Sweet dreams
The feeling of peace and a good night's sleep when we wake by ourselves in the morning is probably one of the best feelings a human can have. Even though I do know people who would call this- sleeping in. The fact that you can lie down on a warm bed without worries, and can fall asleep daydreaming is most definitely a luxury. However, not everyone knows how to do this. Or they simply do not know how to. I think that this problem has been going around for a few months (due to current events going on in our country and our eastern neighbors), or years (pandemic) for all of us. With time, of course, we get used to and adjust to our surroundings, however, before this happens at times we can feel anxious, scared, and restless. Add on to that our individual worries... And how are we supposed to fall asleep soundly? Or, how do we even fall asleep? Below are a few rules ( which to readers might seem a bit weird, but after a bit of thought they do make sense : )
Doctors say that a good night's sleep depends on a few rules, (however they do say that depending on your weight the rules may differ). Of course, if we don’t have problems falling asleep we do not need to adapt to these rules. But, if you do have a few restless nights, you should try to use some of these tips:
- limit the time spent in bed – so a place where we shouldn’t necessarily, e.g., read a book or watch a movie. For those activities, we should choose a different place.
- do not try and force yourself to sleep – every minute spent turning from one side to another just feels like forever, and the creeping thoughts just make things harder, so it is worth getting up and going into a different room, doing something calming and then going back to your bed feeling sleepy.
- your phone/watch should not be within eyesight, looking at it will just make you more frustrated.
- physical tiredness- workouts, walks, and other activities are just suggested, but recommended. However, it is worth planning to do them so that you finish around 6:00 pm.
- coffee, strong teas, energy drinks, nicotine, alcohol – we know, will most likely not help.
- meals we eat right before bed, should be, to the extent that is possible, easy to digest.
- try to keep to a regular waking-up time
- during the day try to be in good, bright lighting, in the evening try and be in slightly dimmer lighting.
- (my favorite) avoid taking naps during the day.
There is quite a bit, but just like within the rules of living a healthy lifestyle, some should take out something for themselves. If we were to adopt everything, we would be further from being peaceful and relaxed. In our articles, we frequently recommend you have rituals. Evening skincare whilst using your favorite cosmetics, a soja candle, with a podcast, audiobook, or your own playlist playing in the background and those 15 minutes for yourself in your bathroom, even if on the other side of the door is going crazy with two kids. Before a light dinner or no dinner (if you have adopted an e.g., intermitted fasting). We leave the phone in our kitchen or living room, shower, moisturize, jump into our favorite pajamas, spray a bit of perfume, and go to watch a movie or read a book – when or if we have the time to.
When lying down focus on your breath. A good way to calm your mind is to focus on imagining a simple item or a shape. Sometimes I try to imagen a silver ball and it shocks me how fast my thoughts change directions. When I put my focus back on the ball, once again I take a deep breath in through my nose and a deep breath out.
Falling asleep is always different, based on my own experience I know that some sleep like a log, and others are regularly haunted by weird, disturbing dreams. Some do not remember their dreams at all, however, they have problems going to sleep. Others can fall asleep under any circumstance and are always well-rested. It is good to take care of your sleep hygiene and nighttime routine, it cannot hurt, and maybe it will be a good start to having quality sleep.
