Sleep is more important than you think. Not only for the reduction of stress on our body and mind every day, but it is also important for the function of our bodies and our physical health.
Today we want to take a look at sleep a little closer and try to help you sleep better this year. We know how hard it can be to sleep at night especially when you are feeling stress in your life: but sleep is crucial for our body and you need at least 8 hours a night to stay healthy and happy.
Here are some of our top tips for how you can sleep better this winter and feel more alert and awake every day.
Stop eating 3 hours before bed
Eating before bed is something we have always been told not to do by our parents; and it is something we need to continue through to adulthood. Our bodies have a system when we eat food and metabolising food takes time. Our body is not able to rest and recover for a few hours after eating until it has digested all of the nutrients in our food. If you eat too close to bedtime you won’t give your body enough time to effectively digest food and this can lead to digestive issues as well as weight gain. Be sure to stop eating 3 hours before you go to bed to stay healthy.
Use a weighted mask
One of the things many of us have struggled with when trying to sleep is anxiety and wandering thoughts. If you often find yourself lying awake at night anxious and overthinking things – you may need some help to relax. One way to do this is to use a weighted sleep mask as well as a blanket to calm the body and help you stay asleep. There are tons of weighted sleep mask benefits and having one will make a huge impact on the quality of your sleep each night.
Apply essential oils
Essential oils are brilliant for a lot of different purposes in our lives. One of them in particular is to help us relax and sleep at night. If you always seem to struggle sleeping, it is a good idea to drop some essential oils close to your bed such as lavender to calm the mind and help you sleep. Another helpful thing to do is to make a sleep gel to massage your temples before bed. You will need:
- Aloe Vera gel (or an aloe Vera plant)
- Lavender oil
In a bowl – either scrape out the inside of an aloe Vera leaf or drop in some gel. Add one to two drops of lavender oil and stir. Apply to your fingers just before bed and make circular motions on your temples for a few minutes. This will calm your body and help you sleep.
There are so many ways to help you sleep soundly this winter and we hope that these few will make a positive difference to you this year.
