“Sleep is the best mediation.”
-Dalai Lama
What’s one thing we all need but sometimes rarely get? The answer can vary depending on the day, but today the answer is sleep. Do you find you ask yourself any of these questions?
- Why do I wake up tired?
- Why did my weight loss stall?
- Why do I have so much trouble turning my brain off to go to sleep?
These were some of the questions I asked myself over the years. As I researched wellness, proper sleep keeps appearing as a critical component of wellness. Sleep is correlated to better immune function, weight control, productivity, and a whole host of other things. Some of the most interesting stats include:
· People with short sleep duration tend to weigh significantly more than those who get adequate sleep (Source)
· Even a small loss of sleep has been shown to impair immune function (Source)
· Sleep is important for various brain function aspects such as concentration, productivity, and performance (Source)
· Estimated reports indicate 90% of people with depression complain about sleep quality (Source)
So I get it. Sleep is important. I know I’m supposed to get 7 – 9 hours of sleep at night. However, how the heck am I supposed to do that if I don’t go to sleep until 1 am and wake up around 6:30 am or so? As a mom, it makes sense to wake up before the kids get up. However, my kids don’t understand the concept of sleeping in. They still wake up around 6 or 6:30 am even if they stay up the night before. On most nights, you can find me up browsing the net, working, cleaning, or watching TV. I feel like the evenings, most often the late evenings, are my power hours to be most productive. Fitting in my “me time” usually tends to come at night after I finish all the other tasks I have to complete. So after coming to the realization that sleep has a major role in my well-being, I decided that proper sleep needed to be a priority for me. Like anything, you decide what is important to you and proper sleep is majorly important. After coming to this realization, I took some steps to position myself to get proper sleep. Here are the five techniques I implemented to get proper sleep.
Set a Schedule
Sticking to a sleep schedule of the same bedtime and wake up time is to help regulate your body’s clock. In the past, my sleep schedule varied, but for the past few months. I’ve been able to stick to a pretty consistent schedule.
Practice a Bedtime Ritual
My days are usually a jumble of excitement, stress, and anxiety. It’s hard to jump from that right to sleep. I have a regular nighttime ritual that winds me down and prepares me for sleep. I usually do some light stretching or yoga exercises. After that, I incorporate some quiet time to pray and meditate to say thank you for what I was able to do for the day and all of my blessings.
Get Comfy
Mattresses usually last about 9-10 years, so we are good there. We frequently change our sheets because I love sleeping on clean sheets. I really enjoy the sheets from Peach Skin Sheets or the sheet sets from Sam’s Club.Although we had the comfy mattress and sheets, I still wasn’t comfy. So I turned to our pillows. Our pillows were our problem. We were not getting the right support in our pillows. After a little trial and error, I bought these pillows from Sam’s Club .
Limit Screen Time
This was a tough one to overcome since I usually like to scroll on my phone or watch TV before bed. However, since making a commitment to read more, I often find myself swapping my phone or TV for a book to wind down right before bed. Reducing the light emitted from these devices has definitely reduced any evening eye strain.
Add a Relaxing Scent
One of my favorite things I added to my bedroom was an essential oil diffuser. The sense of smell definitely creates a cozy atmosphere perfect for sleep. One of my favorite essential oils to diffuse is lavender. It’s a staple scent to promote sleep. I’ve also added a Pillow Mist into the rotation as well. So far, I like Eucalyptus Spearmint Pillow Mist from Bath & Body Works. I like to spray this about an hour or so before bedtime so it’s still in the air while I’m doing my wind down exercises.
So I feel like I’ve made some strides in making sleep more of a priority. I can definitely tell a difference in my overall mood when I get good quality sleep. Along with nutrition and exercise, sleep is an integral part of your health and well-being. Implementing techniques that work for you can help you achieve optimal health.
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