You probably hear a lot of conversations about morning routines or rituals. But how often do you think about your evening rituals?
Even rituals are essential to help us de-stress and get ready for a restful evening sleep. Sleep is an essential pillar to our well-being. When we sleep, the brain and body has an opportunity to restore itself. Just like our cell phones need to be charged so they are full of batteries in the morning to function, we too need rest and renewal.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 3 adults in the United States reported not getting enough rest or sleep every day. This can occur for various reasons. Some of the most common reasons I see my clients struggle with their sleep is:
Racing thoughts when their head hits the pillow at night, preventing relaxation
Waking up in the middle of the night due to anxious dreams and thoughts
Getting in bed too late because of binge watching shows or scrolling on social media.
Do you have trouble sleeping? If so, what tends to prevent you from getting a restful night’s sleep? Share in the comments below.
A client, let’s call her Sara, was struggling to have a good night’s sleep. She found that when she hit her head on the pillow at night it was the first time there was space and quiet in her day. Since there were no meetings, calls, emails or family members to distract her, she noticed she actually had to pay attention to what she was thinking and feeling. This felt really overwhelming because her thoughts spiraled into a lot of “what if” thoughts, which activated anxiety and prevented herself from falling asleep at night.
After working together to challenge and untangle from the various root worries and thinking traps, we explored relaxation practices to get her body and mind more primed for sleep. She had tried listening to sleep meditations before, but felt they only worked some of the time. That’s why we developed these other holistic practices to help prime the mind, body and nervous system to be more ready to receive the sleep meditations at night.
Strategies to support you getting a dreamy night’s sleep:
Reduce caffeine use during the day and wind-down at night with a restful herbal tea. Think about chamomile, lavender, mint, and sleepy-time tea are some of my favorites that create a calming effect.
Take a hot bath, shower or sauna session before bedtime. This will help relax the nervous system and physical body, which will help the mind release the thought spirals that can prevent sleep.
Reduce screen time at least two hours before bed so that blue light is not affecting your brain and circadian rhythm.
Reduce the amount of work, news and stressful tasks you take on before bedtime. Not only is it a good idea to stay away from screens, but you also don’t want to stir the mind with unhelpful thoughts.
Turn down your lighting or use light bulbs that have a warming color to them. You can even just use candle light. This helps tell the brain that it is night time and should start preparing the body to feel tired.
Offer your body some gentle stretches and movement to slow down your mind and relax the nervous system and body. Try this Evening Wind-Down Movement Practice here.
Use calming essential oils in a diffuser or by gently using a few drops on your wrists and rubbing them together. My personal favorite is lavender.
It can also be helpful to cuddle with a loved one if you live with a partner or try to have a loving conversation with a friend on the phone a few hours before bedtime. Social connection helps us feel safe and experience more ease.
Now that you are prepped for bed and your body should feel more relaxed, listen to a guided sleep meditation. Either putting on headphones or play guided sleep meditation through your favorite speaker system.
Try listening to this 19 minute guided sleep meditation to continue to relax the body and let go of racing thoughts that might keep you up at night or wake you up in the middle of the night.
Creating intentional evening rituals help your body and brain wind-down so that you can feel deeply rested. This will ensure that you will wake up with more capacity to be present and probable have an easier time staying centered through the chaos of modern day life.
Share your favorite wind-down techniques in the comments below.
