As much as you might hate to hear it, you need to sleep. We all, as human beings need to sleep. Without it, we’ll literally perish.
Since I’ve heard many of my friends, family & clients mentioning their sleep woes lately, I thought I’d share some of my favorite “good sleep” tips here.
Eat Dinner No Later Than 2 Hours Before Bed.
This is an ayurvedic principle, but one that is heard of a lot in the health and wellness world. Basically if your body is working overtime to help digest and process a large meal as you’re trying to sleep… it’s very often part of the insomnia problem. We’re giving the body extra work, when we are asking it to rest. Learn about ayurvedic routine here.
Go To Bed No Later than 10:30pm
I know, I know, I can hear many of you already making excuses around why this can’t happen…. but it makes ALL of the difference. We often get our second wind between 10:30-11:30pm when we want to stay up to watch one more show, respond to one more email or swipe through Instagram one last time. Don’t. You’ll have a MUCH harder time falling asleep after 10:30pm, I promise. It’s all about routine.. read more here.
Avoid Caffeine After 3pm
I know! Aren’t these horrible suggestions? But, if you want to sleep, you’ll consider following them. Around 3-4pm we are starting to naturally wind down from our days. To add caffeine to the mix will just end up causing problems later into the evening. If you’re feel sluggish and need a boost trying drinking more water or some caffeine substitutes.
Turn off Your Screens At 8pm
The horror! Yes, this includes cell phones, tablets, TV’s & computers. The light that is omitted from our electronics has a very detrimental effect on our pineal glad (the one hidden right between our eyebrows nestled into the brain) which is responsible for our natural rhythms, endocrine system, and you guessed it… a good night sleep.
Black It Out
Heavy curtains & shades help a lot. Our sleep cycles are strongly effected by any light (see above) so making your sleep quarters as dark as possible is important. Even covering clocks on TV’s, DVD players (does anyone else have one anymore besides me? lol), alarm clocks etc. Wearing a sleep mask is also a wonderful option especially if you have a roommate or partner that stays up later than you do.
Snoring.
While ear plugs aren’t the most comfortable thing to sleep in, they might be necessary if you share a bed with someone noisy. Everything counts.
Routine
I’ve said it once, but I’ll say it again. Even our nightly routine has an effect on easing ourselves into sleep. Drinking some relaxing tea (see below), reading a book (a real book!) writing in your journal, giving yourself a nice foot rub with relaxing essential oils…. a little self pampering before sleep goes a long way. And it doesn’t have to be for more than 10 minutes.
Relaxing Herbal Tea
Sometimes we just need a little “herbal push” to allow ourselves to relax into a good nights sleep. Gentle herbs work wonders. Here are couple of my favorite blends:
***Be sure to drink tea 2hrs before bed so you don’t wind up having to get up to pee when you’re trying to sleep.
Chatter Box Brain Soother:
1 part Chamomile flowers
1 part Nettle Leaf
1 part Lemon Balm
2 part Passionflower
2 part Skullcap
Full Mind-Body Surrender:
2 parts Skullcap
2 part Oat tops
1 part Valerian root
1 part Nettle Leaf
1/2 part Lavender flowers
*All herbs can be found in the bulk section at any quality natural foods store or herb shop.
Chinese Clock
If you’re an insomniac that wakes up a lot every night, notice what time of night/morning. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, this could indicate another imbalance going on in an organ system and might be worth checking out. Learn more about what I mean here.
There you have it! Your good sleep homework! Hop to it and let me hear how it goes. Remember that a good night’s sleep is worth it! xoA