How to De-stress Before Bed
There is nothing more annoying at 9:15 a.m. than work colleagues telling me I look tired. They mean well, but I feel self conscious the rest of the day.
I am amazed by how many of us are living on less than seven hours of sleep every night. Coffee and concealer are essential on those days! Even when I tuck myself in with enough time to sleep, spending hours tossing and turning with thoughts flying through my head means another groggy morning! When I get this sleeping thing right, I de-stress by what I do before bed as well as what I DON'T do.
De-stressing before bed starts an hour before bedtime. My top 7 tips are:
- Banish blue light
- No electronics
- No daytime lounging in bed
- Keep a sleep schedule
- Set an alarm
- Enjoy a warm foot bath
- Soothe a restless mind with meditation
I don’t use LED light within an hour of bedtime - I allow my body to sense it is night time. I have a sleep light bulb in the lamp at the bedside table and sleep glasses that block out blue light. Blue light can suppress melatonin in the body, which impacts sleep.
I also don’t have television or other distracting electronics in the bedroom and
don't use the bed for lounging - I train my body to associate the bed only with sleep. These simple practices ensure that my body can transition from wakefullness to sleep more naturally.
I get into a habit of going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, even weekends and set an alarm 30 minutes before bedtime so I can start my bedtime rituals.
When I really need to de-stress, I like using a warm foot bath to relax. After removing my feet from the foot bath, the drop in body temperature allows me to fall asleep more quickly. If I'm already in bed and my head is full of thoughts, I use a meditation or breathing technique to refocus my mind and relax my body.
Do you have any bedroom hacks for preventing insomnia?
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