Here Are Our Top 9 Tips To Mastering The Nighttime Ritual.
There is nothing better after a long day than jumping into the warm comforts of bed and having a deep restful night's sleep. A good night's sleep helps your body and mind to recharge, repair and prepare for the new day ahead. Sleep is such an important part of our routines that when disrupted it can cause feelings of stress, anxiety and has been shown to impact your immune system.
According to new Medibank research more than 5 million Australians have had their sleep negatively impacted in 2020. With restrictions beginning to ease and life beginning to turn towards normality, there is no better time to reclaim your sleep rituals and start implementing some good new ones. So that you can get back on track to feeling well rested and recharged each morning.
Plan For Plenty Of Sleep
The first step to anything is to plan, plan, plan. If you start your day with the intention to have a restful night's sleep you can take the necessary steps to achieve it. To do this, think about your schedule and the times you wish to go to hit the hay and wake up and set yourself a firm bedtime. By mapping it out, you can plan accordingly and ensure you are planning for enough hours of sleep to feel rested. The Sleep Health Foundation recommends healthy adults should receive between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. By setting yourself a bedtime and following this consistently you are also helping to train your brain to feel tired naturally at bedtime.
After setting your bedtime you can schedule a time to begin your nighttime rituals.
Take A Hot Shower Or Bath
Start the night right by taking a hot shower or a soak in a warm bath. This can help you loosen up and relax while washing away the stresses of the day.
Did you know that water immersion has been found to be therapeutic? Water has a way of relaxing the mind and soothing your thoughts. Many find that being immersed in water can help their thoughts to freely flow, often bringing them to that light bulb moment!
Make this time special with a soothing bath bomb or a sleep inducing body wash.
Get Loose And Limber!
Sitting at a desk or standing for long periods of time can often leave our bodies feeling stiff and achy, particularly in the back and neck. Stretch out those aches and pains and let your body begin to wind down for the night. We recommend finding a quiet place in your home and taking a few moments to do this each night. It is not only great to help you wind down but can help improve mobility and even help you to feel a little less stiff in the morning.
Looking for some great stretches to add to your routine? You can check out our favourite stretcheshere.
Meditate
Find some peace and soothe the mind with a few moments of mediation each night. Just a few moments of meditation can help calm those stressful thoughts that race through your mind and keep you up at night. While meditation does take some patience and practice to master, regular meditation practice has been shown to greatly improve sleep quality overtime.
Simply close your eyes, take a few deep breaths focusing on your breathing, clearing your mind. There are many forms of meditation you can try. You can hit up Youtube for some good guided meditation videos to follow or even hit up some podcasts, we loveThe Morning Ritual by Lily Balch.
Avoid Stimulating Activities Before Bed
Put the electronics down. Despite what you may think, your favourite tv show or that scroll through TikTok does not help you wind down and relax. In fact the strong blue light our electronics emit can actually trick your brain into thinking it’s day time, preventing the successful production of melatonin, keeping you awake for longer!
Put your electronics down at the beginning of your nighttime routine if possible and help your brain wind down for the night. Don’t worry, you can watch those cat videos in the morning.
Tip: Help ditch the phone before bed by investing in an old school alarm clock and charging your phone in another room overnight. Old school alarms are not only great to get you up in the mornings but look great too!
Read A Book
So you have put the electronics away and have a little spare time? Reading a book before bed can help you exercise the mind without leaving you feeling energetic and over stimulated. Like a soothing massage for your mind switch off from the world around you with a good book.
Plus you can read while lying down, so minimal effort is required!
Get Some Vitamin D!
Struggling to get enough sleep? The culprit may be a lack of vitamin D. Studies have shown an association between your vitamin D levels and the time you spend sleeping.
Those with low vitamin D levels have been shown to sleep less, have sleep be less efficient and have less restful sleep. Gominak and Stumpf after a trial of vitamin D supplementation in patients argue that “that sleep disorders have become epidemic because of widespread vitamin D deficiency”
So if you are struggling to sleep you may need a little more time in the sun during the day.
Essential Oils
Help create a sleep oasis with some sleep promoting scents. Mind relaxing scents such as lavender, bergamot and chamomile can be another great way to soothe the mind. Pop a couple drops of your favourite nighttime scent in a diffuser or mix with some water in a spray bottle and lightly spritz your space.
Prep Your Bedroom
The very last thing you should aim to do in your nighttime routine is to prepare your bedroom for sleep. Turn your bedroom into a nighttime sleep oasis by dimming lights, setting the temperature and turning off any noisy electronics. If you sleep with a computer or television in your room we recommend turning off and covering with a piece of cloth.
The last thing you do should be to prepare the bed itself, take off any decorative pillows, loosen the bedding and get ready for your bed to hit the pillow for a restful night's slumber.
Having a deep restful night's sleep plays such an important part in our bodies natural rhythms. A good night's sleep can be the difference between a good productive day and a sluggish one.
By setting yourself a solid nighttime routine and implementing it regularly, you are not only able to help train your brain and body back into its natural sleep-wake cycle and improve your sleep, but by taking some time each night to relax, destress and unwind can greatly improve your wellbeing and reduce stress and anxiety.
Remember to start your day right you must end your day right so if you are starting to feel drowsy get in those z’s.