How I Beat The Bedtime Blues

It’s the beginning of November, the days are getting shorter, and we turn the clocks back this weekend. Yay, an extra hour of sleep!

Wait, what? You don’t sleep so that’s just another hour for you to toss and turn? I feel ya, I used to have a hard time getting to sleep and staying asleep. It was so bad that I had a prescription for sleeping pills for a while. I eventually gave up on taking them and kinda just got used to sleeping poorly. When my friend introduced me to essential oils, one night was all it took to make a believer out of me--I got the best sleep EVER! Like, I truly didn't realize how bad my sleep was until I got that first good night of sleep, the first in decades. To wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face the day is an amazing feeling!!

Sleep has more importance than just not feeling tired. It is known that sleep affects almost every system and type of tissue in the body, including such essential organs as the brain, heart and lungs which govern bodily processes such as metabolism, immune function, mood and disease resistance.

Research studies have also established that a chronic lack of sleep and/or poor-quality sleep increases the risk of many health issues. Disorders such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression and obesity may accompany a pattern of regular sleep deficits in adults. [Kronholm E, Partonen T, Laatikainen T, Peltonen M, Härmä M, Hublin C, Kaprio J, Aro AR, Partinen M, Fogelholm M, Valve R, Vahtera J, Oksanen T, Kivimäki M, Koskenvuo M, Sutela H. Trends in self-reported sleep duration and insomnia-related symptoms in Finland from 1972 to 2005: a comparative review and re-analysis of Finnish population samples. J Sleep Res. 2008 Mar;17(1):54-62. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00627.x. PMID: 18275555.]

The general consensus is that the brain performs its “housekeeping” and general maintenance during sleep, activities that cannot be performed during the day. This means it appears that during sleep, the brain repairs cellular damage, removes toxins that accumulate during the day, boosts diminishing energy supplies and inducts or consolidates memories.

Don't "settle" for bad sleep like I did!

What can you do to get better sleep? Well, did you know that your evening routine can either set you up for a cheerful and fulfilling tomorrow, or a day full of frustration and exhaustion? Here are 10 easy steps you can take to create a successful bedtime routine that will give you more restful nights and more productive days.

1. Set an alarm to go to bed. Setting an alarm for one hour before you’d like to be settled in bed will remind you that it’s time to step out of your day and start winding down. Think of it like a one-hour bedtime warning!

2. Drink up! Since you end up going 6–8 hours without any liquid at all, drinking water throughout the day and before bedtime is essential to keeping yourself hydrated. Stop drinking about an hour before bed (when the bedtime alarm sounds) to avoid having to use the bathroom during the night.

3. Give yourself a little face time. During that one-hour bedtime warning, remove your makeup and cleanse with a mild face wash, and apply a night time moisturizer; brush and floss your teeth. Taking time to establish and follow this important hygiene ritual will help you feel fresh and relaxed before bed and can signal to your brain that it’s time to calm down.

4. Make notes for tomorrow. Make a list of what you must accomplish tomorrow. Getting it down on paper helps because you won’t spend hours thinking about what you have to do tomorrow while trying to fall asleep.

5. Set yourself up for success. The night before, prepare your outfit, your breakfast and lunch, and anything else you usually take care of in the morning. The fewer tasks you have waiting for you in the morning, the quicker and happier you will be getting out of bed.

6. Put on socks, or place a folded blanket at the end of the bed. Now don't dismiss this without reading it through; this make such a big difference for me. Temperature regulation is an important part of falling asleep. Wearing socks in bed increases blood flow to feet and heat loss through the skin, which helps lower core body temperature. In turn, this helps a person get to sleep faster. For similar reasons, wearing socks in bed may also help prevent attacks in people with Raynaud’s phenomenon and hot flashes in women going through menopause. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321125

7. Dark rooms are best. Exposure to light early in the day stimulates the body and mind, encouraging feelings of wakefulness, alertness, and energy. Light exposure at night also stimulates alertness—and that can pose a serious problem for healthy, abundant, refreshing sleep. Light exposure during the evening can make it harder to fall asleep. Insufficient darkness throughout the night can lead to frequent and prolonged awakenings.

- Avoid screen time the hour before bed: When your bedtime alarm sounds (Step #1 above) turn off the television, power down computers and tablets, and put your phone away for the night. The light from digital devices contains high concentrations of blue light, a wavelength of light that research has shown is especially detrimental to sleep. Some devices now have blue light filters, or you can pick up a pair of blue light blocking glasses at your favorite retailer or online.

- An eye mask worn at night can help deepen darkness and protect against intrusive light. Choose a mask that is soft, comfortable, and flexible. Wearing an eye mask can take a little getting used to, but it is a highly effective tool for limiting your light exposure at night.

- If you need a source of light during the night—to make your way comfortably to the bathroom or to a child's bedroom—use a nightlight with a red bulb. Red is a long wavelength light that has been shown less disruptive to sleep than other light wavelengths. Some essential oil diffusers can be set to a red light during the night.

8. Keep EMF sources at a distance and prioritize sleeping areas. Because we spend a lot of time sleeping, this is an important time of day to protect yourself from electromagnetic radiation. If you have a Wi-Fi router, turn it off at night when it isn’t in use. Turn cell phones off or turn on “airplane mode” to reduce EMF exposure and save energy. Keep in mind that most cell phones will still work as an alarm clock in airplane mode. Remove all unnecessary wireless devices from the sleeping area or deactivate their Wi-Fi feature.

9. Use a sound machine. Studies suggest a sound machine can reduce the time it takes to fall asleep by nearly 40%, compared to people who don’t use these devices. Some studies have also found that white noise can help babies and young children fall asleep more quickly. White noise has also proven effective at helping inattentive children concentrate better in their classrooms. Some essential oil diffusers also have sound machines built in!

10. Add essential oils to your routine. Try diffusing Lavender, Frankincense, Orange, or your favorite essential oils with comforting aromas during that one hour bedtime warning period. Rubbing a couple drops between your palms and brushing them over your pillow can also boost the relaxing aromas and can make jumping into a cloud of pillows and blankets feel extra luxurious.

A clinical study performed several years ago (Goel N, Kim H, Lao RP. An olfactory stimulus modifies nighttime sleep in young men and women. Chronobiol Int. 2005;22(5):889-904. doi: 10.1080/07420520500263276. PMID: 16298774.) confirmed the benefit of lavender oil in modifying sleep and mood. It was found that lavender increased the percentage of deep or slow-wave sleep (SWS) in both men and women and all subjects reported higher vigor the morning after lavender exposure.

And there you have it, 10 easy steps to better sleep! Did you know it takes about two weeks of doing something consistently for it to become a habit? So don’t get discouraged if you can't make all these changes at once; focus on adding one or two steps each night over the course of a couple weeks and see if you get some better sleep. Let me know how you do in the comments!

P.S. Need high-quality oils? I trust Young Living (and their Seed to Seal Quality Commitment) to provide high-quality essential oils, because oils from the bargain bin at the dollar store just don’t have the same therapeutic qualities. To view some of my favorite sleepy-time products and diffuser/sound machines, visit my Sleepy Time wishlist on my Young Living Brand Partner page: https://www.youngliving.com/us/en/myaccount/wishlist?listId=67b65c040270d8000ac9d546&enrollerId=10028291&sponsorId=10028291&userName=Janet