Do you have a sleep routine, but still find that you sleep poorly? Here’s a few tips to try and remedy that for you, because without sleep, we’re left ragged, tired, under energized, exhausted, our mental health suffers, our performance suffers, everything suffers. It’s super important. It’s what we call the force multiply.
Sleep enables us to do great things with our lives. Without it, it’s difficult.
The first and most important thing, is to start looking at relaxing your nervous system. Maybe you have a little bit of a sleep routine or a sleep staircase as we call it, but you still find yourself over anxious and hyper alert at bedtime.
Meditation’s a wonderful way of relaxing your nervous system. Having quiet time, reading under a dim light, for example. Not thinking about work, so putting your phone on do not disturb, not checking email or social media before bed. Think about bringing your nervous system into the calmest possible state, the way we would if we were putting a child to bed.
That’s the most important thing, because you could be sprinkling lavender oil on your pillow, spraying magnesium on your body like I do, and doing all these other things, but if you’re still going to bed and looking at your email last thing, it’s all for nothing.
Also, think about the temperature of your room and the appropriate bedding. At the time of recording this, it’s super-hot here in London. It’s between 25 and 30 degrees. During this type of weather, have the room very cool. Get the right bedding for summer onto the bed too, and that will really help you.
Think about light and noise. You don’t want any light or noise in the bedroom. Create an environment for yourself that’s appropriately set up for sleep, and then focus on quietening your mind and your body, so that you’re ready to get into that sleep state.
I hope that works for you. Let me know how you’re getting on, if you’ve got questions, please email me at [email protected]. I’d be happy to help.
What’s your Health IQ?
If you’re reading this, you’re are probably in a reasonably senior position, running your own business or have a busy life running the home and juggling other responsibilities. Either way, you’re busy. The convergent pressures of work and family life have probably meant that the time you did have to spend on health and fitness has disappeared. Why not talk to us and see how we can help.
Leanne Spencer is an entrepreneur, coach, TEDx Speaker, author of Remove the Guesswork, and founder of Bodyshot Performance Limited. Bodyshot is a health and fitness consultancy that helps busy professionals get more energy by removing the guesswork around their health, fitness and nutrition. Visit www.bodyshotperformance.com or email [email protected] to register your interest in our services and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.