The holiday season brings delicious food, gatherings, gift-giving, and longer nights. This season may also bring overwhelm, missing loved ones, long to-do lists, and…well, chaos. Also, many of you are experiencing the holidays in a new way for the 2nd year in a row. Add all that up and what do you get? A stressful, chaotic feeling that can be hard to shake.
Don’t worry, there are lots of little things you can do to help reduce stress. Over the next 3 weeks, I’ll offer tips on how to do that by helping you stay balanced and ease stress.
Each week will have a focus. Today’s focus is on keeping your regular sleep schedule.
Don’t have a sleep schedule? Establish one. I’m not only talking about getting a certain number of hours of sleep. Nope. I recommend that you have a way of winding down at night and starting your day with intention. An evening routine, if you will, and a morning one. Today we’ll explore tips for an evening routine.
Evening Routine
How do you wind down at night? Take a moment to think about it. Are you up watching TV until you hop into bed? Are you checking your phone in bed? When you’re ready to fall asleep do you have a hard time turning thoughts off? Establishing an evening routine can help your brain and body wind down.
First, decide on a bedtime. Having a “scheduled” time for bed can help your brain get ready for sleep.
Next, look at your evening lighting. Are all the lights on, full blast? The intensity of evening light can affect melatonin levels in your body. Melatonin is a hormone that lets our body know when it’s time to sleep. Dim those lights.
Now that you have your bedtime and lights are dimmed, plan to spend 30-60 min before that time doing calming activities. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Drink calming tea
Is tea not your thing? You can try drinking plain hot water, or add a squeeze of lemon.
Read a good book
Not a thriller or a creepy one, but something calmer. If your eyes are already tired from too much screen (check out this article), skip this one.
Extend your exhale
In the evening a cooling, calming breath helps activate our parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” system). Here’s a one to try:
Sit tall or lay flat. Close your eyes and relax your face. Inhale through your nose and feel your belly rise. Start with a count of 5. Pause. Then exhale it out through your nose for a count of 7. Repeat for 10 breaths. If these counts don’t work for you adjust them. Have the exhale longer than the inhale. As you exhale feel your entire body soften and relax.
You don’t need a lot of wall space for this relaxing pose.
Legs up the wall (Viparita karani)
Many yoga poses can calm the nervous system. This one is a favorite.
You’ll need a wall. Make your way to the floor and scooch your bum close to the wall, letting your legs rest on the wall. Close your eyes and let your arms rest out to either side. Breathe here for 5 minutes, longer if you have the time.
Massage lotion into your feet
Grab some of your favorite lotion (or body oil), grab a foot, and start massaging. Sounds pretty simple, right? It is, and it can be a powerful way to relax in the evening.
Spend 5 min on each foot and use pressure. You’ll be hitting lots of reflexology points. Working the reflexes in the foot helps increase blood flow and reduce stress (If you’re curious about reflexology, click here). Put some socks on when you’re done.
Use aromatherapy
Essential oils are wonderful for calming the mind and body. Here’s how I like to use them in the evening.
Diffuse calming essential oils. Run your diffuser before bedtime. I don’t run a diffuser all night because I prefer to give my body a break from the aroma. You can run it 30-60 minutes before bed. There are so many essential oils you can use. Below I have some favorites:
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Lavender
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Roman chamomile
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Frankincense
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Black spruce
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Geranium
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Bergamot
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Cedarwood or Sandalwood
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Patchouli
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Orange
Make a linen spray. Add essential oils to distilled water in a glass bottle (or plastic PET) with a spray cap. Start with 5 drops per 1 oz of distilled water. You can add your favorite essential oil or combine a couple. Spray 2-3 times on pillow and sheets and breathe in!
Unsure of what spray to make? Email me at sabrina@unearthyourbalance.com for my favorite linen spray recipe!
Try out some of these tips in your evening routine and see how you feel. By the time your head hits the pillow, your mind and body are ready for a great night’s sleep!
Next week, we’ll look at tips for a morning routine to stay more balanced during the holiday craze!
Sources:
Pacheco, Danielle. “Bedtime Routines for Adults.” https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/bedtime-routine-for-adults . Accessed 9 December 2021.
Mindell, J. A., Telofski, L. S., Wiegand, B., & Kurtz, E. S. (2009). A nightly bedtime routine: impact on sleep in young children and maternal mood. Sleep, 32(5), 599–606. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/32.5.599
Burgess, H. J., & Molina, T. A. (2014). Home lighting before usual bedtime impacts circadian timing: a field study. Photochemistry and photobiology, 90(3), 723–726.https://doi.org/10.1111/php.12241
DiLonardo, Mary Jo. “What is melatonin?” https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/what-is-melatonin . Accessed 9 December 2021.
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