Nighttime Ritual

Even though I am a morning person, I love to sleep! Sleep is the foundation of our health, stress management, and performance.  It helps us make the most of our days, accomplish our goals and get better at being ourselves.  Part of getting a good night’s sleep is how we treat the time that leads up to actually going to bed.  Your body, mind & spirit deserve time to unwind and come down from the activities of your busy day. What you do before you sleep even affects your subconscious thoughts that happen while you sleep. There are so many things that you can do to create space for yourself in this time before you end your day, I can give you ideas, but as always, you need to think about the ways that are unique and best for you.  A nighttime ritual is important because it gives the signs and signals to your body that it is time to decompress so that your body will sink in and restore itself with all that great deep and REM sleep we learned about. 

How long do you need at the end of the day to get ready for sleep? It can be hard with all the responsibilities you have to prioritize anything but falling into bed exhausted, but even 15 mins can be a start to a habit that will benefit you for a lifetime.  Start by adding something comforting to the things you have always done at bedtime, like brush your teeth or wash your face.  Here are some ideas:

• Keep a notepad or journal and write a list for tomorrow to clear it from your mind tonight
• Organize your clothes / pack your bags for easy access the next morning
• Have a cup of tea or CALM (amazing and simple Magnesium supplement - so good for body repair and sleep) 
• Read some fiction to let your mind wander and unwind
• Listen to a sleep meditation to gently guide you toward sleep
• Journal about the good things that happened today

TASK: Download the following worksheet and create your own nighttime ritual.

CLICK HERE: to download the high-resolution version of this document.