A Good Night’s Sleep
Did you know that before the advent of electricity we humans used to sleep for around 10 hours each night, these days the average is less than 7 hours! It’s pretty safe to assume that most of us are surviving on less sleep than we need.
Being very adaptable we may not notice this but as sleep is essential to replenish our hormones and regenerate tissue etc. there can be underlying damage that we are not aware of.
Top up your sleep quota by planning a good sleep night at least two or three times a week.
Plan for lights out by 10pm latest and turn the TV off at least an hour before this (or don’t turn it on at all). Spend at least that hour unwinding and preparing for sleep. There are no hard and fast rules, experiment to see what suits you best. Try a combination of some of the following ideas but first of all ensure that your room is warm but well ventilated, and make sure that your mattress and pillows are supportive and comfortable and your bedding fresh.
1. Take a comfortably hot bath with aromatic oils (lavender is a popular choice) and/or dead sea salts.
2. Take an evening stroll or do some gentle stretching (Wake Up and Breathe! is ideal for this).
3. Enjoy some reading but avoid anything related to work, that makes you think or excites/scares you.
4. Listen to soothing music.
5. Have a warm milky drink or a cup of herbal tea (camomile and valerian are recommended).
6. Fill a small spray bottle with water and a few drops of lavender oil. Spray a little into the air above your pillow. Don’t spray directly onto the pillow unless you have a really fine spray mister or you’ll find your pillow is damp.
Once in bed with the lights out and your eyes closed, breathe slowly and evenly and starting from your toes clench and relax every muscle one by one all the way to the top of your head – i’m usually asleep before I reach my shoulders.
Experiment as we’re all unique and different things work for different people. Barry needs the room to be absolutely dark and quiet and the bed really warm (he has a heated blanket and the thickest duvet known to man) whereas I crave the crispest, smoothest, best quality 100% cotton bedding (any colour as long as it’s white!), the thinnest duvet known to man and loads of fresh air. As long as those needs are fulfilled i’ll fall asleep anywhere no matter what’s going on around me!
Sleep tight.
Filed under Lifestyle by on Mar 1st, 2010. 
