Are you that person who’s addicted to their pillows? Always ready for a snooze?
Yep! We can relate!
Who doesn’t like a good snooze and wake up refreshed and energized!? We also know a lot of people have a hard time getting quality sleep these days with the ongoing stress, distractions (Ahem! Instagram and Tiktok), and all the other little buggers that make it harder for us to have a restful night.
If you’ve been dying for a good night sleep, try to incorporate some of the following into your nightly ritual:
- No screen time 1 hour before bedtime: Most know about blue light’s disruptive effects on melatonin, but did you know phones, TVs, computers are meant to keep us hooked? TV programs and phone apps (Ahem! Instagram and Tiktok) are designed to keep people entertained and wired. So put them down an hour before you’re ready to sleep. Grab a book (definitely not your favorite, otherwise you’ll get too excited…) and read on!
- No water 1 hour before bedtime: pretty self- explanatory right? When we get up in the middle of the night to whiz, it’s not only annoying, but can also disrupt sleep. Avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime and limit water to 1 hour before
- Sleep in a cool and dark room: when was the last time you were comfortable sleeping in a room that’s hot and humid? Our body temperature drops during sleep, so if the body has to constantly regulate its temperature during sleep, who’s doing the relaxing? Melatonin (sleep hormone) production is light dependent, so keep yourself in a cool and dark room, and you’ll find yourself in dreamland in no time
- Keep the room quiet: this one’s a given, right? You can’t sleep during a rock concert, nor can you get to deep sleep with the TV on. Point is, sleep in a dark, quiet, and cool room.
- Gentle stretches: you shouldn’t workout too close to bedtime, but you can definitely do some stretching. Gentle stretches help the muscles relax, especially after a hot shower. Focus on long holds and elongation of muscles. If you can do it in a dim room, even better!
- Meditate: if your brain is a wild child, this one’s for you. Many struggle with insomnia because of their mind. Meditation relaxes, calms, and allows both the body and mind to prep for sleep. If you’re new to meditation, listen to a guided meditation for sleep. This will allow you to focus on the present, on breathing, and relaxing each body part.
- Journal: specifically gratitude journaling. It’s a great way to unwind and drift into sleep with fulfillment and gratitude. The brain processes our day while we sleep. Our thoughts and experiences get stored into the subconscious. So by focusing on all the things we’re grateful for, not only gives us peace but also attracts more of what we want into our life.
- Breathe: breath is the gateway to life. When we’re stressed, we breathe faster and shallower. When we are relaxed, we breathe slower and deeper. When we alter our physiological state by slowing down our breath, we’re able to activate the parasympathetic nervous system to help us unwind and shift to a calmer state. No one can fall asleep while getting yelled at by their boss, but you can definitely breathe your way out of a stressful state.
- Keep phone on airplane mode during sleep: what’s the worst thing about mornings? Waking up to hundreds of unread emails and messages. Jumping out of bed, feeling rushed and panicked. We rarely have time for ourselves during workdays (possibly weekends too). We wake up and someone else gets to run our day, either the boss, clients, or kids… Use mornings as a relaxing time, me- time for you to celebrate another waking day and kick it off with something that makes you feel fabulous!
- Turn off electronics and wifi router: If you haven’t heard of EMF, look it up. Routers send and receive signal through radiofrequency radiation. This has been studied and documented to contribute to cancer, metabolism, brain function, poor sleep, infertility, and a mouthful of other health risks. So get it out of your bedroom and unplug at night.
How many of these are you currently doing?
You don’t have to hit every item on the list tomorrow. You’ll feel a difference in your sleep quality just by changing one thing a night. When evaluating how well you sleep and attempt to troubleshoot what is(not) working, here are some things to consider:
- How fast does it take you to fall asleep?
- How often do you wake up in the middle of the night?
- If you do wake up in the middle of the night, how long does it take you to fall back asleep?
- Do you wake up refreshed in the morning?
- How would you rate your energy upon waking?
- How would you rate the quality of your sleep?
- Do you dream?
When we breakdown the different components of sleep, it’s much easier to troubleshoot and see what might be going wrong.
This holiday season, squeeze in some high quality Zzzzzs!
Written by Deanna Rose
Deanna is the founder of Wellth by Deanna Rose. She focuses on empowering women to love their body and create their dream body, master unbreakable confidence and really own their true power. Most people cope through life by creating their own physical and mental limitations on the daily, and not realizing they actually never lived. She works to break through those limiting beliefs and help them live with confidence and freedom. Her work focuses on optimizing nutrition, fitness, and mindset; emphasizing sustainability and integrating it into a lifestyle rather than a quick fix. She also works with people on getting out of the restrict- overeat cycle, weight loss, burnout, and performance optimization. She has a background in counselling, is a registered and licensed naturopathic doctor, certified sports nutritionist, and strength and conditioning specialist.
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