If you struggle with falling asleep or staying asleep, you are not alone. Did you know about 50% of Americans do not get the proper 7-8 hours of sleep every night? Unfortunately, not getting the proper amount of sleep can have a bigger impact on your health than you might have realized.
The three pillars of health are exercise, nutrition, and sleep, sleep being the foundation of them all. If you aren’t getting good sleep, your beauty and health efforts won’t be as effective and you’ll be held back from achieving your wellness goals. Being committed to health is also committing yourself to practice a healthy sleep routine.
If you aren’t sure how to practice healthy sleeping tactics or how to get your sleep schedule back on track, a sleep cleanse could be exactly what you need.
What’s a sleep cleanse?
For the next seven days, you will go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. It is important to maintain a consistent sleep schedule for this “sleep cleanse”, and make sure that your body and mind are getting a full 7-8 hours of restful sleep every night.
To do a sleep cleanse, you need to follow a consistent bedtime routine, whether that’s reading a book, spending quality time with your children, sipping tea on your porch, or cuddling your pets. Following the same bedtime routine helps your body and mind wind down properly before bed. By doing this, your body is able to release its natural amounts of melatonin to help you get to sleep
Set up your bedroom for sleep success!
-Make sure your room is nice and tidy.
-Make sure your room is dark, quiet, and cool.
This is a tough one, but get rid of all technology in the bedroom. The blue lights from our phones, TVs, and computers mess up the release of our body’s natural melatonin, and makes it much more difficult to fall asleep. Challenge yourself by turning off all electronics about an hour before you go to bed.
The bed is only for sleeping! If you find yourself having trouble falling asleep, or waking up in the middle of the night unable to fall back asleep…get up and move. Go to another room if you need to (but don’t reach for those electronics!) and try to relax until you feel tired enough that you could fall asleep again.
Calming your mind before bed can be a difficult task. Try keeping a book or journal on your nightstand. Keeping a journal can be a therapeutic way of getting all your thoughts and emotions out into the open, allowing your mind to slow down.
Positive thinking goes a long way. If you think positively about sleeping, you will see promising results. If you don’t think you are going to be able to sleep, or you always complain about your sleeping habits, you will put yourself in a negative mindset and unconsciously prevent yourself from getting good rest.