Top 4 ways to reset the sleep button.

1. Get plenty of exercise and fresh air. Isn’t that what our moms told us when we were growing up: get outside and play! Who knew it did more good than just to get us out of our mom’s hair! Not a fan of exercise or games? You don’t have to do crazy stunts, just go for a nature walk along a trail or along the shore. Connecting with nature is an amazing way to destress. You are focused on where you are: the sights, the sounds, maybe the discovery of a nest or footprints, maybe the soft shushing of the waves. You are practically forced to get outside of your thoughts and be present in nature. And, sometimes, just being alone and out of your environment helps clear your thoughts so you can see things more clearly. Not only will the fresh air and activity be good for you and your mental state, but you will also be more relaxed because you’ve done something fun and enjoyable. Just don’t exercise too close to bedtime.
2. Try essential oils. Can’t hurt! There are many oils that can help you get to sleep and help you stay asleep. For example, Lavender is known for its calming effects and will help you to relax; Soothing blend Serenity contains lavender and other oils to help calm emotions and reduce worry from the stress of your day so you can sleep; Vetiver helps reduce nervous brain activity and helps stop your mind from racing. You can mix the essential oils with some epsom salts and drop them in a nice warm bath, you can diffuse them in your room during bedtime, you can spray some in a water mist onto your pillow, and you can even moisturize your feet with them. So soothing!
3. Turn off screens and devices an hour before bedtime. Oh, man! Is this a hard one! Just before bed is the time when I feel like I can wind down and lose myself in a little facebooking. I really don’t feel like doing much else because I am so tired! What I recently learned was that the light from a screen actually activates your brain, so your brain doesn’t realise it’s time to go to sleep, and thus interferes with your ability to fall asleep. So, it’s time to try another wind-down activity such as having a bath, reading, deep breathing, or meditating (I am so bad at meditating that I frequently fall asleep!).
4. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each night, even on the weekends. This routine will help reset your body and get it into a routine of sleeping consistently. If you’re like me, the waking up at the same time on the weekdays is not the issue. Luckily for me my 12 year old alarm clock has always been pretty punctual about what time he wakes me up! The hard part is doing it on the weekends when you would rather sleep longer and getting to bed earlier in the evening. One strategy that worked for me was to go to bed a few minutes earlier each night until I was going to bed at a reasonable (and boring!) hour. This earlier bedtime forced me to take time for myself in my new calming bedtime routine.

Would you like to hear more? Get your FREE complete set of the Drowsy Dozen ways to get more sleep here including creating the best sleep environment, what to avoid and how to de-stress. (Sign up to the right) . Are you curious about how those essential oils work to help you sleep? As a bonus, I will include my Essential Oils Essential Guide explaining what essential oils are and how they work. That’s two great free resources that I can’t wait to share with you.