Hello Ladies, This is Blessing here with another She Health series.
Do you have difficulty winding down after a long day? Does your racing mind keep you awake late into the night? We all have busy lifestyles and stress from work and family responsibilities. Sometimes it is hard to relax because of all the things we have to take care of and deal with during the day. Here are seven Ways to Relax before Bed.
Do you have difficulty winding down after a long day? Does your racing mind keep you awake late into the night? We all have busy lifestyles and stress from work and family responsibilities. Sometimes it is hard to relax because of all the things we have to take care of and deal with during the day. Here are seven Ways to Relax before Bed.
Put Electronics Away
Many
people take their electronics to bed with them and technology has
made it even more convenient to read your Kindle and answer your
email on your iphone without even leaving your bed. Did you know that
all electronics emit electromagnetic frequencies? Electromagnetic
frequencies can interfere with your cortisol levels and affect your
ability to fall asleep. The body secretes cortisol in response to
stress and prepares your body for the flight or flight response. The
best way to reduce your exposure to electromagnetic frequencies is to
remove all electronics from your bedroom. This includes:
- Cell phones
- Laptops
- Kindles
- TV’s
No Caffeine
Avoid Caffeine at least 4-6 hours before bedtime. The time varies for different people, some people are more sensitive to the affects of caffeine tan others. Drinking caffeinated beverages before bed will keep you up and down at night. You will end up doing more tossing and turning than sleeping.
Soothing Music
Soothing music has a way of calming you down and helping you get your mind and body ready to sleep. The goal is to listen to music that calms you down. Calming music helps reduce:
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Lowers heart and breathing rate
- Supports more restful sleep
Don’t Take Work to Bed with You
Most of us take work to bed instead of leaving it outside where it belongs. As a business owner it is difficult to drop everything at the door because you are constantly thinking about your business, customers and your to do list for the next day. The best way to combat this is to avoid anything that has to do with work 2 hours before bedtime. So if you usually go to bed at 10:00pm, you shouldn’t be doing anything work related after 7:59pm. This allows you to deal with work and have time to wind down before bed. If you can’t deal with everything 2 hours before bed, it’s better to tackle it when you are well rested.
Quality over Quantity
It is more important to get quality sleep because you wake up refreshed and ready to face the day. Just because you get 9 -10 hours of sleep doesn’t mean that you are getting quality sleep. Everyone is unique when it comes to sleep, some people need more sleep to function and some need less. Find out what works well for you and then stick with it.
Create a Sleep Schedule
Go to bed the same time every night and get out of bed the same time every morning. When you have an irregular sleep schedule it can lead to problems like insomnia and fatigue. A regular sleep schedule allows your internal clock to tell your body when to go to sleep and when it is time to wake up.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral that plays a role in over 300 different reactions in the body and more than 75% of Americans are magnesium deficient. Why is magnesium important? Magnesium is a natural muscle relaxer and it helps your body relax and improves your quality of sleep. I recommend Natural Vitality Natural Calm to clients who are not able to sleep because of muscle cramping and tension. The main side effect is diarrhea if you take more than he recommended dose. You can buy it at your local health food store.
I hope these tips help you with your sleeping patterns and allow you to get a better nights rest.