My Top 10 Ways to get the best nights sleep.
Sleep is a natural beauty enhancer. A good night’s sleep reduces the stress hormone cortisol (which is also responsible for thinning skin) while increasing melatonin (which acts like an antioxidant that fights against fine lines and dark spots).
During sleep, collagen-producing cells regenerate to increase the skin’s elasticity and firmness. To further enhance the beauty benefits of sleep use a specific night cream for the face and wake up with soft well-hydrated skin.
It also goes without saying that a good night’s sleep is also crucial for recovery from your fitness training program - your muscles can't recover if you don’t rest.
For the most part of my life, I’ve always been a night owl, totally guilty of sending the odd late night text message (before I forget about it the next day). Nowadays, I find after a late night of staying up and being “productive” that I’m not very effective the next day, so I decided to go to bed earlier, the question is how do you get to sleep when your mind is still racing?
Here are my top 10 tips on how to first get to sleep and then have a great nights rest.
Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. You should also aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
Do regular exercise during the day and more calming exercises before bed, such as yoga, stretching or meditation. Something I’ve tried more recently is relaxing first on a “bed of nails” (yes, you read that right). Its strangely relaxing and after 15 minutes I remove it and go straight to sleep.
At the end of the day have a warm shower or bath to relax your muscles and let go of stress.
Eat light, non-spicy food for dinner. Avoid overeating at dinnertime.
Keep a diary or journal. This has definitely been the biggest thing for me. I found that the pen to paper action, actually writing stuff down to get it out of my head has been key, not just putting it in notes in my phone (I do that as well during the day).
Massage some good quality cream or oil into your skin. Massage your hands, feet or neck to release tension - you’ll be looking after your skin at the same time.
Read before bed. I have heard that for some of my clients this tip is not the best because they get into the storyline they are reading and can’t stop reading until they get to the end. For me, I get a few paragraphs to read and then I’m zonked out.
Spritz your pillow with a mist of essential oils to help relaxation. Lavender oil is a popular favourite.
Make your room a restful environment. Your bedroom is the last thing you see at night before you close your eyes, so peaceful surroundings can make a difference in how calm you feel as you head off the bed. Keep your bedroom a space dedicated to sleep by removing unnecessary furniture and keep it free of clutter.
Go device free for an hour before bed. Set your alarm (if you need it) and then don’t touch your phone again before you go to sleep. I mean it!
If you have any sleeping tips that work for you I’d love to hear about them.
Sleep well lovelies! xx