Having trouble getting some good shut eye lately? This post is for you!
Hello everyone! Let’s talk about sleep;
I for one am a light little sleeper. Someone breathes two rooms over and that’s it; I’m awake. Lights on, NO WAY. Fan?…get. out. of. here. I have copious amounts of jealousy for my beloved friends who can fall asleep anywhere. I mean ANYWHERE. I really wish I knew what that was like. But alas I was not gifted the blessing of easy sleep. Insomnia..hello! Which is precisely why I am writing this blog post. I know I can’t be alone in this! If any of the above resonates with you keep reading because I am going to share with you my top tips for getting the best night’s sleep!
Now; these tips for better sleep can be applied anytime, but especially right now when things have been a little bit upside-down to say the least. If you think your lack of sleep may be linked to anxiety or stress, even panic then I have a great post that will give you 5 tips on how to calm down that I use when I am feeling scattered or my anxiety starts to peek it’s head out.
Remember, with anything; that these are my opinions and what works for me may not work for you, or my favorite tip may be the 2nd where yours is the 5th! Let your intuition guide you. Take what works and leave the rest.
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Tips for Better Sleep
1. Get Moving to Get Sleeping
It is so important to move our bodies! However, I know so many of us have been having much more time on the couch lately and sitting about in our houses! The little things like running errands, walking to our cars, walking around stores, getting up and down at work to go into co-workers offices have stopped. SO we are doing much less moving than usual. Which means; we have WAY more energy buzzing around that we have not expended by the end of the day. Releasing this energy is a great way to “tire yourself out” so that when bedtime comes, our bodies are ready to relax and restore for the next day. Great ideas to get moving; daily walk (you can work up to longer walks each day), spontaneous living room dance party, yoga flows, fitness workouts, actual dance classes, gardening, All of these can be found easily online..except gardening! Pick something that sounds like fun and get moving! When bedtime comes you’ll be ready! Try to move for at least 30 minutes every day to get that energy out and about so you can ditch counting sheep!
2. Power Down Electronics
I know we hear this all of the time, but it works! Turn off the computer, put your phone on airplane mode, let the TV switch off. We are SO connected, especially right now. Even some of our meditations come from applications on our phones! Although these tools are WONDERFUL they can also be keeping us awake much later than our bodies want to be. This is because blue light emulating from all of these devices stimulate sensors in your eyes telling the body it needs to be alert and awake. Sunlight has a mix of blue light, white light and other rays that tell our brains to keep active and moving during the day. If we continue this stimulation via phones and electronic devices at night we throw off our circadian rhythms and our bodies get confused, resulting in not being able to fall asleep.
A good rule of thumb to follow is to power down at least 30 minutes before hopping into bed. If you can, put your phone on airplane mode or keep it out of the bedroom all-together.
“The Glasses”
*SOMETHING TO NOTE (Blue light glasses for better sleep)
If you are on your phone or computer all throughout the day for work or fun (GUILTY as charged over here). This could also be affecting your sleep schedule. Powering down early may help but it might not be enough. What recently has become a huge help for me was purchasing blue light glasses. I began wearing them all day especially during our required quarantine because I noticed my sleep patters were getting quite… weird from being on the computer all day. I also was starting to get little headaches behind my left eye and I have never gotten a headache before. I did some research and picked up blue light glasses. Sure enough after about a solid week of using them; the headaches have subsided and my sleep has become much better.
Powering down earlier along with implementing blue light glasses throughout the day has been so very helpful for me! Honestly…the ones I bought are pretty fashionable so I don’t mind wearing them around! My mom started stealing them the week they arrived so I ended up ordering her a pair too haha! You can find them all over the place now-a-days but if you like these they are linked right here. Blue light blocking glasses.
3. Create a Safe & Peaceful Sanctuary (Set the mood for sleep)
Allow your bedroom to become a place of rest. Begin to make where you sleep a special corner of the house. The reason for doing this is so that when you cuddle into bed your brain recognizes it as time to relax. If your bedroom has the same energy as the living room, office or kitchen the body may have a harder time deciphering what time it actually is. Before bed let the lights be dim, lighting candles could be a soothing option. Perhaps diffuse essential oils that promote rest like Lavender or Serenity Blend. I use a super old essential oil diffuser but here are two with good reviews; smaller or larger. Doing little things to make your bedroom feel more cozy and peaceful can have a giant impact on how quickly we feel safe enough to fall asleep. Another thing that always helps me to sleep better is to clean my space. When the space is clean I feel a renewed sense of calm. Create your little lily pad, and look forward to winding down there each night.
4. Wind Down Before Bed
Switch from go-go-go to rest mode. Instead of just hopping into bed after finishing that report from work or watching that intense action movie, try to make a conscious effort to spend the 30 minutes to 1 hour before going to bed winding down. Perhaps creating a nightly ritual that gives you a few moments of peace to check back in with yourself. Making a little bit of space for stillness, a little bit of space for inner peace. Okay, sounds great, what could this actually look like?
Bedtime Bathroom Routine. This is my favorite! I love taking 10-15 minutes before bed to pop on a face mask OR do a little bit of Gua-Sha facial massage. Gua-Sha has been a regular addition to my nightly routine since discovering it last year. I started practicing it for the facial lifting and toning benefits but stayed with it because I felt the muscles in my face, jaw and scalp begin to relax, reducing jaw clenching at night (nice added benefit!). The act of practicing Gua-Sha leaves me feeling extremely present and calm after I finish. It is a welcome reset at the end of a long day. If you’re interested these are the tools I use for Bedtime Gua Sha. This is the serum I use for my nightly ritual (I’m super sensitive and this one works great without causing any breakouts)!
Brewing a cup of warm tea. Some of my favorites before bed are:
Chamomile Tea (My mom would always make this for me as a child, and it zens me out immediately).
Reading in bed (NOT on Kindle lol). This is a beautiful way to fall asleep. Reading a good, old fashioned paperback or hardcover book until the eyelids get heavy! Grab a good fiction novel or any book that you have interest in and snuggle in. A few rules…this book is not work related or on a topic that brings you into an anxious state. Whatever you choose to read is purely fun and something that carries you away with it, this could even be a hobby magazine you haven’t had time to read. We don’t want to get your brain thinking about anything stressful.
Yoga Nidra, Meditation or Gentle Bedtime Yoga. Practicing Yoga Nidra - a style of yogic mediation designed to put you in a place between dreaming and waking is a great way to use the 30 minutes to 1 hour before bed we’ve been talking about. You could also take this time to do a gentle yoga practice focused on helping your body and mind prepare for a good nights sleep. There are many meditation and yoga practices online, you can search for one that resonates with your needs or I have linked one from my YouTube channel below:
I hope this post gave you a few ideas on how to get a good nights sleep!
- Jess
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