsewhere, namely - to food.  Two lesser known hormones  that sound like characters from a Star Trek movie, ghrelin and leptin play a role too. Ghrelin, the 'hunger hormone' stimulates our appetite and causes us to store more fat while leptin, the 'satiety hormone' controls our appetite, telling us when we are full.

When we log less sleep, our bodies can increase the production of both, leading us to crave fatty and sugary foods and lessening our ability to just say no to junk food, causing us to pack on the pounds. All the more reason to get to bed early tonight! 

It seems we'd give anything for a decent night's rest these days, but we might not be aware of how we sabotage ourselves when it comes to getting enough zzz's!

Do you wait to head to bed until you can't keep your eyes open anymore? Do you slap the snooze button more and more before pulling yourself out of your cozy nest? If this sounds familiar, you might be throwing off your internal body clock. While there is a childlike delight in staying up late, by not keeping a positive P.M. routine, you could be creating a cycle that can make you more tired in the long run.

Do you know your crown chakra connects you to your spirit guides? If you ask people, they usually have at least one family member that has stories of a spirit guide helping them. Your crown chakra is at the top of your head and you can feel it tingle when it's really active. 

Your spirit guides are high vibration consciousness that exist in realms unpercievable to the naked eye but are still very real. Many healers work with their guides to get practical information to help others and themselves.

You can use certain crystals to tune into their frequency with requires a loving and calm emotional state to reach. The more you set your intention to contact them and develop a relationship, the strong the bond gets. Everyone has guides in higher vibrational realms waiting to be helpful and share their wisdom.

Do you know how to see into the future with your third eye chakra? Practice focussing on the point between your eyebrows and seeing as far forward, backward and to the sides as you can from this place.

Clear your mind and ask to be shown something coming up. Write down what you see even if it seems simple or silly. You'll often see the exact thing or someone will say it. 

This is a fun way to exercise your intuition and strengthen your connection to your inner compass that will guide you in your most important decisions and help you heal your perspectives so you can experience the highest possible amount of joy and happiness as you live your daily life.

Did you know you can open your spiritual connection by doing inversions? Your Crown chakra (which is at the top of your head) is your satellite to the spiritual world.

Bringing circulation to your head through inversions energizes the Crown chakra.  Inversions don't have to be difficult; they can be as simple as a standing forward fold or bridge pose.

Spend more time upside down - it could help you turn your life right side up! 

Do you want more confidence in your relationships and at work? Well activate your solar plexus chakra and you will feel like you can take on the world. Even if you're new to the chakra system you can use these simple ways to get this bundle of nerves active.

First, you can eat yellow foods such as lemons, corn, pineapple and garbanzo beans.

Secondly, strengthen the muscles of your upper abdomen and core.

Finally use yellow crystals like tiger's eye and wear it to balance that energy and regain will power and self esteem. An added bonus would be wearing yellow colored clothing to get the frequency active.