Lifestyle: Relaxation, Mindfulness and Sleep Hygiene by Diane-Lyn 

Oh life! It just never lets up. Stress, pressure, and tension. Worry and strain. Mean-spirited people. Deadlines. Never-ending to-do lists. It adds up. It builds and builds. It brings us down. Our emotional and physical health pay the price. Sadly, we are living in an extremely demanding time in our society. As we all know, anxiety and depression are more common now than ever before, in both adults and children.

I know it’s impossible to completely eliminate stress from my life. There will always be something going on, and I do tend to be a worrier by nature. Unfortunately, worrying and insomnia often coexist. This happens because most worriers, like myself, are also overthinkers who are incapable of turning off their thoughts long enough to fall asleep. The good news is that we have options for dealing with these issues. Personally, I am not a huge fan of medication. I prefer to get calm and centered naturally and have found a few simple techniques that are quite effective. Lately, I’ve been hearing so much about the importance of healthy, mindful bedtime routines, also known as sleep hygiene. I decided to implement a few changes and the results have truly been life changing. Sleeping better at night makes me more equipped to deal with the challenges of the day. Of course, habits are hard to break and doing so requires consistent discipline, but it is well worth the effort. Here are a few changes I made for restful, stress-free sleep.

I put an end to evening screen time and technology…

I made it a point to have absolutely no internet or screen time after dinner. Read that again (yes, you read it correctly). Write it down on a bunch of sticky notes and post them all over your house, because this one requires constant reminding. Oh, this one is hard! Really and truly hard! I’m the first to admit that I had a tough time with this step, especially in the beginning. It took me a long time to fully put this into practice because like many people, I was glued to my phone 24/7. There was always “just one last thing” to check. Why? Because we worriers are constant checkers. Then there were those emails that couldn’t wait until morning, Why? Because in this age of lightning fast technology, we have lost our ability to wait for anything. Indeed, no screen time at night was difficult until it became a consistent habit. In order to do this, I needed an alternative. I needed a calming distraction to replace the television and devices. My love of reading helped. As many of you know, I am an avid reader and book lover. Nothing relaxes me more than curling up with an engaging story and a piping hot cup of sleep-inducing tea before bed. Reading had always centered me because with a great book, I am focused on something other than my phone and my stress. Sometimes I add in aroma therapy with a soothing, steamy lavender bath which does wonders to melt stress and take me away from screens. Lavender has long been known to induce sleep and ease anxiety. Alternatively, calming essential oils are just as effective. I invested in a good diffuser which sits on my nightstand, and is turned on about 30 minutes before bed time. There is nothing more peaceful than a lightly scented room of lavender and chamomile at bedtime. Nighty-night!

I transformed our bedroom into a sleep haven…

With a little effort, I created a sleep haven out of our bedroom. Sleep experts recommend that a place of slumber be quiet and easy on the eye. I kept it simple; nothing fancy or expensive. All a bedroom needs is to be clean, attractive and most importantly, uncluttered – especially the bed. After a long day, nobody wants to face heaps of wrinkled sheets in disarray, or piles of laundry that need to be cleared off. I now spend less than two minutes each morning making a neat and tidy bed. There is nothing more inviting than a clean, crisp, nicely made bed to crawl into at the end of the day. It’s all about order. We live in a small townhouse, so having everything neat and orderly is a challenge given the limited space. While it isn’t easy to part with things, I did end up donating several unused items and that made a huge difference. For the rest, I invested in some lidded, stackable and collapsible pretty closet organizers to keep clutter out of sight. The room is now less busy, more tranquil, and sleep-friendly. Welcome to dreamland!

I transitioned to earlier, lighter evening meals…

Eating a late, heavy evening meal is not a sleep-friendly habit. I have always regarded the evening meal as the biggest of the day, but going to bed feeling stuffed can really hinder sleep. We started eating earlier whenever our schedules allowed. Additionally, after doing some research, I learned that certain foods can induce sleep (turkey, cherries, sweet potatoes, salmon) while others (sweets, heavy, high-fat foods) keep us awake. I now eat less at dinnertime in order to avoid being overstuffed at bedtime. Oh, this was a tough one too – but over time it gets easier. It was also fun experimenting with delicious, lighter fare recipes. Bon appetit!

I spend a few minutes a day with mindfulness videos…

There are some wonderful, free wellness and meditation videos online. I took me some time to really get into focusing on these, but once I did, they were amazing. Here are a couple of favorites that I found on YouTube. The first is great for busy people as it is quick and can be done anywhere. It is called 5-Minute Meditation You Can Do Anywhere. The second is specific to anxiety – 10-Minure Meditation for Anxiety. Check these out! Now breathe…..just breathe…

It was only recently when I fully started to realize the importance of taking care of my mind as well as my physical health. These changes have made an enormous difference! When I wake up refreshed, my entire outlook improves, and that is critical for good mental health. Thanks for visiting my blog today. I welcome comments. Have a great day and I wish you all sweet dreams tonight! Zzzzzzz…

Note: The above links are Amazon affiliate links, which only means that when you click the link and make a purchase, I receive a tiny commission at no additional cost to you. All of the items described and linked above are products that I have used and love. Happy shopping!

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