Life is exhausting.
I never napped as a child or teenager; once I got to college and had all this free time before or after classes, I napped all the time. As time ticked on, naps and getting more sleep became been more important than ever.
Forget once I started my anxiety medication, I am constantly exhausted and constantly feel like I need sleep. Sleep is my lifeline and I hate getting out of the bed in the morning.
All that being said, it's really important to me that I get a good, decent night sleep. I've gotten a routine pretty down pat and something that works for me.
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| My current sleepmask is from Etsy |
1. Reading: I am someone who watches TV before bed and I sleep with the TV on all night. My phone is the last thing I see before I close my eyes and if I wake up in the middle of the night, I usually am on my phone. Therefore, the bluelight kills me but I do find that if I read before I go to sleep, it does help. It calms my mind and helps me relax. I think I get a better sleep on the nights I read than the nights I don't.
2. Sleep Mask: This is probably the most important and most effective thing I'll talk about. When I was younger I always tried to use these because I wanted to be fancy but it never worked. A few years ago though, I started using these religiously and I hardly ever go to sleep without one. When I put the sleep mask on, I fall asleep within minutes and I usually stay asleep. It does come off in the middle of the night because I toss and turn but I put it back on (if I wake up) in the middle of the night. It blocks the light out and helps me stay asleep. My mom started using these too and has fallen in love. It's a must-have for anyone who is having trouble sleeping.
3. Writing: I've talked about how much I love writing everything down but I started journaling every night before bed, even if I had a good day (journaling isn't always to talk about bad or worrisome things) but just getting some sort of thought out on paper really can help clear your mind.
4. Cool Down: I can only sleep in a cold room so I make sure that my room is nice and chilly. Your body sleeps best in a 65 degree room but sometimes I like it even colder.
5. Essential Oils: While I love candles to relax, I like to diffuse some lavendar essentail oils before I go to sleep, usually while I'm reading and writing. Lavendar obviously helps you relax and is known to be helpful for sleeping so it makes sense. Also, if you can use some lavendar products before bed or even to spray on your pillow and sheets, that'll help! I can't use them because I'm very sensitive to fragrance but I believe they do work!
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