Sleep Support

In the natural world, winter is a time of hibernation. The nights are long and there is a stillness in the air if you take time to pause and notice. Our fast paced society tends to ignore these cues from the natural world, and pushes through the winter at a similar pace as the summer. This go go go way of living in the winter goes against our intrinsic impulse to slow down, rest, and sleep more. Many people experience feelings of sluggishness and a low mood in the winter. Of course this can be from a number of causes, but one of them that I commonly see with clients is that they expect themselves to accomplish the same amount of things and have the same amount of energy as they do during other times of the year. When they don’t meet these expectations, there is often a sense of let down and depressed mood. But what if we embraced the slowness of this time of year? What if we prioritized rest, sleep, slow movements, and shorter to-do lists? Would leaning into slowness actually give us the feeling of more energy and well being? I believe so. Here are some of my top tips for better sleep.

• During the day, make sure you spend time outdoors and are exposed to sunlight, especially in the morning. Regular exercise helps too!

• Reduce your intake of caffeine, sugar, and alcohol. Also avoid a heavy meal right before bed. These can all disrupt sleep.

• Take a hot shower or bath an hour or so before bed. When your body begins to cool down, you will get sleepy. An epsom salt bath can be especially beneficial as it contains magnesium which is essential for many functions of the body, including sleep.

• Turn off all screens 2 hours before bed, and turn off Wifi at night to limit the electromagnetic frequencies you are exposed to.

• Try a relaxation exercise before bed such as meditation, stretching, listening to music, reading, or writing in a journal.

• Go to bed and get up at the same time each day.

• Don’t spend time in bed doing anything other than sleeping.

• Keep your bedroom dark and cool. Get rid of/cover ANY electronic light in your bedroom.

• If you have an alarm clock, turn it away from you so that you can’t see what time it is when you are trying to fall asleep. This has helped me immensely.

• Try out a cup of herbal tea before bed. Options below!
  Passionflower

  Chamomile

  Lemon balm

  Hops

  Valerian root

  Linden

  Skullcap

  Rose

  If you are doing all of these things and are still having trouble sleeping, please reach out for a consultation, and I can custom blend a sleep tincture for you, and make other recommendations that are individualized.

  Here’s to restful, long, deep sleep this winter!