Let’s be honest, there aren’t enough hours in the day to see friends, be active, have a productive work day, cook healthy meals and get eight hours sleep. Anyone who manages to achieve all of this and have a smile on their face must either have a 24 hour IV drip of caffeine or be clocking life.
For the rest of us struggling to make the most of the day, it’s usually because we are functioning on only a little bit of sleep. Being well rested is key to balancing the rest of your life, so we’ve put together some quick tips to help you 😴 like a pro.
Chamomile tea: Herbal teas have magical abilities in our opinion and picking the right one can be the difference between you drifting off to sleep and having enough energy to run a marathon. Chamomile tea has extracts that help calm your body down, making it the perfect addition to your pre-bed routine.
Switch off your devices: No more stalking your ex on Instagram or watching YouTube before bed. Playing on your phone keeps your brain stimulated and will prolong your body from realising it is time for sleep.
Sleeping masks: For some of us, any excess light causes our brain to struggle from switching off. Sleeping masks help emulate the perfect sleeping conditions by blacking the area around you.
Earlier bed time: If you’re someone who takes an hour to wind down, put yourself to be an hour earlier than you want to go to sleep. Be conscious of what time you have to get up, a 5am start to the day is going to be hard if you’re getting into bed at 11pm each night. Goodbye functioning brain and productivity, hello caffeine.
Have a hot bath/shower: Warming up your body and then letting it drop down to room temperature can help slow your metabolism and encourage your body to enter “sleep mode”. Plus, there aren’t many things better than snuggling into bed after a hot shower.
How do you get to sleep if you’re having a restless night?
I have tried having a shower at night, but because my routine in the morning is to shower first it kinda just woke me up more. I think these are all good tips, but quite dependent on whether they tend not to be part of your bed routine. Might take a few goes to get the right effect? Hot chamomile tea is great for sleep and a bit of lavender oil on the pillow too.
I often have trouble getting to sleep, I crawl into bed exhausted (far later than I should) and then just lie there awake… I will have to put my phone away and stop looking at it just before I got to bed and have a hot shower before I go to bed. My Fitbit is regularly telling me that I am only getting about 6 hours sleep so a earlier bedtime sounds like a good idea too
I feel like I never get enough sleep I love a hot shower or bath before bed I feel it really does help as well as having chamomile tea before bed and certainly switching of devices as they leave you struggling to sleep. I also try to get to bed early but some nights there can be lots to do before going to bed.
Agree with all of the above especially leaving the devices out of the bedroom as it makes it too easy to grab and have a look and get stuck on and that shining light on the screen just wakes your brain up. I find doing a 10 minute meditation off youtube gets me ready for sleep. Also wear comfortable sleepwear or nothing at all gives you one less thing to annoy you when your trying to sleep. White noise is good too I quite often put the fan on low by my bed blocks out all those other sounds that make the brain think “what was that?”
I agree that the chamomile tea and the turning off devices before bedtime works. I think reading before bed is also helpful.
Ok I don’t get enough sleep but it’s more due to interrupted sleep for me, that’s because I have health issues and pain wakes me up a lot during the night 🙁 I always have a hot shower or bath before bed, helps me relax. I do sometimes use my phone or watch TV in bed oops!! When the weather is colder we always hop into bed really early, saves power and helps with energy haha
I’m all about the extra zzzz and will definitely give a hot shower before bed a try! I usually shower a few hours beforehand but that sounds like a great idea, along with an earlier bedtime which I have been a bit slack with as of late.