To all the tossers and turners out there – this one’s for you. Despite what your parents may have told you when you were younger, no amount of sheep counting is going to undo poor sleeping habits.
RELATED: 6 ways you’re actually making your period worse
RELATED: Kayla Itsines makes a solid case for eating more carbs
We spend so much time (and money) prioritising our health, yet the importance of catching the correct amount of zzz’s is often overlooked. So as we celebrate Sleep Awareness Week (August 3-9, 2020), step aside sugar fasts and new gym memberships as we introduce: the sleep cleanse.
1. Reserve your bedroom only for sleep
Since our homes have recently become our offices, gyms, favourite cafes and movie cinemas all in one, this might seem impossible.
BUT -if you can, reserve your bedroom for sleep (and romance) only. This will help to train your mind and body into associating your room with sleep only and minimise other potential distractions and negative ties. i.e. if your bedroom doubles as an office, you will correlate your bedroom with work, so it would be no surprise for work anxieties to arise just as you are wanting to switch off.
2. Minimise screen time
No screens at least 60 minutes before bedtime. None!
The blue light from your devices can slow down the rate your body produces melatonin, as when there is light, your body doesn’t produce as much.
If avoiding any unwanted light in the bedroom is easier said than done, enlist the help of a sleeping mask.
bh recommends: Manicare Sleeping Mask
3. Keep a consistent bed and wake up time
This even applies to the weekends, where possible, ideally sticking to eight hours a night.
4. Follow a wind down routine
Whether this entails a cup of herbal tea, reading one chapter of your book, taking a sleep supplement or applying a sleep inducing oil to your pulse points – a bed time routine will promote the release of your natural sleep hormone melatonin.
bh recommends: Buckley & Phillips Aromatics Pulse Point Roller – Sleep Soundly, EpZen Sleep Body Spray, Abeeco Power Sleep Formula, Naturopathica Collagenix Beauty Sleep
5. Keep your sheets clean
Nothing is more inviting than crisp, clean bedsheets.
Ensure you’re washing yours frequently so you as fresh as possible as you get into bed.
6. Make your bed –every single morning
As night time rolls back around, the act of peeling back your covers as you get into bed helps to trigger your body into realizing it’s sleep time.
7. If you can’t sleep, get up
If you’re finding yourself waking up in the middle of the night, or early hours of the morning, get out of bed. Yes really – head into another room where you can either sit under a soft light and read your book until you feel tired again, or even make yourself a cup of herbal tea.
8. Make sure your room is tidy
In particular, make sure there is nothing on your bed but the sheets, blankets and pillows you will use to sleep.
A cluttered environment will encourage a cluttered mind, keep it tidy.
9. Use aromatherapy in the bedroom
Certain scents such as lavender are known to promote sleep. By creating a relaxing and calm atmosphere through essential oils, your brain will pick this up as a cue that it is time to go to sleep.
Keep this particular scent specifically for your bedroom to form a strong association.
bh recommends: In Essence Sleep Essential Oil Blend, Oil Garden Sleep Assist, endota spa Calm Essential Oil
10. Take a warm bath before bed
Or if you don’t have a bath, a shower will do just fine. This simple sleep remedy helps to relax and induce a better night’s sleep.
Take this to another level and apply a body moisturiser such as theLUSH Sleepy Body Lotion once you get out and dry off. The calming lavender flower will help you drift off.
bh recommends: Dr Teal’s Foaming Bath – Soothe & Sleep With Lavender
Main image credit: @bed.threads
I have the opposite problem at the moment, I don’t want to get out of bed! These are great tips though. In psychology we call this “establishing a sleep hygiene routine”.
I get min 8 hours. Bliss.
I know about minimising screen time but I break that rule every night…..
Excellent tips. I find making my bed in the morning puts me in a positive mind-frame, as odd as that sounds!
I sleep about 12 hours a day and am still tired.
I always do a wind-down before bed, my skincare routine, less light and more essential oils. I like to stretch and hold a few poses too.
Since covid, hubby has been at home online for work and the glow from his work computer systems at night comes into the bedroom. So my silk eyemask is a Godsend! I could shut the door but sometimes it’s just not practical to do that.
I don’t have trouble sleeping but need to tidy the bedroom.
I find it hard to go to sleep, but then I find it so hard to get up in the morning. Especially when I’ve got two pussy cats snuggled up with me and I can’t move anyway.
My sleep hasn’t been good for awhile now. I can’t sleep for more than 6 hours and I always wake up so tired
Some great Tips for getting a good night’s sleep, most nights I sleep quite well but there is always an odd night that I suffer from insomnia.
Great tips!
Oh I am trying these tips
Nothing better than a good nights sleep
I find it hard to go to bed at the same time every night.
Im an awesome sleeper….I get an A+ 😀
I go to bed about the same time each night and have the same pre-bed routine. I fall asleep within a minute of getting into bed.
Generally I don’t have trouble falling asleep. The only thing stopping me from drifting off right away is hubby’s snoring but I still manage to get around 9 hours sleep each night.
Great tips here thanks BH X
I go through periods of fabulous restorative sleep and periods of tossing, turning agony – for me it all depends on whats going on in my life.
I really need to try something with my sleep, I’ve been finding it difficult to get a good nights sleep for a long time now
Good tip. My bedroom could do with a tidy up.
Great tips. I’ve found keeping my room tidy really does help.
Will try some of these tips next time I can’t sleep.
Thanks for these ideas. I do have trouble sleeping and COVID restrictions havent helped
I can’t sleep without my sleeping mask! I agree with keeping your bedroom clutter free and clean too. Its so satisfying to sleep in a freshly cleaned and decluttered room, especially since you’ve worked damn hard to achieve it!
i have to sleep in a pitch black room with a mist diffuser to help myself fall asleep and the best feeling is having a hot shower before bed it soothes you and makes you fall asleep in an instance
So important to get good rest.
I get up and go to another room; seems to work
I’m guilty on using screens right before bed and have bags under my eyes. I really need to change that! i love my lavender oil I flick around my room before bed and my silk eye mask..
I never have baths – I think I’ll have one tonight to help me wind down. Great idea!!
Im always a little stunned at people that constantly have issues getting to sleep. As long as things are quiet in the street then im totally fine.
Same here Meedee. Rarely have trouble getting to sleep.
Good tips there, I definitely need some to cope with the menopause sleep interruptions!
I need all the help I can get when it comes to sleeping! Sometimes I get really desperate and take sleeping pills, but I try not to. One thing I have found that does help relax me is from Mecca, This Works Deep Sleep Breathe In Roller Ball ($37). It’s a blend of essential oils that they claim calm and relax you. I think they do. It smells gorgeous, not too overpowering, and it’s got great reviews. I got the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray with my last Mecca Beauty Loop Box. I gave it to Mum and she’s really loving it.
My names are Ashley Vivian, Am here to share a testimony on how Dr Raypower helped me. After a 1/5 year relationship with my boyfriend, he changed suddenly and stopped contacting me regularly, he would come up with excuses of not seeing me all the time. He stopped answering my calls and my sms and he stopped seeing me regularly. I then started catching him with different girls several times but every time he would say that he loved me and that he needed some time to think about our relationship. But I couldn’t stop thinking about him so I decided to go online and I saw so many good talks about this spell caster called Dr Raypower and I contacted him and explained my problems to him. He cast a love spell for me which i use and after 24 hours, my boyfriend came back to me and started contacting me regularly and we moved in together after a few months and he was more open to me than before and he started spending more time with me than his friends. We eventually got married and we now have been married happily for 3 years with a son. Ever since Dr Raypower helped me, my partner is very stable, faithful and closer to me than before. You can also contact this spell caster and get your relationship fix Email: urgentspellcast@gmail.com or urgentspellcast@yahoo.com see more reviews about him on his website: https://urgentspellcast.wordpress.com/ WhatsApp: +1 (424) 330-8109
Ok we’ve moved things around and now his office is downstairs away from the bedrooms. Yay fo rthat.
The Base Collective makes a beautiful adults body wash that is sleep inducing too. : )
I find it a bid hard to find a bath enticing in the winter because I have to heat up the bathroom first.
Sheets washed and dried in the sunshine are amazingly good -love it when the sheets are done like this.
Fresh new sheets, shower, incense, relaxing music, meditate….look I sleep easy anyways. But do like a nice nightly ritual.