Hey Peeps! Welcome to 2 0 1 7.
To kick off this year with the right amount of energy, a portion of good sleep is a must! Especially as a breastfeeding mum of a 4 month old where a lack of sleep is my daily companion, I know what I am talking about, believe me 😉
So to still keep going and doing all the fun stuff that mummies do like nursing, nappy changing, kissing, cooking, cuddling, doing laundry again nappy changing, nursing, playing, singing – here are some tips for a restful night as well a little good-night-yoga sequence which I like to do before or in bed.
10 natural sleep remedies
1. Use an air purifier / open the windows
You might not need them when you live on the countryside and breathe fresh clean air every day but unfortunately we do need them here!! With all the dust and haze this got kind of a supertool and a must have here in Asia.
So if you are that lucky to be able to breathe fresh air daily, be thankful for that and open your windows instead. Just a couple of minutes before going to bed brings fresh oxygen to your room which makes it much easier to fall asleep which brings me to the next point.
2. Sleep temperature
Falling asleeping when its either too hot or cold is hard. So make sure you have the right temperature which suits you and of course your co-sleeping buddies. Sleep studies show that you get the best sleep when your room has a temperature between 15-20 degrees. Yep pretty hard to reach that in the tropics when I don`t want to catch a cold from the A.C.
3. Make use of Aromatherapy
I simply love my oils by young living (no i am getting not paid for mentioning them) which I use nearly every day. Simply put 1-2 drops (depends on how big your bedroom is) of calming soothing oils like lavender, camomile, frankincense, ylang ylang, bergamot, sandalwood or clary sage into a diffuser before you go to sleep. I use the one from young living which also changes colors and gives a soft light to the room which is nice when I breastfeed at night. It works kind of a humidifier which turns of automatically when the water is finished which makes it quite safe. I feel this also calms the baby when she is a fuzzy and restless.
4. Light!
This varies from type to type. Some people don`t care at all when light falls through their windows others do. So simply find out which type your are (if you don`t already know it) and then adjust it. Close your curtains fully or buy shades. If you like it light maybe think about buying a light therapy system.
5. Eliminate noise
Noise can jostle your slumber, causing you to wake up or disrupt your shift between sleeping stages. Or even worse: don`t even putting you to sleep. A different type might even prefer falling asleep with some soft tunes which I long did.
6. Have it hot!
Heat before bed makes us sleepy. That`s a proven fact. This can be a hot bath or a cup of hot tea. Or even hot Sex. Choose yours 😉 By the way a hot cup of coffee might be not a good idea.
7. Eat light
Fatty heavy food makes us tired and sluggish. Right! But directly before going to bed they actually don`t help. So avoid them and eat a bowl of soup instead!
8. Shut down!
Try to eliminate any technology from your bedroom like answering emails, checking Facebook, scrolling through Instagram right before sleep. This just swirls up your mind, makes you unhappy (proven!) and hinders you from sleeping.
9. Meditate
Instead meditate. For this you don`t need any detailed meditation skills. Simply watch your breath. Starting in your lower belly, flowing all the way up to your ribcage and higher up to your collarbones. Take a couple of deep breaths and try to extend you exhale every time a bit more. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system which is the part for relaxation.
10. Exercise
Workout before going to bed. It doesn`t necessarily have to be yoga. Simply move. Movement lowers our blood pressure therefore makes us sleepy and improves respiration during sleep. So here some of my 6 favorite in-bed-yoga moves.
I hope this helps you to find some sleep next to counting sheep. S w e e t d r e a m s.
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