UPDATE: You can now find me at www.healthynbalanced.com.
I was talking to a friend of mine earlier today who has been having trouble getting quality sleep.
I used to be that way so I totally understand.
So I thought that maybe some of you are in the same boat with my friend.
I wanted to offer up a few suggestions with what you can do to better the quality of your sleep.
- Hot tea (Sleepytime tea, chamomile with mint, or a tea with lavender) with or without honey-right before bed.
- Spray some lavender on your pillow. Lavender is a smell that helps to relax you. You can find a lavender spray pretty much anywhere. I recently purchased one a Kroger
- Eat more magnesium!! Sometimes magnesium deficiency can cause you to have sleepless nights. Try adding in more beans, seeds, dark leafy greens, wheat bran, whole grains, almonds, and cashews!
- If you are stressed or mad about something-write it all out on paper before you go to bed. Get it out of your head! A lot of times stress can keep us awake because our brains keep “thinking” and trying to figure things out. If you write it out, you get it out of your head. If you are mad, resolve it!! There is a reason why the Bible says Don’t go to bed angry! It will literally rob you of good sleep.
- Cut out caffeine! If you can’t cut it out completely, at the very least don’t have any after lunch. If you are drinking more than one caffeinated beverage before lunch-try to cut back to just one.
- Cut out sugar!! If you need something sweet, use agave nectar or honey (but don’t over do it with that either. )
- Exercise! Especially if, like me, you have an office job. Sure you feel exhausted by the end of the day but it’s not your body that is tired—it’s your brain! So you need to do something to make you body tired as well.
- Eat healthy!
- Lots and lots of water!!!
- Cut off all tv, computers, etc at least an hour before going to bed. Research says that the light from the tv and computer screen actually stimulate our brains. Before going to bed, dim the lights, set the mood for sleep!
- No more midnight snacks. Don’t eat right before going to sleep. In fact, don’t eat a couple of hours before going to sleep. When we eat before bed our body still has to “stay awake” working and digesting the food. (Hot tea or water is the exception.)
