🥱 Do you struggle to fall or stay asleep? Are you restless at night?👇
At the surface level, poor sleep is linked to::
💤 Weakened Immune System
💤 Increased anxiety + depression
💤 Excess weight gain
💤 Elevated levels of stress
💤 Increased risk of heart disease
💤 Longer healing duration for colds and sickness
Sounds awful right? But what the hell are suppose to about???? 🤷♀️ Especially if you want to sleep + sleep well yet just can’t seem to win the battle?
The battle started for me when I was a teenager. I would stay up all hours of the night + maybe get an hour or two of sleep. I would plow through the next day because I was “tough”. Yet I was experiencing very elevated stress + constant brain fog which meant it took 2 or 3x as much effort to accomplish something than if I had just slept. But I COULDN’T!!!
Then, the solution was thought to be Melatonin, St. John’s Wort + Kava Kava. It was never brought to my attention that my habits + practices (or lack of) may be the cause of some of my sleep struggles.
This cocktail of supplements worked for a while but not long term. Over the years, I have learned, I am not the only one dealing with these struggles and desperately wanting an answer.
So, I dug in + this is what I found:
📱 Our phones + TVs are massive barriers to sound sleep!!!
🛏 We want to be in control of your schedule and make too many changes to when we sleep.
🤔 Most of us don’t know how to turn our brains off or the volume down.
☕️ We are all hyped up on caffeine.
🧘♀️There isn’t much any of us do to decompress.
Habits + Practices:
Screenshot this list of habits + practices and see if you can slowly add the ones that resonate with you into your life. Stay positive. Be patient + notice.
Sleep at night
Ditch screens at least 1 hour (preferably 2) before bed
Make your room + body cool
Read a light-hearted book
Consider taking a magnesium supplement
Do a guided meditation
Use a sound machine
Write down your thoughts
Avoid caffeine
Drink herbal tea
Take 3 deep breaths
Waterfall inversion
Journal your thoughts out
My newest habit. I set my phone to do not disturb + leave it in a different room at night to charge. 🙌 This has been a GAME CHANGER!!
When all else fails:
If these don’t work for you, ask yourself :
WHAT IS GOING ON?
Am I NOT letting myself feel my feelings?
Am I NOT processing an event that happened or is currently happening in my life?
What new or excess stress do I have in my life right now that could be keeping me awake?
What is on my mind?
What am I doing to take care of myself?
Grab your journal or someone you trust + GET IT ALL OUT!! Write about:
Your stress
What is going on in your life
What is on your mind
Your to do list for tomorrow
Anything you don't want to forget in the morning
📣Remember rest is better than no rest - if you can’t sleep, focus on resting.