Whether it’s a busy day at work or a stressful home environment or health problems, all of the above can affect the sleep you’re getting - or not getting.
True self-care isn’t just about daytime pampering but about how you treat your body before a long period of rest. A lot more people are shifting their self-care focus and also getting in some overnight wellness to help combat morning brain fog and chronic fatigue that many seem to experience nowadays.
High stress and poor sleep hygiene can prevent us from reaching that deep, restorative sleep that our bodies need to heal and ready ourselves for the day ahead.
Framing your bedtime routine as an act of essential self-care, it focuses on sensory winding down and providing mental release. It transforms your next-day energy significantly.
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Sensory Boundaries as Self-Care
Protecting your eyes and ears from late-night disruptions is a great way of improving self-care habits and making sure you get a restful night’s sleep that begins as soon as your head hits the pillow.There are several ways in which you can provide yourself with sensory elements when going to bed. These include the following:
Weighted silk eye masks
One of the common ways to help with a good night’s sleep is to wear an eye mask. However, some eye masks can irritate the eye area depending on the material. They can also sit uncomfortably and shift during the night.Weighted, silk eye masks are a great option for helping keep the eye mask in place, making you feel grounded, and also protecting your sensitive eye area from damage.
White noise machines
The use of white noise machines is great when it comes to blocking out the sound of external noises, whether that be in the home or outside of it. Not everyone lives in a quiet and serene neighbourhood, so a white noise machine can be great for helping block out noise and does help people in general to fall asleep more easily.Switch off phone notifications
Switching off notifications on your phone and putting your phone outside of your bedroom will help provide a digital-free sanctuary and will hopefully prevent any disruptions throughout the night.Mental Offloading and Cognitive Comfort
When you’re carrying the emotional and mental weight of the day into your bed, it can often result in a micro-stress response that ends up fragmenting your sleep.Practicing a five-minute gratitude dump is something that can be good for releasing any thoughts and feelings from your mind that may lead to a disruptive night’s sleep. Perhaps writing down three things that went well today is a useful example.
Dedicate some time to reading physical fiction books that help to gently transport your mind away from personal stressors. Reading is a great way of relaxing and unwinding. It’s also something that many do whilst in bed, in order to disconnect from social media and digital devices in general.
If you’re not much of a reader, then you could always listen to a podcast or a guided sleep meditation. These are great for allowing you to close your eyes and eventually drift off to sleep. Of course, you’ll likely have to remove your earphones at some point, awakening you. However, it can be a good self-care habit to help you fall asleep in the first place.
Breathwork and Mechanical Airway Support
Physical self-care is making sure your body gets optimal oxygen throughout the night. Mouth breathing is something that ends up reducing sleep quality, leaving you drained before the sun rises. It can also cause snoring, which is not only disruptive to your own sleep but also to that of everyone else.Drug-free nasal strips are a good addition to your night skincare routine or use within your wind-down routine. These strips will physically lift the nasal passages to instantly create airflow and encourage healthy nasal breathing. It’s beneficial to know how to put on a nose strip properly so that it's maximising its effect when you go to bed.
There are plenty of overnight benefits from doing this, which include:
- Fewer micro-awakenings
- Less dry mouth
- Reduced snoring
- Deeper dive into REM sleep
Being able to benefit from all of the above is only going to make your sleep routines a lot better and more effective for how you end up feeling in the morning.
Somatic and Thermal Relaxation
Easing your body’s physical tension and lowering your core temperature are vital for signaling to your brain that it’s now safe to sleep deeply.You want to make use of the following somatic and thermal relaxation practices that contribute to a good night’s sleep.
Engage in bedtime yoga poses
Look at engaging in gentle and restorative bedtime yoga poses to help release physical tension from sitting all day.
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Take a warm bath with Epsom salts
It’s helpful to take a warm bath when you’re looking for a good night’s sleep, and perhaps throw in some Epsom salts too. Magnesium is a great help for soothing tired muscles, as well as promoting relaxation.Keep your bedroom at the optimal temperature
Try to keep your bedroom cool and make use of breathable bedding layers that help support the body’s natural overnight temperature drop.
Indulge in Self-Care Habits for a Good Night’s Rest
Overnight self-care is an investment that pays off greatly. Those small physical and mental adjustments add up to profound health changes. Self-care isn’t selfish. It’s the fuel required to tackle tomorrow with both clarity and joy.Hopefully, the above guidance and advice will help you implement the efforts needed to get a better night’s sleep. It’s also worth tracking your sleep habits with wearable devices. Nowadays, you can get both watches and rings that help to monitor your sleep habits, as well as other bodily functions.
It might be helpful to get more insight into how your body is performing, especially during sleep itself.
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