Sleep

Photography by Danielle Ann Rose @bydanielleannrose

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for our body and mind to function and remain healthy. Though unfortunately, we’re living in a time where there are a lot of external stresses affecting the quality of our sleep, which in turn affects the quality of our lives

Whether it be the major world stresses we are collectively experiencing or our own personal circumstances, we are all consciously and subconsciously absorbing a lot right now. These factors can cause heightened alertness and feelings of anxiousness, making it difficult to fall asleep or at the very least impacting the depth of rest we gain during the night

For example, I typically fall asleep quickly and can sleep for quite a long time. However, when I’m stressed, although I may fall asleep pretty easily and sleep for a long time, I can still wake up feeling exhausted like I hadn’t slept at all. I’m sleeping but that doesn’t mean I’m getting enough rest and recovery during that time. Passing out emotionally drained sets me back further than if I’d gone to bed feeling calm and contented

Some nights when there’s something weighing on my mind or I’m really excited about the next day, I find myself lying awake, frustrated by the restless energy in my body, constantly checking the clock and calculating how many hours of sleep I’d get if I fell asleep “right now,” which I know is counterproductive 

In moments like that, I try the following techniques:

4-7-8 rhythmic breathing
Inhale through your nose for a count of 4 seconds,
Hold your breath for a count of 7 seconds,
Exhale through your mouth for a count of 8 seconds,
Repeat
This breathing pattern helps to relax your systematic nervous system, reduce anxiety and support sleep. Repeat for as long as it takes to calm your body and mind, preparing it for deep rest. I find this practice helps me fall asleep quickly because aside from the explained benefits, by placing my focus on my breath I’m distracting my mind from whatever’s keeping me awake, allowing me to drift off to sleep

Playing calming music
Over the years I have found that listening to quiet acoustic songs, meditations, rain sounds, or binaural beats are supportive in winding down the mind and preparing it for rest. Currently, my go-to is a playlist on Spotify called “sleep.” Even though I don’t listen to it every night, it has still been so effective that my brain now associates the first song in the playlist with sleep and automatically starts winding down. Spotify has a “sleep timer” option, which I usually set to either 15 or 30 minutes so that the music doesn’t keep playing all night once I’ve fallen asleep

Essential oils and diffusers
Chamomile, lavender, cedarwood and clary sage oil are very effective aromas for promoting sleep. Inhaling essential oils helps to produce serotonin and melatonin in the brain, allowing us to feel sleepy at bedtime. This is another great tool that we can train our brain to associate with sleep, turning on an oil diffuser while you complete your nightly routine can assist in creating a conducive environment for sleep

Arbonne’s InnerCalm
This adaptogenic de-stress powder has quickly become one of my favourite products. It has sustainably sourced ashwagandha and saffron to help achieve a balanced mindset and other incredible ingredients that assist the body in adapting to stress by promoting a sense of calm and relaxation. You only need one small scoop mixed with any beverage and can be had at any time of day. I personally have mine before bed mixed in either water or herbal tea, I definitely notice a difference in the quality of my sleep on the nights I drink it compared to the nights that I don’t

The allowing process
If you’d like to know exactly what the allowing process is and how it’s done, head over to my blog post titled “The allowing process.” For now, I’ll just explain to you how it’s beneficial for falling asleep. When we have a lot on our minds, feeling emotional or can’t figure out why we aren’t falling asleep, it can feel heavy and frustrating. I know for me when I’m feeling like that, I tend to overthink and try to process everything in my mind, which only ends up feeling overwhelming or even more confusing. In moments like that, it can be helpful to move these thoughts and emotions out of the body. This is where the allowing process comes in, by saying “I’m allowing…” out loud and letting whatever is there flow through, we’re assisting in either finding the cause of stagnant energy or releasing thoughts and emotions from the body. Sometimes getting curious and leaning into what’s bothering us can help to release and heal it, rather than ignoring and suppressing it, hoping it’ll go away by itself. Once you’ve found the cause and moved the emotions it’ll be a lot easier to fall asleep, because you’ll hopefully have a clearer mind and heart

When we work out what’s going on beneath the surface we give ourselves a better chance at getting good quality, restful sleep so that when we wake up the next morning we are feeling ready and able to handle the day and everything it has in store for us

Some days I only need one of these tools to help me fall asleep and other days I need all of them. The more often I practise them, the more potent and effective they become

Good sleep hygiene is very important when it comes to making sure the hours you spend asleep at night are genuinely restful and beneficial for your body and mind. Sleep hygiene refers to your habits and routines that directly affect your ability to fall asleep at night

Factors to keep in mind are:

• Limiting time spent looking at screens before bed

• Avoid napping during the day

• Regularly exercising

• Going to bed at a reasonable time each night

• Waking up at the same time every morning

• Eating nourishing food

• Drinking enough water throughout the day

• Limiting your consumption of caffeine/stimulants

• Creating a calm and restful sleeping environment

All areas of our lives affect the quality of our sleep, and the quality of our sleep affects all areas of our lives. So, if you find it challenging to sleep at night it may be time to consider implementing new habits, becoming more aware of your routines or even shifting your mindset around emotions. By making sleep a priority you could ultimately change your whole life because as we’ve learnt - it’s all connected

Let me know if you use any of these tools to help you fall asleep, or comment techniques you find beneficial that I haven’t mentioned