5 Healthy Practices for Better Sleep
SLEEP! I love sleep. Did you know that sleep is incredibly important for our whole wellbeing? It helps with cognitive function, detoxification, balancing hormones, and more! Which makes sense why we feel so gross when we’re sleep deprived. Our bodies need it!
I have gone through some pretty tough sleep times. My mind would race with “to-dos, I would toss and turn for hours, and eventually would reach back for my phone. Because mindless scrolling on IG will help me fall asleep, right? No, no it doesn’t girlfriend.
I was feeling sluggish and wasn’t able to show up in my life the way I wanted to. I needed to make some serious changes to get my sleep on the right track! Eventually, I figured out some daily habits that help me fall asleep and stay asleep.
Here are 5 practices I have consciously been doing to get a better nights rest:
1.Put the electronics aside. This one is a game changer! The blue light on our phones, computers, and TVs mess with our natural sleep cycles and stimulate brain activity. AKA they make it more difficult to fall asleep. Even though watching Netflix all cozy in bed can sound dreamy, I made the conscious decision to keep a TV out of the bedroom.
On my iPhone, I have “night shift” turned on in my settings. This shifts my screen to more of a yellow hue instead of blue at night. Once in bed, I turn the phone on airplane mode. Those nights where I am having trouble falling asleep, I most definitely do not reach for the phone to mindlessly scroll. I learned the hard way that scrolling just makes it even worse to fall asleep.
2. Make the room a sanctuary. I believe that our environment has a great impact to how we feel. I make it a priority to keep the bedroom tidy. Yes, even when it is easier to just leave the mountain of clothes I tossed onto the floor from picking out my outfit earlier. I am able to fall asleep without thinking of the clutter and get to wake up to a clean space!
Keeping the bed comfortable and cozy is major key, too! I recently switched out our old sheets to SOL Organics organic cotton bedding. My sleep life is forever changed! You know that feeling when you slip between the sheets at a fancy hotel and proceed to sleep like you have never slept before? Thats how I feel with this bedding. SOL Organics sheets are not only organic, but are fair-trade certified, sustainably made, shipped without plastic, and $7.50 from each sale goes to charity. It’s not just amazing bedding, but an amazing company. It makes sleep that much better knowing that the bedding was made by people who care.
3. Journal it out. I know that you have gone through this scenario: you are all tucked in bed and pumped to get some sleep then the mind gets flooded with thoughts. It is THE worst, right? Journaling before bed helps so much for keeping the mind at ease. I like to list out my to-dos for next day and to journal out my gratitudes. It brings me peace before drifting off to sleep.
4. Use Essential Oils. Every night, I choose a calming blend to put into our bedside diffuser. I also will add a drop of lavender to my wrists and on bottoms of my feet. Essential oils support our bodies on a deep level and make all the difference in a bedtime ritual. I even bring some with me when I travel to support sleep.
5. Supplement. There are two supplements that I swear by for getting a good nights rest. CBD and magnesium. Both of these help me to relax and drift off to dreamland easily. I like to take CBD oil topically, holding it under my tongue for 30 seconds before swallowing. Before going to the bedroom, I mix some magnesium drink powder mix into water and drink it up. Bonus: magnesium is wonderful for sore muscles!
I would love to know what your bedtime rituals are! Comment below or leave a comment on my Instagram page and let me know.
This post was created in collaboration with a brand that I adore, SOL Organics. As always, all opinions and text are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that help make it possible for me to create great content for Wildly Wholesome!