Cultivating good sleep hygiene

It is SPRING!

As the world slowly awakens from its dark slumber, fresh green shoots are popping up through the hard ground.

Crocuses have yawned their way into the sunlight & the evening sun now stretches.

It is hands down my favourite time of year.

It is another time for reflection, taking stock & readying ourselves for the upcoming business of spending more times outdoors with friends & families, getting our hands into the earth, planning getaways & travel and staying up waaay later than we should ;P

As we refill our vitamin D stores naturally it is important for us to keep a good sleep regime so that we continue to feel our best.

These longer days & increased social time means that we often delay going to bed & even an hours difference can put your body into a “jet-lag” come Monday.

I struggle with this personally as a newish parent who has very little time to myself UNTIL the baby (and sometimes husband!) is in bed – I stay up late while attempting to claw back personal time which then contributes to the deficit! My current goal is to get in bed by 1030pm which means limiting mindless scrolling (which eats away time as anything!) & consolidating tasks such as pumping while writing in my journal or finishing my daily Wordle (yes I am one of those people!).

I’ve also been using a magnesium supplement to help with slowing my system down &

stimulating a melatonin release – I personally LOVE the NATURAL CALM brand as it tastes great & is a nice inclusion to my bedtime routine.

Other handy tips are keeping a cool room (even in winter) so that you feel cozy in bed; creating as dark as a setting as possible (make use of an eye mask if you don’t have heavy curtains!) & ear plugs! My sister was telling me recently about the LOOP brand – I haven’t used them yet but she swears by them.

On nights when I am restless or unable to sleep, I use a very handy mindfulness method that works EVERYTIME.

Close your eyes & in your mind find & name 5 things that you can hear, 5 things you can see (picture these items in your surrounding), 5 things you can feel. Be as descriptive as possible. Then repeat for 4, 3 etc. I have never made it past 3!

What are your go-to tips for ensuring you get a good nightly rest? I’d love to hear!