In Part One, we prepared our environment to give us the best possible chance of getting a good night’s sleep. In Part Two, we move on to creating a routine that will get us ready physically, mentally and emotionally for sleep to happen.
Millions of people struggle with falling and staying asleep. But by learning how to avoid common pitfalls that get in the way of sleep and adopting a few sleep-inducing techniques, you can start to enjoy restful, quality sleep.
Here are my top ten tips to create the perfect sleep routine:
Tip #1 – Leave work at work. Once you have left work make sure it doesn’t impinge on your home life. Have you noticed that you can end up wasting the whole evening off-loading to your spouse about problems at work. While it’s important to be able to off-load, you don’t want to spend your own precious ‘me-time’ doing it. Set limits on the amount of time either of you talk about work.
Tip #2 – Create winding down rituals. Get into the habit of getting ready for sleep. Decide when you want to go to bed each night and then work backwards. 2 hours before bedtime start to focus on relaxing. An hour before dim the lights or listen to some relaxing music. Do things that make you feel cosy and comfortable and your whole body and mind will get ready to sleep.
Tip #3 – Stick to the same bedtime. Research tells us that we can’t catch up on lost sleep. Stick to the same bedtime and you will reap the benefits of a good 7-8 hours of sleep and awaken feeling refreshed and alert. Make sure that you stick to your bedtime even at weekends.
Tip #4 – Take a bath. A warm bubble bath, especially with aromatherapy oils and candles is a wonderful and fast way to let go of stress and tension. It’s such a wonderful feeling stepping out of a warm bath and into a fresh pair of pjs.
Tip #5 – Be Prepared. Get everything ready for the morning by doing it the night before. You can let go of stress and worry when you know your clothes are ready, your bags packed and even tomorrow’s lunch is made.
Tip #6 – Calm your mind. Stop the stimulus from violent, loud or scary TV and let your mind have some peace and quiet. We are so busy during our workday and often over stimulate all our senses. Give your mind quiet time to relax and unwind.
Tip #7 – Massage. Being touched is one of the best ways to relax your whole mind and body and is very pleasurable. Learn to do simple massage and take turns with your partner massaging each other.
Tip #8 – Meditate. Focusing on one specific thing can work wonders for calming a busy mind. Start with 5 or ten minutes and build up to half an hour of sitting quietly and letting your mind empty. It takes a bit of practise but will be well worth the effort.
Tip #9 – Lower the lights. An hour or so before bedtime, dim the lights. This will give a signal to your mind that you are ready for sleep and your whole system will start to quieten down and help you to slip into a gentle slumber.
Tip #10 – Music or relaxation CD. To get you totally in chill out mood, there are lots of music or relaxation CDs to choose from. Maybe you like the sound of waves gently lapping on the beach, or birds chirping. Choose whatever sound gets you to unwind and create the right sleepy atmosphere
