(This is part 3 of my series on sleep. Click here for part 1: why it matters for your health, and part 2: embracing the dark.)
Establish a sleep-enhancing wind-down routine
- Make the decision to make sleep a priority for yourself. It will really make a difference in your health and energy.
- Start by choosing your bedtime (can you go to bed a bit earlier?) and start your wind-down routine 30-60 minutes before that.
- Dim the lights in the house the last couple hours of the evening and wear your blue light-blocking glasses. – see Part 2 tips
- Avoid violent or suspenseful TV shows, and even the news (if you’re watching before your wind-down starts)
- A warm shower or bath can be a relaxing part of your routine, and a way to release the accumulated energies of the day.
- Turn off computers and TV and get into bed with a book instead (not the latest Stephen King or similarly stimulating page-turner!)
- If possible, turn your phone off and put it in another room – some people are sensitive to the electromagnetic energy they emit. Use an actual alarm clock instead.
- Do your gratitude practice, briefly acknowledging all that you have and all that occurred during the day; set your grounding cord deep into the center of the earth; say your prayers.
- Listen to relaxing music (YouTube has some great options to enhance delta waves ) or guided meditations . But if you’re using your phone, power down when you’re done.
Sleep well…
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