Hello angels!
Did you wake up this morning feeling refreshed and ready to face the day? If you didn’t, it is probably because you did not get as much sleep or get the best quality sleep that you should be getting. So, what can you do to improve it?
The benefits of good sleep
You might think that a good nights sleep simply helps you get up in the morning, but there is so much more to it than this. One important thing that sleep has been found to do is to care for your mental wellbeing [1]. It has been found that sleeping well helps to improve your mental health and emotional wellbeing, as the rest you receive helps to alleviate some of the worries and stress that you might experience the next day. It also gives your brain the opportunity to process your emotions, so you will have more positive emotional reactions as a result.
Sleep is also good for your heart as the decrease in blood pressure allows your heart and blood vessels to rest, reducing the risk of heart conditions.[2] Sleep is also thought to help us learn as we are more able to take in new information and allows us to process and retain any new information that we have received.[3]
The importance of bedtime routines
Those of you who have children probably already know about the importance of a good bedtime routine. When we have a small baby, we start to create bedtime routines for them that include warm baths and story times to help settle them into bed calmly and quietly so that they can drift off to sleep quickly and easily.
It makes you wonder why we don’t give our bedtime routines the same consideration once we are adults. Instead, we fill our heads and our bedrooms with things that keep our brains stimulated until the early hours and then wonder why we cannot get the rest that we know we need.
Good bedtime routines for adults
Our lives fluctuate, and things will always occur that change when we go to bed, but if you can, try to stick to the same bedtime each night. This will help to train your body and it will help it to start to prepare for sleep at the right time.
We can all be guilty of scrolling through our phones once we go to bed, but this can be very disruptive to our sleep patterns. Whilst scrolling through TikTok or Instagram might seem relaxing, your phone or tablet will emit a blue light that stimulates your brain and keeps you awake much longer than you would like.
A warm bath is great for getting a child ready for bed, and it is perfect for you too. It helps your brain and muscles to relax in warmth, cooling the body’s core temperature and promoting sleep.[4] You can add my Bath Salts or Bathing Oil to you bath to help with this process and to soothe and moisturise your skin at the same time.
Concentrating on your breathing at bedtime can also be beneficial. A routine of stretching, breathing and meditating helps to reduce your heart rate and calm your mind, putting you in a better place to be able to find that precious sleep.
I hope that these tips help you to drift off more comfortably tonight and I look forward to seeing you all being bright and breezy tomorrow.
Lots of love and positive vibes, Camille xx