My Top Tips to Sweet Dreams
Today’s blog is the pièce de résistance in my sleep series (see links at end of post).
Today I let you in on all the juicy details of my top sleep hacks to swift you into slumber and keep you snoring like sleeping beauty.
Get into your body and out of your mind
If you’re anything like me, one of the biggest hurdles to transition into sleep is the incessant whirring of your racing mind.
So what’s the best way to silence the ol racing mind?
Getting into your body! My fave three ways to get into your body are:
1. Body scanning
Start at the top of your head and slowly scan your awareness down through your body, all the way to the tips of your toes, noticing all the sensations in your body as you move your awareness down. If your mind wanders off, gently bring your attention back to the sensations in your body.
If you find your mind is too busy to guide you through a body scan, you can listen to a guided recording. Insight Timer is a free app where you will find loads of body scan recordings, or you can sign up to receive my free recording HERE.
2. Progressive muscle relaxation
Start with your head. Take a breath in and hold your breath as you gently squeeze all the muscles in the face, jaw, skull. And then exhale and let everything go. Allow your muscles to melt.
Then move to your neck and shoulders. Inhale and hold your breath as you squeeze all the muscles in the neck and shoulders. And then exhale letting everything go. Allowing your muscles to melt.
Continue with this process as you move segment by segment through your body until you reach your feet.
Once you’ve progressively tensed and relaxed each section of your body, take one final breath in and gently squeeze all the muscles in your body. Hold for a moment before releasing any final tension you may be holding: allowing the muscles to melt and feeling as though your body could dissolve into the bed/floor/air around you.
3. Yoga Nidra
Yoga nidra is like a magic bullet to help you get to sleep, and sleep like a baby! It means yogic sleep and it’s yoga you can do lying down with your eyes closed! It’s similar to a guided body scan.
My personal fave is the 20 minute and 45 minute recordings on this album which you can access on Spotify or download from iTunes (warning the accent is an acquired taste!). Alternatively, head to Insight Timer for loads of other yoga nidra options.
My clients all ADORE yoga nidra and wish they’d discovered it earlier in life (as do I) so I strongly encourage you to try it at least once!
Celebrate your wins
Spend a few moments before you switch off the light on the things that went well during your day and anything you’re grateful for. It’s scientifically proven to make you happier! Within just a few days of practice your brain rewires itself to think more positively.
And the upshot of this come bedtime? Your mind is less likely to spin over all the things that went wrong today and could go wrong tomorrow … and you're more likely to drift off peacefully into slumber.
Write it down
If your mind is running away with you before bed, or if you wake up at 3am with a to-do list running through your mind: grab a pen and paper and write down everything that’s whirring through your racing mind.
Getting the thoughts out of your head and onto paper gives your brain permission to shut down and feel safe in the knowledge it’s inner ramblings have been recorded and won't be forgotten. And it will help you slide into the land of snooze more speedily.
Stretch and breathe
Moving your body and breathing in certain ways is another magic bullet for a swift slumber! And given it’s such a powerful tool I’m going to leave it for a post of it’s own! So keep you eyes peeled for my ‘Stretch and Breathe’ blog post next week!
Happy snoozing team!
Ps - Book in your discovery session today if you’d like some tailored advice and accountability to help you sleep better, feel better and generally Be More You, I’d love to chat! I have a handful of spaces open for my free discovery sessions in the next 2 weeks before I’m closing my 1:1 coaching books for a bit to focus on my brand spankin’ new online course (and having a baby!).