Do you feel like there’s never enough time to get enough sleep or to make a proper breakfast? Now summer is ending, and winter is looming AND, for many of you, kiddies are off to school. So, our sleep is about to change! Hey, I’ve got 10 Ways to Upgrade Your Sleep Routine TODAY!!
Sleep should be an essential part of your health goals. You simply cannot reach your health goals without looking at ways to improve your zzzzz’s. Proper rest is an opportunity to give your vital organs a chance to rest but it’s also a way for our busy, BUSY brains to regenerate for the day ahead.
After years of dealing with anxiety and high stress in my own corporate job, I have finally come up with solutions to improve the quality of my sleep and to wake up and dominate my day before 9am.
Important to note: the below products are all linked if you’re interested in researching or purchasing. Just simply click and it will redirect you to the product listed. It’s also important to mention that some of these products (not all) were sent to me for product testing and I never, EVER promote something that hasn’t had a positive impact on me. So, I’m only promoting the best products out there to you as that is so important to me.
Now, let’s get started with my Nighttime Rituals and end with the Morning Rituals:
NIGHTTIME RITUALS:
Electronics after 9pm are a NO-NO
Turn off technology and bright lights at least two hours before bedtime to get your body into its natural sleep rhythm. Social media or watching tv is too stimulating to our brains that it won’t allow it to shut off. I have personally set my lap top with a F.lux setting which dims the screen based on the outdoor light so if I am working after dinner time, the light is not so jarring to my eyes. However, I’ve got a fix. These nightshade glasses from Blue Block Glasses can be worn throughout the evening to help with light obstruction. I even put them on if I have to go to the bathroom throughout the night. So, when I put the light on, I’m not shocking my system making it harder to go back asleep.
I’ve installed smaller lamps into my bedroom for more soothing light. And, the addition of a Himalayan salt lamp is also an advantage as it neutralizes electromagnetic radiation from all technology. It is known to improve breathing and sleep.
Diffuse Essential Oils
Scents evoke feelings and the smell of lavender, clary sage, vetiver, and vanilla essential oils help to ease anxiety and lull me to sleep. I either drop EO’s into my bath, rub onto my temples or diffuse in my bedroom. Either way, the benefits of using essential oils in your sleep practice are endless!
Magnesium-Rich Baths
Two to three times a week, you’ll find me in a bath that is blended with a mixture this magnesium oil, himalayan sea salts, and essential oils. Magnesium, in particular, is considered the “calming” mineral which is essential for a peaceful sleep.
Plan, Plan, Plan
It wasn’t until I started to plan my meals and my to-do list for the week, that I started to see improvements in my health and an increase in my own productivity espeically when it came to personal and professional tasks. This book helped me to focus on one business task until it was done versus trying to balance multiple projects a once – game changer! And, Jeff Sander’s 5 AM Miracle book and Productivity / Daily Habits Tracker helped me schedule my personal and professional tasks and keep on track. There’s less stress when you plan people!!!
Is It Dark In There?
I love my place. There are tonnes of windows everywhere making it the perfect place to wake up but not the best place to sleep. In order for your brain to shut down and to start the process of “going to sleep”, you need a dark space as light can be jolting to our neurosystem making it harder to fall asleep. There are two ways to go about this. Installing dark shades into your room OR investing in a sleep mask that is equipped to shut out the light. The Dream Essentials Sleep Mask has improved my sleep dramatically. I even invested in one for my husband.
$_35
A Healthy Mattress
This is such an important step that we often don’t think about. Is your mattress supporting your sleep? If you have a lumpy or perhaps too soft of a mattress that doesn’t properly support your body, you may wake up with more aches and pains that you want to. And, that doesn’t necessarily support your health. That’s why I love the luxurious yet affordable mattress from LUXI, which is the only mattress that splits, flips, adjusting to soft, medium or firm depending on your sleep style. LUXI applies certified, best-in-class components to an innovative design, combining the very best in memory foam luxury with improved airflow and durability. It’s an affordable mattress that allows you to customize your own sleep. How about that? And, guess what, LUXI is giving Eat Life Balance readers a discount code to get $125 off your first purchase of a LUXI mattress. Not to mentioned, they offer a 10 Year Warranty, and a 1000 Night Sleep Satisfaction Guarantee.
MORNING RITUALS:
Wake Up Gently
This is so, so hard, isn’t it? But, waking up in the calmest manner and avoiding a jolt to your adrenal system, is the best way to start your morning and day. I replaced my cell phone (removed it completely from my bedroom) with the Philips Wake Up Light and Alarm which will gently help you wake up in the morning. Why didn’t I learn about this sooner?
Hydrate
This is just the simplest way you can help to wake up and energize the body, along with jump starting metabolism. I start every morning with two cups of room temperature, filtered water with the squeeze of one lemon. And, if I really feel sluggish, I go with my elixir of water, lemon, turmeric, black pepper, and if needed, a bit of honey.
Stay Unplugged & Stay Connected
Instead of rushing into emails (or for me, Instagram), use a more quieter space that mornings offer to do the things that are the most important to you. I do start to work on parts of my business before I go to my day job. And, this completely lights me up. This is also were I sit down and plan my week or my day or perhaps do one of my favourite weekly rituals which is pick out a Truth Bomb for the week or day ahead.
Fuel Your Day With Breakfast
Generally in the morning I prefer to fast until 9am so about 12 hours in total as it allows my digestive system time to rest. However, I do drink lots of my elixir first thing in the morning and my bullet proof-version of coffee. After that, then it’s generally a delicious fat-filled green smoothie like my Vegan Vanilla Avocado Smoothie that keeps me full right up to lunch.
So, now I want to hear from you: What do you do to amp up your sleep or even morning routine to bring peace into your life and to amp up your health? Tell me in the comments below:
