Sleep. With changing seasons comes midterms and daily stress. Sleep is a constant but finding a balance can be challenging. It seems that when you finally have time to get some much needed beauty rest, you end up staring at the ceiling while your mind races with long to-do lists. A night of nourishing sleep is always needed, so it’s good to have an end-of-the-day ritual that can help your body slow down and prepare for rest. Here are some activities to practice nightly and enhance your shut-eye time!
Pamper yourself
Having a night-time beauty routine helps us relax and decompress. Treat yourself to a luxurious skin-care routine to de-stress. Massaging in Liz Earle’s Cleanse and Polish and Juno’s Luna Sleeping Night Oil is calming and soothing. Jo Malone’s Lino Nel Vento Scent Surround Linen Spray spritzed onto bed linens makes for better rest too.
Unplug
Instagram is always tempting, but putting away phones and limiting exposure to blue light 2 hours before bed is essential to allowing our minds and bodies to slow down and prepare for rest. If you’re having trouble buckling down, incentivize and replace the pre-bed Facebook scroll with a reward and prep for bed with a luxurious 10-minute face mask. If you really can’t avoid screens, dimming the brightness is an easy compromise.
Regularity
Our circadian-cycles don’t know the difference between weekends and weekdays. Waking and sleeping at varying times confuses our bodies and can create symptoms similar to those associated with jet-lag. A good trick to finding your body’s natural rhythm is to take note of when you naturally wake up and fall asleep.
Take naps! For the right amount of time, that is.
20 or 90 minute naps are the most beneficial. 20-minute power naps are quick alertness boosters while 90-minute naps allow for deep REM sleep. The popular 60-minute nap is not as efficient and can cause even more drowsiness and grogginess upon waking!
Limit caffeine after 2PM
Yes, it can be hard to make it through the day without coffee. But if you can sleep better, maybe coffee will become less necessary! Try peppermint tea or yerba mate to energize instead.
Move!
During the day that is. Exercise regulates our internal systems, and research has shown that regular physical activity can improve sleep quality. Even something as simple as a short power walk can be beneficial.
-Zoe Shan
Image courtesy of: blog.lexandlive.com