Hey hey, my loves! I’m back today with my evening routine – a routine that has massively helps my sleep. Also, I’ll be chatting about a new brand I’ve been head over heels for, so I’m extremely excited for today’s post.
Years back, I had the WORST sleeping pattern… why? Anxiety. It affected so many areas of my life, including how I slept majorly. Of course, anxiety is still present in my life, so I still take steps in order to get the best nights sleep.
Anxiety & Sleep
If you have anxiety, you know sleeping can be pretty tough. Actually getting to sleep in the first place is a struggle sometimes, with those worries whirling around your mind and keeping it busy. Staying asleep can also be tricky when it comes to anxiety, it can be a cycle.
Then, the lack of sleep will always negatively affect your day to day life… especially how you handle the anxiety challenges. Your mood and emotions can be up and down with a low amount of sleep, heightening anxiety and the struggles that come with it.
So, it’s super important (even more so with anxiety) to make the quality of your sleep a priority in your life. Now with my fabulous routine, I LOVE going to bed, which is amazing since it used to be something I dreaded.
My evening routine
I found with a beautifully effective evening routine, it helped my sleep in so many ways. I’m going to bed feeling every ounce of calm, no overthinking and worrying over here! Not only do I fall asleep a hell of a lot faster, but I also stay asleep – which is what I used to find a challenge every single night. I still sometimes have bad nights with staying asleep, but we’re human! That’s usually when I haven’t practised my nightly ritual, I know it helps a bunch.
The necessities…
My environment
Firstly, I burn sage around my bedroom. Sage contains compounds that can combat insomnia and make for a way better sleep. Burning sage clears any negativity that is held within your environment and cleanses your surroundings.
Then, I’ll light a few candles for a cosy feel. My favourite one at the moment is by The Relatable Candle Co – Relax To The Max (NO1)- it’s coconut lime scented and smells incredible!
I always drink a chamomile tea when winding down too – it’s honestly so amazing for restoring that calm within. Not only does it contain many antioxidants and helps digestion (always a plus, right?), it makes you sleepy AF. Which is exactly what we need!
Meditation and reflection
Next, I’ll lead on with a 10-20 minute nightly meditation. Personally, I pop on some of my fave meditative music (link here!) and set a 15-minute timer to meditate at night, but feel free to do something more guided. Doing this helps quieten my mind and restore that peace, balance and relaxation within my body before heading to sleep- meditation is amazing for reducing insomnia and the symptoms that come with that.
Most nights, I’ll journal and do a daily reflection. Usually, this is when I feel pulled to do so, especially if I know there’s something I need to reflect on that’s happened within my day. This is done intuitive for sure, but here are some prompts that may help you with your daily reflection!
- How do I feel my day has gone?
- What went well and made me happy? Can I incorporate more of this day to day?
- What didn’t go so well?
- How can I make this better in the future/what can I change?
- How do I want tomorrow to look?
Quality of sleep – Intro to SMUG
Now if you know me, you know I love a sleep mask. Not only do they help me when sleepy, but I also find it quite comforting wearing one… is that odd?! Well anyway, I’ve had the same sleep mask for a while, so this upgrade was the BEST.
The lovely team over at Smug kindly gifted me their silk mask and their 3D blackout mask, note: the 3D mask is incredible if you have lash extensions like I sometimes I have on! Another GREAT thing about their unique 3D mask is that it’s a day napper’s dream, as it’s completely blackout. I love a nap!
Both masks are so, so comfortable to wear… I know a lot of people are put off masks because some can be quite uncomfortable! When waking up from wearing either of their masks, I’ve felt super refreshed and had an amazing sleep.
So all in all, Smug get a lovely 10/10 from me, the nap queen! I can tell I’ll be using these for a long time – the quality is just amazing. If you want to check out their range head to their site here!
Finally, essential oils
I’m a lover of essential oils – whether that be burning them or wearing them! I recently got this incredible essential oil roller from my mum’s beautiful shop: check out their instgram here. Before bed, I pop some on my temples, wrists and a little on my pillow. It smells amazing but also really relaxes me, perfect for bedtime.
This contains: Bergamot, geranium and frankincense.
So that’s it my loves! A simple, but effective nightly routine that helps me and my sleep. I hope this gives you a little inspiration, maybe to switch up your routine to something that truly serves you and supports a fabulous nights sleep.
I’ll be back next week! I hope you all have an amazing week ahead.
All the love,
Leave a Reply