Blue light blocking glasses, tape on my mouth, dog on the bed... we must be talking about Schlaf, shlof, sueño, sonno, Sleep... whatever the language, sleep is a language of its own... (And no I don’t put tape on my mouth every night..I only started cause it came with a book I’m reading called “Conscious Breathing”). Like any performance, preparation elevates the ‘play, ‘ meaning the execution and experience. Maybe that’s why: "And it was evening and it was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5) and, thus, in the jewish calendar, the date begins the night before. Our Sleep is very important to our whole health and the next days success, so what are healthy practices we can implement to prepare for sleep? Keep reading for some tools and practices I’ve been trying out that may help you ‘get sleep and enjoy it too’: #nationaldogday #sleep
Tools
1. Blue light blocking 😎 assist in preventing the blue light from suppressing melatonin, the sleep hormone. There’s mixed research on its validity, but I find it does assist in easing down the eyes. 2. Sleep Tape 🤐 helps maintain nasal breathing because mouth breathing upsets the O2/CO2 balance in the body. 3. Evening Journal 📖 how did the day go? Where, if any, did I fall from grace? What can I do even better tomorrow? What’s my focus? What did I learn from today? 4. Reading the Siddur, Hebrew Prayer Book 📘 Reading The Prayer Before Retiring at Night 5. Vision board 🔭- The things we see up to 45 min before bed can influence our subconscious mind and thus our dreams, so I rehearse where I’d like to go while also trusting in where I’m guided. 6. Occasionally listening to sleep sounds/beats from an app like Sleep Steam.
Practices 🙇🏻♂
1. Eat dinner / finish having anything other than water ideally 2 hours before bed. However some days I’ll have a relaxing tea, like turmeric and ginger tea, or reishi, which has a few calories. 2. Turn off screens 30-60 min before bed. 3. Read a light read, like fiction. 4. Meditate to review the day and get silent.
Warning: ⚠️
Sometimes, we can also rely so much on sleep that if we don’t get the usual amount, we can allow it to affect the day. Sometimes, the less something is needed, the better the relationship with it is, including sleep.
See ya in your dreams…🔮🛏 #sleep #sleepmatters #sleeproutine #eveningroutines