You may have heard it before, but sleep is truly the bridge between hopelessness and happiness. Quality sleep is essential for every process in the body including brain function, physical health, and mental health. Despite its importance, everyday chaos distracts people from their own wellness. If you’re looking for a way to improve your quality of life, it’s time to start prioritizing your quality of sleep. Ditch the caffeine overtake and wake up on the right side of the bed with this perfect nighttime routine.
1. Move Your Body
Finding the motivation to exercise is not always easy, so consider a good night’s rest one more encouragement. Go on a walk or stretch on a yoga mat — the whole purpose is to regulate your circadian rhythm through movement. Moving your body releases endorphins and reduces stress, putting you in a better mental state to combat those late-night racing thoughts. A subsequent hot shower goes a long way by mimicking your body’s natural temperature drop before sleep.
2. Pick the Perfect PJ Set
When you look good, you feel good. This applies to sleep attire as well. A cute and comfortable night set makes a clear separation between your daytime attire and nighttime attire. A good pajama set should be comfortable, breathable, and help maintain a steady body temperature throughout the night. Cotton, linen, and silk are ideal materials for hygiene. Plus, choosing between ducks or flower patterns will become the most exciting decision of your day.
3. Prepare a Sleepy Mocktail
After you have done your part, you can let natural remedies do the rest of the work for you. Relying on prescribed medicine can become addictive and interrupt your natural sleep cycle and melatonin count. Instead, there are natural remedies that have been found to produce similar effects. Earlier this year, the Sleepygirl Mocktail went viral on TikTok. The homemade recipe uses natural ingredients like cherry juice, magnesium powder, and a prebiotic soda to ensure a good night’s sleep. There are plenty of fun and tasty recipes online to experiment with. Magnesium alone can also do the trick, specifically magnesium glycate, which can be consumed daily in moderation with no negative impacts. Another natural remedy is castor oil. Some specialists say that putting a small amount of oil on your stomach can induce sleep naturally and double as a fix for digestion issues. If you do not want to go through the trouble of buying supplements, chamomile and mint tea are also beneficial for better rest and sleep.
4. Invest in Quality Bedding
Considering we spend about one-third of our lives asleep, investing in comfortable and quality bedding is undoubtedly worth the cost. Cotton and linen are ideal materials for bed sheets, while incorporating a silk pillowcase will benefit your hair if you tend to frizz or experience breakage. Washing them once a week is best for hygiene. Some people also find comfort in weighted blankets; the deep pressure puts your autonomic nervous system into rest mode and reduces symptoms of anxiety. They even come in the form of stuffed animals if you’re looking for something smaller and in the shape of a giraffe.
5. Swap Blue Light for Ambient Light
Now it’s time to set the ambiance. Reaching for your phone before bed is an addictive pattern many have fallen into. Turn off any source of blue light that comes from screens, meaning no more late-night scrolling on TikTok. Instead, opt for a book and get in some reading. Pre-night time reading is void of judgment; whatever book it takes to get your mind off the rest of the day works. Setting a time to shut off your devices will soon become an escape you crave. Blue lights trick your brain into thinking it’s still daytime. Lamps or hanging lights that have dimming settings will put you in nighttime mode. Consider a lavender candle as well to supplement the lighting with a soothing scent.
6. Fall Asleep to Relaxing Sounds
Not all of us have the luxury of living in a location where peaceful waves crash outside. Rather, waves are replaced with honking cars, trains rushing past, or our neighbors blaring The Great British Bake Off. Purchasing a sound machine can help with these noisy distractions and send you into relaxing dreams set in a rainforest or cozy library.
Creating your ideal nighttime routine is a system of trial and error. Some of these habits may help you and some may not, but once you find the habits that bring you peace and relaxation, your health and lifestyle are bound to see substantial improvements.
Check out this article from Nekia Nichelle listing specific products for promoting sleep here.
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