Get to BED and STAY there

Nothing feels better than falling into a deep sleep and waking up the next day refreshed and ready to greet the day. Over my travels people reach out to me about various conditions that they experience but by far the most common complaint I hear is about sleep or the lack of it. Everyone has heard the mantra, 8 hours of sleep, that is what you need. We know we need it, but sometimes for whatever reason sleep can elude us. During the time we sleep the body begins to regenerate and heal. If you read my last post you know that the body is so busy during the day digesting it has little time for anything else so when you shut down for the night this is your body’s chance to reboot. When you sleep your brain releases hormones which boost tissue growth and repair and in turn helps wounds heal faster. Night time is also when you create white blood cells which help your immune system. Your heart gets a break and your blood pressure drops slightly. Anytime you are recovering from sickness, injury or during a detox your body needs great rest and relaxation in order to help optimize your healing.

Now that we have firmly established why sleep is so good for the body how do we get more of it. There are many herbs and supplements out there that can help you sleep but it’s also important to address the monkey in the room. You know the chatter that goes on constantly in your head ALL day. I had a good friend call it monkey chatter and it stuck with me  From the moment we wake up we start to list all of the things that we need to do, all of the things that didn’t get accomplished the day before and all of the extra things that we just piled on top of ourselves. Aside from how busy we are our lives are stressful. Some of us make it more stressful on ourselves by saying yes to everything. I am super guilty of this and in fact my 2020 New Years resolution was to say NO to more things and only say yes if it was going to be bring me joy. It was kind of Mary Kondo method but for your brain instead of your house. So, use that famous 80’s mantra and JUST SAY NO. No to being overworked, over-committed, over stressed and YES to joy. This has become so much easier for me during the COVID lock down time. Which made me wonder although people were stressed about COVID if they were not also experiencing a sense of relief at not having to go places.

Let’s talk about your night time routine. Many people myself included spend the last part of the evening in bed on our phones checking social media. This night time routine amps you up instead of winding you down. Especially if you get caught in the social media spiral and then your monkey chatter starts to pick up again. Try to put down all screens 45 minutes before you would like to fall asleep in order to help you disconnect from the world and all the things you should or could do. Spend the last few minutes before bed time preparing for a deep relaxing sleep.

Another habit to quit is eating late night meals. As I mentioned before this is your body’s time to rest and regenerate. Your body including your digestive system needs time to rest and eating gives your body a few hours of work before it can start the work that it really needs to do. Sometimes we can also experience acid re flux and indigestion because we are lying down after we we eat late at night and the body has a hard time digestion in that position. Acid re flux can be very painful and will definitely keep you from getting the rest you need so I recommend not eating after 7:00 p.m. If you are hungry try drinking some water and if that isn’t doing it for you then try eating some raw almonds or cashews. It will help you get your crunchy fix without giving your body lots of work to do before bed time.

I like to drink a tea in the evening that is specifically formulated with herbs that help you fall asleep. You can pick up a package at your local store. I have tried a few and my favorite is Bed Time Tea by Yogi because those particular herbs works great together to help you fall asleep and stay asleep. Make sure you steep your tea for at least 10 minutes to make sure that the tea is strong enough. I also like to add Natural Calm which is magnesium powder to my tea. Not only does magnesium help relax the body to help you fall asleep it is also great for your bowel movements the following day. Start of with a tsp of magnesium powder and work your way up to the full scoop recommended on the container. While I am drinking my tea my spouse and I like to connect and chat with each other. We try not to get into any conversation that require work or too much deep thought. Well to be honest I always try to give him tasks and then get reminds me that this is wind down time and I am outside of my window for requests. It’s so tempting to say things like did you remember to pay this bill or don’t forget to take this here or there but that starts the mind up again and you want to avoid that. Almost always whatever it is can wait for tomorrow morning.

If I have had a particularly difficult day and my body is super exhausted, I can find it to be even harder to fall asleep. It’s like my brain is disconnected from my body and thinks it’s still go-time and my body is desperate for my rest. In those cases, while I sip on my tea, I will also take a warm bath. I only stay in for 15 minutes just enough to drink my tea. This is a great place to use essential oils as they can seep into your skin and the steam from the bath helps you inhale them. Some great combinations for bath oils to promote sleep are: Lavender 4 drops and Petitgrain 2 drops or Lavender 3 drops and Marjoram 3 drops or Neroli 3 drops and Petitgrain 3 drops or Chamomile 4 drops and Lavender 2 drops or Lavender 2 drops and Frankincense 3 drops or Lavender 3 drops and Clary Sage 3 drops. All of these are also recommended to relieve anxiety and stress. This bath time allows me to take deep breaths and connect mind and body so we are on the same page.

After I have had my tea with magnesium and done my nightly bathroom rituals I like to hop into bed and add lavender oil to the bottom of my feet. Be sure to mix with a carrier oil if your skin is sensitive to essential oils. Rub at least three drops on each foot and then put some socks on so the oils don’t get on your sheets. If you enjoy using essential oils, I also recommend an essential oil diffuser.  An essential oil diffuser is great for the night time because you can have the scents in your room all night long. Lot’s of companies have specially blended essential oils just for night time so check out your favorite brand and look into their blended oils.  To help you on your search for the perfect essential oil I have listed the ones below that have an anti-depressant effect and help to lift the mood. Bergamot, Clary Sage, Geranium, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Lavender, Mandarin, Melissa, Mimosa, Neroli, Orange, Petitgrain, Rose, Sandalwood, Ylang-Ylang. The essential oils that have a sedative effect and help calm the nerves are: Benzoin, Bergamot, Chamomile, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Lavender, Marjoram, Melissa, Neroli, Rose, and Ylang-Ylang.  Of all of the essential oils Lavender is by far my favorite because it has so much versatility. My kids joke that I will put Lavender on everything for any reason. It has properties ranging from analgesic, antidepressant, antiseptic, decongestant, bactericidal, insect repellent and sedative. Mainly it is the best for returning the body to a state of balance in which healing can take place. Remember that night time is when healing takes place and Lavender can help you get there.  My essential oil diffuser is great because it can last all night long so be sure to look into that when you are looking to buy one. You can find them almost anywhere these days.

Once you have turned off your devices, had your tea, taken your bath, and used your essential oils you should be practically comatose but for those of you out there that still have a hard time calming down the monkey brain night time meditation is for you. I like to use a guided meditation to help me get completely relaxed before bed. I don’t do this every night but if I have had a rough day, week or things have been especially stressful it will be harder to get to sleep so listening to a guided meditation can be super helpful. You can meditate on your own if you prefer but it is much easier for me to be guided.  There are many apps out there that you can purchase however I have found some amazing night time meditations on you-tube for free by simply typing in night time meditations. They have different meditation lengths but typically 20 minutes is enough for me. Be sure that you are completely ready for bed before you start your meditation as chances are you will fall asleep during the mediation or immediately after. If you have to get up to turn out the lights or get water it defeats the purpose. Be picky about who you choose to guide you on your night time meditation. If you don’t like their voice from the start don’t try and push through it won’t help you. This is something that take a little trial and error but I can usually find something that I will enjoy in a two-minute search. When I first started meditating, I wanted to be very good at it which is the opposite of what you are supposed to do. Every time my mind wandered off from the meditation, I would internally scold myself. The key is acceptance of what comes and awareness of your thoughts. Be the watcher of your thoughts almost as if they don’t really belong to you. For example, if you are meditating for five minutes and then realize that you forgot to send an email to your co-worker about a meeting tomorrow don’t stop your meditation. Tell yourself thanks for remember I will take care of that in the morning and then as quickly as it came in let that thought go and get back to your meditation. When another thought comes acknowledge it and let it go. The more you practice meditation the easier this will become.

By the time your meditation is over you should be drifting deeply into a state of relaxation and blissful sleep that will allow your body to regenerate and heal so that you can wake up refreshed and ready to start another amazing day. If you are not waking up refreshed and ready to start your day after a full nights sleep then your body is trying to tell you that it is lacking something that it desperately needs.