One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four, five sheep, six sheep, roll over and start counting some more. If your normal sleep routine consists of counting fluffy white animals over and over again until you finally fall asleep, it’s time to realign your sleep routine into a more relaxed, restful experience. By incorporating the following four pre-sleep bedtime tips, you will be able to better prepare your mind and body for a more relaxing and enjoyable night’s sleep.
Schedule a Consistent Bed Time
Bed times aren’t just for children anymore. Adults can gain huge benefits from consistently going to bed around the same time each night. Research indicates that adults need an average of 6-8 hours of sleep per night in order for their minds and bodies to function properly. Sleep not only rejuvenates and refreshes a tired brain, but a good night’s rest also helps muscle recovery by repairing tired muscles, ligaments and body systems.
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To ensure you give your body enough downtime at night to recuperate, determine what time you need to go to bed in order to log 6-8 hours of restful sleep. Set your alarm for your determined bedtime to remind yourself to turn off the television, shut down your house and head to bed at the appropriate time for a good night’s rest.
Lights Out before Bed
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At least 30 minutes before your determined bedtime, turn off all electronic devices (television, mp3 player, computer, eReader, etc.) to unplug your mind and body from technology and prepare for a restful night’s sleep. In todays over wired, always connected to an electronic device society, your brain can easily become over stimulated throughout the day. Your brain needs at least 30 minutes of no technology and distractions to decompress before bed so your mind and body are prepared for a relaxed state of sleep as soon as your head rests on the pillow.
Breathe Easy, Relax Often
During your 30 minutes of pre-bed downtime, you can take your relaxation to new levels by practicing some self-meditation techniques such as slow deep breathing. You can choose to either rest on your bed or on a mat on your bedroom floor, dim the lights, close your eyes and practice taking a slow, deep breath that originates from your stomach versus a typical day-to-day short breath that starts in your neck region. After a few deep breathing rounds, you also can work on relaxing the tight muscles in your body by doing some light stretches to elongate your neck, back, legs and arms.
Enhance Sleep Quality with Regular Massage Therapy
To maintain healthy sleeping habits and to enhance the quality of your sleep each night, it is important to incorporate consistent relaxation techniques into your lifestyle like regularly scheduled massage therapy sessions. One of the main benefits of therapeutic massage is relieving muscle and stress tension that builds up in your mind and body throughout the day. By engaging in regular massage therapy, you can enhance your sleep quality each night by establishing deep relaxation and relief for your mind and body that can carry over throughout your day and into the sleeping hours of the night.
If you need help with incorporating healthy sleep habits to unwind and de-stress your mind and body at the end of the day, give Elements Therapeutic Massage Wheaton a call today. Our expert massage therapists are committed to promoting your overall health and well-being, including restful and quality sleeping and relaxation techniques.
