Getting to sleep used to take forever for me. I would sit there with my mind thinking over everything and not relaxing, staying awake. The past few years I've been trying hard to work on getting to sleep quicker and decompress more before I get into bed. I've got 5 ways that have really helped me get a better nights sleep. What do you do to do to decompress? Do you drink something warm? Special tunes?
Get sleep on the front end
While it's not really a decompressing technique it will definitely help you get more sleep. This is something Dad always used to say to me when I'd say how tired I was from staying up late to read most nights. Now that I'm older and attempting to adult it makes a lot of sense. I need to wake up early most days for work so why wouldn't I get that sleep time in on the front end. For most of us at a certain point we're probably just aimlessly online searching why not go to bed and get more sleep. Although he was always falling asleep when we watched TV earlier in the evening so that might have helped too!
Make it smell nice
A while ago Stephanie turned me on to Essence of Vali's Sleep a Bedtime Ritual. I just finished up my first little bottle after using it for a couple of months and I have to say I've really been liking it. You put a drop on the corner of your pillow and the calming scents help you sleep better. I like to put it on the corner a while before bed and inhale for a few minutes before finishing up my nightly routine. The scent and deep breathing really helps to start the unwinding.
Put on some music
Soothing music can really calm your mind. My music place of choice is Pandora and I found a great channel that is called soothing music for insomnia. It's wonderful. It's lovely instrumental music think like the music you hear when you're getting a massage. Even Kevin has been saying it has helped him to relax. Although it is annoying when the loud commercial comes on!
Turn it off
We live in such a bright world. There are bright lights and bright screens that are all around us. Turn it all off ... or at least invest in not as bright lights and turn your screen resolution on red and way down. Since our bedside lamp is a small one it has a small bulb which means it's a much dimmer light. I always make a point to turn off the other lights about 45 minutes before bed and just use that one.
Relax your mind
I am an over thinker. It can be so bad sometimes I'll find myself going over things that happened years ago and I just can't turn off my mind. A few years ago when I was super stressed my mom recommended I listen to some self hypnosis relaxation videos. I found this really great video that walks you through relaxing your entire body and mind. I'm not sure if I'm ever actually hypnotized but it sure does relax me.
Turn it off
We live in such a bright world. There are bright lights and bright screens that are all around us. Turn it all off ... or at least invest in not as bright lights and turn your screen resolution on red and way down. Since our bedside lamp is a small one it has a small bulb which means it's a much dimmer light. I always make a point to turn off the other lights about 45 minutes before bed and just use that one.
Relax your mind
I am an over thinker. It can be so bad sometimes I'll find myself going over things that happened years ago and I just can't turn off my mind. A few years ago when I was super stressed my mom recommended I listen to some self hypnosis relaxation videos. I found this really great video that walks you through relaxing your entire body and mind. I'm not sure if I'm ever actually hypnotized but it sure does relax me.
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