Sleep is so important to looking good and feeling good; lack of sleep has been linked to many chronic illnesses, weight gain, skin problems and the list goes on.
It's important to get the best sleep because it can help you feel more peaceful and improve your happiness.
Here are ten ways to help you get a better night sleep.
1. Switch your tablet/phone/laptop off before you go to bed; having your devices on in your bedroom and lead to temptation to stay up at night just innocently checking Facebook and the next thing you know, it's 4 am and you're on an old friend's sisters, brothers-in-laws, step cousin's page.
The harsh lights that you get from the screens in these devices tell your brain to wake up and that it should be alert, so using this before trying to go to bed sends mixed messages to the brain and could cause restlessness.
2. Give yourself time to unwind; our lifestyles can be hectic and with anywhere between 50,000-70,000 thoughts racing around it's important to give yourself at moment of peace and quiet, try having a warm bath with Epsom salts (you may need to consult your doctor before using these), using aromatherapy through essential oils can help if there are particular scents that calm you down.
I enjoy the smell of peppermint or sweet almond.
3.Keep a pen and pad next to your bed; if you are a worrier and find yourself drowning in your worries when you're trying to sleep, I find that it really helps to write them all down before you go to sleep. Get them all out of your system.
Having them written out might help you to realise how irrational they are or help you to think of solutions when it's there in black and white.
4.Visualisation is it really great technique for sleep. Imagine yourself in a place that you associated with peace, calm and tranquility. Explore the environment in which you have created for sleep, what does it smell like? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? Once you have established this place, remember that it will always be available to you when you need to sleep. This can help you to shut any worries from your waking life out and become lost in a calm and sleepy world.
5.Magnesium has been known to promote better sleep. This is due to it's effect on the body; it deactivates adrenaline and relaxes the muscles, this prepares your body for sleep. I would recommend taking this in a supplement form but make sure that you are getting from a reputable place and not from a random website. Whole foods area great suppliers for good quality supplements. I didn't believe that a supplement would work as well as they did when I tried it, but it made such a huge difference.
6. A sleep mask or black out blinds can help the progression of deep sleep. I use a sleep mask and I feel like it stops myself from being distracted by light from outside but it also stops me from opening my eyes when I can't get to sleep, which, I feel helps me to give in to sleep quicker. If you don't feel comfortable with wearing a sleep mask, then black out blinds are a great way to shut out any artificial light from outside that could disrupt your sleep.
7.A Bodyclock Light is a bedside light that has recently become quiet popular and are available on the high street. They aim to simulate sunrises and sunsets, based on when you want to wake up and when you want to go to sleep. It's supposed to reset your circadian rhythm (natural body clock) by having the sunrise when you need to get up, instead of when the sun actually rises. In theory this should stop you from feeling tired when you wake up. I don't know how successful these are but I can
imagine they would be very useful during the winter months, when the darkness outside can make it
very difficult to wake up properly.
8.Listening to low volume music, or sounds such as thunder and lightening, rain can distract you from your thoughts and promote feelings of calm and relaxation. I like to listen to a quiet thunderstorm and the sound of the rain, I find these sounds really calming and they help me drift off. I also find the sound of people talking quietly helps me sleep, so listening to the radio can help, too.
9.Yoga is an exercise that can promote well-being and mindfulness and there are many different stretches or poses for different things. Doing a bit of yoga before sleeping can relieve tension in your muscles and help you decompress the stress from the day.
10. Rituals and routines are quite important to good sleep and any mother will tell you that.
It's important that babies have a routine that they stick to, in order to help them have a consistent and effective bed time routine. So it's no surprise that putting in place a routine that you follow as much as you can, can help you to have consistently good, deep sleep. This could be watching a tv show when you come home, having a certain cup of tea, maybe herbal or doing a specific meditation, mantra or yoga routine.
No comments:
Post a Comment