5 Tips to Help You Sleep Better Tonight
As I grow, I appreciate sleep more and more.
A good night’s sleep doesn’t just help us have more productive days. It provides our bodies with much need rest and reset time. While you sleep, your body restores and repairs itself, which leads to better overall health.
As a health coach, I often see sleep as one of the most neglected areas of health and self-care. From the people who stay up late watching tv to the people who lie in bed for hours waiting for their brains to shut down, everyone needs a healthy sleep pattern.
The key to better sleep is to treat it like any other part of your health: prioritize it. Create a routine that works for you and prep yourself for bed every evening. Some of my favorite bedtime rituals are:
Turn off screens. You’ve heard it before, but, chances are, you’re still playing a game or checking social media on your phone in bed. Put. It. Down. Watching tv, working on your computer or playing on your phone all act as stimulants, making you more awake and keeping you from sleep. Try getting to bed 30 minutes early and picking up a book or magazine. Reading will help you and your brain calm down, and sometimes weigh down those eyelids for you.
Take a bath. Fill your tub with warm water and calming essential oils like lavender, mandarin, jasmine or bergamot. Let the warm water relax your body as the oils work with your senses to decrease your anxiety (lavender), calm you down (mandarin), help you relax (bergamot), and make you sleepy (jasmine).
Meditate. Every single one of my health coaching sessions starts with meditation. When I set aside time for it, my day also starts and ends with meditation. The practice has gained a lot of traction in recent years as a true mental health technique. Try sitting on the edge of your bed for three minutes and only focusing on your breath. Breathe in for three seconds. Hold for three seconds. Breathe out for three seconds. Hold for three seconds. Repeat for three minutes. You just meditated. Meditation helps us center ourselves and focus our thoughts, perfectly preparing the mind for bed, the day ahead, or the meeting you’re about to go to.
Have some tea. Drinking non-caffeinated hot tea (and warm milk) helps the body relax and induce sleep. Chamomile, in particular, acts as a mild sedative to reduce anxiety, relax the muscles, and help your body slip into a sleepy state.
Write. Often, stress about everything we have to do tomorrow keeps us from sleeping well tonight. Keep a pen and paper — or better yet, your agenda — by your bed to make a note of everything on your to-do list for the next day. Think of it like a pensive. Writing down what you have to do will take it off of your mind and help you settle down for a good night’s rest.
What's your bedtime ritual?