A good nighttime routine

 

Nobody sleeps as well, or as often, as Autumn. It's her go-to state of being! But for the rest of us, a good night of sleep can be hard to catch.

For a while during the period of getting diagnosed, I was not getting good sleep. There were so many things going on and I was doing things before bed that made my sleep rather shoddy. Here are some habits I've integrated to help me sleep:

• First and foremost, if you do nothing else on this list, set up your phone so you aren't looking at blue light toward the end of the day. Then, put it away an hour or so before bed altogether. When you stare at your phone, it keeps your brain in a state of activity and makes it hard to sleep. 
• Have a small, or extensive, self-care routine. Mine is taking off makeup, doing my skincare, flossing and brushing my teeth, and putting my hair up. All of this combined with putting on luxurious pajamas makes me feel so relaxed.
• Soften the lights in your space. I have a salt lamp and a regular lamp in our room that we use toward the end of the day; it helps it to feel cozy. You could also light a candle or two.
• I like to diffuse essential oils, but that isn't for everyone.
• When you're ready to lie down, try using a meditation app (I just use sleep meditation podcasts on Spotify) to signal to your brain that it's time to sleep.
• Make sure your body is the right temperature. If the air in your room is too warm, you don't sleep as well. But if you're cold, you'll wake up shivering! Adjust the thermostat and the blankets as needed. In the winter, it might help to have the bed warmed by a heated blanket or mattress pad and then turn it off when you go to bed.
• Remove all noise and distractions from the room. Keep your room tidy. 
• I recently started using white noise, and it helps me immensely.
• The last thing I do before turning out the lights is to apply lotion to my hands and chapstick to my lips. These last few things help me to wind down even more.
• Use a blackout curtain if you live somewhere with lots of lights outside.
• If you wake up with tachycardia at night, drink some water, take deep breaths, and listen to meditation to help you get back to sleep. This simple practice has increased my sleep drastically, as I was waking up with a racing heart that would keep me awake for hours.

Those are my tips! If you have any to add, please leave a comment below; I would love to hear any that you have ♥

Blessings,

Jessica