When you wake up in the morning after a good night's sleep, the day just flows by. There is no replacement for that feeling in the whole world. Babies do this without any trouble and so when we sleep well we say, “I’m feeling so good, I slept like a baby!”.
There are many reasons why sleep can elude us as we get into adult life. It can be some trivial change in our diet or a very stressful event in our life. When the reason is trivial, usually sleep issues are temporary and we return back to our normal cycle. But, when we don’t bounce back, we have problems as our sleep is what our body counts on to do its healing. Just imagine if stores did not slow down to stock the shelves, how long could it stay open?
So, there is no doubt that we need to sleep! How much of it is optimal can be different for each one of us. No matter what the cause of your sleeplessness there are some general things you can do to help catch those zzz’s.
Have a routine. It is almost like catching the train-so try to get in bed by a certain time.
Make sure you keep your bedroom dark, quiet, and maintain a comfortable temperature.
Try to stay away from screens at least 1 hour before you plan to go to sleep
Reduce or eliminate caffeine. Along with caffeine, avoid dark chocolate, alcohol, red wine, and spicy foods mainly in the latter part of the evening. Even tomatoes, Broccoli, and eggplants can cause issues with your sleep.
Avoid heavy meals and vigorous exercises in the late evening.
Gentle movements and meditation before sleeping can help you relax making it easier to fall asleep.
Try this routine
Lie down on your back. Take a few deep breaths.
Then bring one knee to chest, hold for 3-5 breaths, repeat it for the other side 3 times.
Bend both legs so that your feet are flat on the bed or mat. As you exhale, drop both knees to one side hold while you inhale, bring it back in the middle as you exhale. Stay there as you inhale and then drop your knees to the other side as you exhale. Do this 3 times and then on the 4th time hold the stretch for a longer time (about 3 minutes).
Then relax, take a small blanket place under your knees if you need it. Do a body scan and relax. You can do Box breathing ( inhale, pause, exhale, pause) or just pause after exhaling a few rounds. Then do the object mediation 3-5 minutes. Doing meditation is optional.
Then roll on your side.
If you need help to set up a routine, please contact me @ symbiotic.yoga@gmail.com
I can help you create your own meditation or teach you a simple technique (visualization exercise) that will help you to relax further. This is especially helpful if focusing on breathing makes you anxious.