Senses Countdown to Restful Sleep
4-6 hours before going to bed – No caffeinated coffee, tea, or sodas, or even some pain relievers. No more cigarettes if you’re a smoker. No sugary treats, milk (plain or chocolate). These are all stimulants and as we know, stimulants are designed to keep you awake. No alcoholic beverages if you are a person who likes to have a nightcap. While it’s true that alcohol is a depressant and will bring on sleep, it also acts as a stimulant after a few hours in your body. This will cause you to wake up often. This constant stimulation keeps our bodies in the flight or fight mode.
2 hours before going to bed – No more exercising, no more eating. Put down all electronics, especially those with the blue light. Studies show that the blue light given off in devices like our cell phones, pads, laptops, and even some readers, actually negatively affect our brains in that blue light exposure suppresses our melatonin needed for sleep. The rule of thumb is one hour of blue light exposure equals to 30 minutes of melatonin suppression. This is a big deal! Drink a warm cup of chamomile lavender tea to help your body detox and relax, helping our bodies to prepare for the rest and digest process of the nervous system.
1 hour before going to bed – No more fluids of any kind, no more working of any kind. Finish up whatever you’re working on. It’s time to get ready to wind down the day.
Wind Down – The wind down process now begins. This includes changing into your bed clothes, prepare any last minute things for the next day like your outfit or lunch, brush and floss your teeth, etc.
30 minutes before going to bed – Read. Listen to calming music to induce relaxation. Meditate. Do some deep belly breathing. Use our Better Sleep Bundle ( Magnesium Oil spray and Lavender Sleep Spray) on your bed and feet and lightly mist yourself, your bed clothes, and your bed linens. This is amazing for putting your mind and nervous system in a beautiful restful mode.
Bedtime – Cell phones should be long since put away. If you’re able to, keep the cell phone out of your bedroom all together. If they stay with you in the bedroom, keep them away from your head and chest, maybe even across the room. TV’s should have been already turned off. I have a rule about having no televisions in the bedroom. Bedrooms are for sleeping and sex. That’s really it. Laptops closed. The emfs that are emitted from these electronic devices mess with our brain waves, our eyes, and our energy. The blue light in these screens actually reduce the amount of the natural hormone melatonin our body produces. Don’t forget to also adjust the thermostat to cooler temps for optimal sleeping and turn on a fan if you so desire. Ideally, the room should also be dark. Natural light from the moon and stars are okay. Use eye masks or our weighted lavender eye pillow and/or room darkening shades to cut indoor lights.
Pro Tip – For improving your sleep, get out in the morning sunshine as much as possible. Get the sun in your eyes and on your skin. This works to set the sleep cycles at the end of the day. Remember, our bodies work in tandem with the sun and the moon with the circadian rhythm.