5/6/2020 0 Comments 10 TIPS FOR A BETTER SLEEPFor many, as the abendrot of the evening fades into dusk, the night has just begun. When quarantine snapped us out of our usual routines in favor of a new home-oriented lifestyle, countless people around the world turned to the Internet to share how quarantine had affected their sleep schedule terribly. As many of us struggle with sleep nowadays, from going to bed at four in the morning to tossing and turning restlessly for hours, I thought I would share my favorite tips for sleeping sounder so you can wake up refreshed. These tips have definitely helped me get the proper rest I need, and I hope they can help you, too! 1. Blue Light Glasses & Night Mode A couple hours before bed, turning on night mode on your electronics or putting on a pair of blue light glasses can help your brain unwind from the radiation you've been absorbing all day. Especially now when we are on our computers all day for school and have more time to spend on our phones, the increased electronic use can put added stress on our minds. Research has shown that popping on a pair of blue light glasses can decrease your headaches from eye strain and improve sleep. 2. Aromatherapy (Essential Oil Diffusers + Pillow Mists) Certain scents can definitely aid in your relaxation. Lavender has been shown to reduce anxiety and restlessness, calming you down for a good night's sleep. My favorite ways to incorporate aromatherapy into my sleep routine are with essential oil diffusers and pillow mists. I love using my Lavender and Relax essential oils from Amazon to fill my whole room with the calming scent and then spray this lavender yoga mat spray that I double as a pillow spray. 3. Ambiance Setting a calming mood in my room with lights and decor always improves my mood and gets me in the mood to go to bed instead of staying up all night. The main way you can incorporate a relaxing ambiance is with lighting. I recently purchased a color-changing lightbulb which I love turning blue since it supposedly reduces your heart rate to sleep better. Twinkle lights and unique lamps can also create soft-lighting to shift you into a nighttime setting. Conveniently, I have a moon-shaped salt rock lamp and light sculpture which adds to the fun and night symbolism. 4. Stay Active Although this step is something you would more likely do during the day instead of right before bed, staying active, whether it's with traditional workouts or just going outside to walk around your neighborhood, can assist in tiring you out for a solid sleep. Since quarantine started, many of us have switched from extremely active lifestyles (ex. daily sports practices, walking around at school/work, etc.) to a much slower-paced daily routine. If we don't stay active then our body has no reason to be tired, potentially creating restlessness. 5. Create a Night Routine Establishing some form of a routine, whether it's taking a shower before bed or just simply doing your skincare routine, can create habits that help indicate to yourself that it's time to wind down for bed. When you are consistent with a routine it becomes habitual and help tell your mind and body to slow down in preparation for sleep. 6. Make Your Bed While making your bed can start your day off right as mentioned in my morning routine article, it can end your day right, too. If your bed is unmade all day it can be even more tempting to lay in it all day, but if you do everything in bed, then there is no way for your body to differentiate between sleeping and waking hours. Even though it's easy to do all our work from the comfort of our beds now that we're at home, getting up and out can help your body realize that your bed is just for sleeping and relax your mind instead of going into work mode. 7. Resist Naps! I'm not going to lie, I'm a pretty big nap girl. But as much as I hate to admit it, I never sleep as well if I take a nap during the day. Once you create a beneficial sleep routine, you won't feel the need to take naps, but until then, try to find a natural way to wake your body back up, like going outside, if you start sensing a midday slump. That way, when it's time to go to bed you'll actually be able to go to sleep instead of being left wide awake from your previous nap. 8. Bedtime Yoga Yoga has been proven to aid in better sleep because of the way it relaxes your body. Holding poses for longer periods of time before bed slows down your movement and stretches out any tired muscles to prevent going to bed tense. I love this YouTube routine because it literally does the yoga in bed so that when you are relaxed by the end of the video you are already right where you need to be. 9. Meditation
I cannot emphasize how important meditation is to helping me sleep better and fall asleep faster. Full body scan meditations are helpful for reducing tension in your body to ensure you are relaxed and ready to fall asleep, while manifestation-based meditations can help you go to bed with a grateful heart and wake up in a more positive mood. Whatever type of meditation I follow, it always clears my head of negative energy so my brain is no longer being stimulated and can fall asleep. 10. Tea + Water Ritual Drinking a warm, cozy cup of chamomile tea will both warm you up and relax you for sleep. However, it's important to not be chugging water or tea too close to bed, because then your sleep cycle is more likely to be disrupted. Get in that last hydration with plenty of time to let your body absorb it!
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