Many people suffer a sort of anxiety laying out in bed wide awake. The first thing to know is that you’re not alone and that there’re many types of effective sleep hacks that could work in different stages of our lives. There aren’t military actions to take nor one solution fits all but simple personalised steps that could work for each of us. Here’re few microsteps that seem to have constant benefits for most people I know and backed up by many experts.
Many people suffer a sort of anxiety laying out in bed wide awake. The first thing to know is that you’re not alone and that there’re many types of effective sleep hacks that could work in different stages of our lives. There aren’t military actions to take nor one solution fits all but simple personalised steps that could work for each of us. Here’re few microsteps that seem to have constant benefits for most people I know and backed up by many experts.
- Warm shower before bedtime: you might find beneficial to take a quick shower when you awake to start the day fresh. However, a nice and warm shower to wash away stress, our commuter’s or gym sweat and is a great way to relax our muscles. If you had an awful and stressful day or feel jetlagged, a long bath using Epsom salt would definitely relax your shoulders and stiff joints while nurturing your skin and body with magnesium.
- Feeling grateful for our lives: we’re all surrounded by social media feeds, comparison, pressures, pie charts and financial worries. The last thing we want to see and feel before closing our eyes is that we’re actually doing just fine. We all have bad days and sometimes long horrible life periods but being thankful for the smallest things each day and holding on to that feeling makes a huge difference. Being grateful for being alive, for having a place to sleep and for being able to breath is already enough.
- Being aware: yes, you might be struggling to fall sleep and there might be lots of worries going through your mind but realising where you’re is a good start. Feel your body and its weight touching the mattress; your soft pillow supporting your head; accept the present moment and the things you can deal with – things can be dealt as they come along throughout the day; try to hear the silence of the night or the distant noises. Self-discipline is key but it’s important not to be harsh to ourselves. Instead of feeling bad that you can’t sleep accept that your body and mind are awaken and that’s okay..
- Clean stuff:reiterating the importance of washing away the ‘dirty’ of our day and refreshing our bodies before bedtime, having clean sleepwear and bed linen is also one of the best sleep hacks. Getting the habit of washing and weekly changing our sleepwear, duvet covers, pillow cases and bedsheets plus keeping our bedrooms clean and tidy do, according to the Sleep Council, declutter our minds. Certain smells affect our mood and wellbeing so invest in organic and natural cleaning and organic laundry products to bring some lovely scents to your bedroom.