Getting a Good Night’s Sleep Part IV: Good Habits
Welcome to the final installment of Getting a Good Night’s Sleep! This month we are focusing on good habits for you to try in order to mantain healthy and regular sleep patterns.
I imagine there will be some eye rolling and sighing as you read these good habit ideas. I can hear the whispered excuses and justifications for not trying them. AND I encourage you to at least try something different.
The truth is I am not offering anything here that hasn’t been said before and that you don’t already know in your heart. There is no magic switch that makes everything better. Life is about experiences and if you aren’t happy with your experience then you have the choice to do something different.
Prepare
If you spend your nights tossing and turning worrying about all the things you have to do, it’s worth going to bed a little later so that you can prepare for the next day. Knowing you don’t have to rush around in the morning will allow for more restorative sleep.
Before beginning your nighttime ritual:
Pick out your clothes and set up the coffee pot.
Write a to-do list so your brain can stop ruminating.
Wash your face and hands and brush your teeth and hair to wash off the day both literally and energetically.
Disconnect
If you are rolling your eyes or feeling any resistance to this, then you probably REALLY need to do it. I won’t bore you with all the research about the blue light or the electromagnetic waves emitted from your phone or go on and on about how scrolling through social media and news before bed only keeps your mind active and agitated.
JUST PUT THE PHONE ON DO NOT DISTURB AND STICK IT IN A DRAWER ALREADY!
At least try it for a full week before discounting the benefits of doing it.
Spend some time in gratitude
Gratitude journals get mixed reviews, but I say give it a try for 30 days.
What we send out comes back; it is an energetic invitation to the Universe to reflect back to us what we are focused on. Shifting your energy from feeling overwhelmed and beat down to being in gratitude invites things in which to be grateful for into your life.
Also, spending time looking for the good in your day puts you in a more positive mental state helping to alleviate stress and tension.
If writing or journaling just isn’t your thing, try closing your eyes and mentally listing at least three things you are grateful for each day.
Stick with your routine
Once you have found your magic sleep ritual combination stick to it the best you can. Creating a rhythm of consistency at bedtime trains the body and mind to relax and sleep.
Sometimes life happens…. I get it. Try not to let one or two days of inconsistency derail you though. As soon as you can, get back to your routine.
As promised…..
My personal nighttime ritual
When I started this journey five years ago, sleep and I hadn’t been on speaking terms for a long time! Like so many, I took OTC sleeping pills every night and grappled with getting by. When I decided to eliminate chemical and toxins from my life, daily sleeping pills were at the top of my “has to go” list. I knew it would take some time, patience, and trial and error to find what would work for me.
The first thing I did was eliminated the pressure to HAVE A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP every night. You don’t realize how being in your head focusing on something, being so desperate for it to happen can actually energetically keep it out of reach. I let go of my expectations and tried to adopt a “let me try it and see” attitude. Sometimes I slept well and sometimes I didn’t. When I did not sleep well, I didn’t beat myself up, make a big deal out of it, revert to my old ways or give up… I kept going.
To prepare my sleep space, I applied some basic Feng Sui principles to my bedroom, moving furniture around, eliminating clutter, etc. Then I added a crystal grid around my bed and room. Plus I make my bed every morning because I actually do sleep better when I get into neat sheets.
I do use a couple of natural remedies too. Each night I diffuse an essential oil blend called Keep Me Sleeping and I will take an all natural herbal sleep supplement at night when needed. Occasionally I still find myself waking up in the middle of the night with my brain jabbering away. So I use the Mantra I shared in Part III or play some sleep music. This seems to preoccupy and quiet my brain enough to go back to sleep.
My pre-betime practices include washing my face and hands, and brushing my teeth and hair to literally and energetically cleanse off the day. Once I’m in bed, I do my Lazy Bed Yoga and Qi gong breathing. This prepares my body and mind for sleep in such a nourishing way.
My good habits have ebbed and flowed and changed over time depending on the demands of my daily schedule. If I have to get up early, I set the coffee pot, pick out my clothes and pack up for the next day. Two things that I always do is to keep an ongoing weekly to-do list which frees my brain from overthinking and my phone goes on Do Not Disturb and is placed in a closed drawer at least an hour before I go to sleep.
This may sound like a lot but it only takes about 30 minutes and it is completely worth it!
Over the past few of years I tried all of the practices I have shared with you and they all have value. I hope you give some of these ideas a try so that you can find your magic combination!
The important thing to remember is yYou are in control of your actions and responses and thereby your experiences. As a coach and mentor, my advice is this… try to release your stories and habits associated with sleep, free yourself from your limiting beliefs about what you can or can’t do and what works and doesn’t work, and start fresh.
Remember ~ If something doesn’t work for you try not to throw the baby out with the bath water. I suggest trying each practice that appeals to you for 7 days – 30 days. One or two nights is not enough time for your system to reset. Practices take time, your body-mind-spirit need to adjust and adapt. Somethings may help a little, but they aren’t enough. That’s okay, you may need to add another practice or two in order to find the combination that works for you. Either build on what you like or put a pin in what works so you can come back to it later.
You can keep notes and record your experiences each day. Include:
Any significant or major events that impacted your day
The practice you tried
Time of night you did the practice
Your mood before and after the practice
What time you went to bedk
The quality of your sleep
I have created a printable chart you can use to make this process even easier.
The information and suggestions provided in this article are opinions and in no way constitute medical or psychological advice.
NEXT: This coming year we’ll be featuring some cool guest bloggers from a variety of wellness fields.
