Creating a Bedtime Ritual Report

If you are suffering from insomnia, you’re not alone. Approximately 1 in 3 people have trouble sleeping, which could either mean you are not able to fall asleep, or you struggle with staying asleep. Creating a bedtime ritual is a great first step to finally battling insomnia for good.

1. Why You Should Create a Sleep Ritual

There are a few people that can go straight to sleep, but others may need a set of events that clicks the body into saying yes it is time for sleep. This is where a sleep ritual comes in. If you have been debating starting a sleep ritual, but you aren't sure if it would work, you may want to know why you should take the step from thinking about it to making it a reality. Here are a few reasons you should create a sleep ritual and how it can help restless sleep patterns.

Triggering Your Body

It has been shown that habits, especially routines, trigger your body into the task at hand. For example, you may have a morning ritual that triggers your body and mind in knowing you are about to go to work or take the kids to school. You may have rituals that tell your mind and body that you are going to the gym, to church, or out for drinks with friends. These same triggering methods and rituals can help with sleep as well. After doing the same tasks each night for about a month, you will have adapted the habit and your body will know that the ritual means sleep.

Removing Negative Influences

There are negative influences at night that may be causing you to have sleep issues. These can range from becoming too overly stimulated before sleep, exposing yourself to stress before sleep, or an eating habit you currently have. By putting a sleep ritual in place, you can remove these negative influences and help keep them from entering into your sleep pattern in the future.

Following Your Sleep Pattern

One thing many people do not think of when they think of a sleep ritual is how it can help when major issues do come up. For example, if you start to experience insomnia later down the road, you may have to go to a doctor. You can tell the doctor your sleep ritual, track the pattern, and see what may no longer be working. It will give your doctor an idea of what you may be doing, or not doing, that may be causing the sleep issues you are having. 

These are just a few of the reasons you should create a sleep ritual. Remember, the ritual is what works for you. Hot tea, a detox bath, soft music, soft lighting, and drifting off may be your ritual. Others may use a ritual of a bath and wine. It all depends on what works for you. 

2. Bedtime Teas For Better Sleep

Trying to start a bedtime ritual, or sleep ritual, for better sleep can be a bit of a task. It is one that will develop overtime. You will find things that work and things that don't. You will make adjustments as you move through the rituals and through the seasons. With that said, one thing that will likely end up as part of your sleep ritual or bedtime routine is the use of hot tea. This can be herbal tea, regular black tea, or other forms of tea and essential oil mixes. If you are about to try tea as part of your sleep ritual, consider these mixtures that may promote better sleep over a longer period of time.

Lavender and Chamomile

Lavender is a plant that you may think of when you think of essential oils or of some form of candle for calming and stress release. You may not think of it as part of a tea combination for ingesting. The truth is, lavender is an edible plant and can be found in a number of recipes including cake frosting and savory dishes. One way you can use it is for better sleep. Simply combine dried lavender, food grade not simply lavender from a craft store, and chamomile tea. The mixture provides a soothing tea that can help soothe away ideas related to anxiety and depression. 

Ginger and Mint

If you have digestive issues that keep you up at night, you may want to consider a tea that combats that issue. Fresh ginger root and mint can help. Simply take fresh ground ginger and fresh mint leaves and mix them with hot water. Let the tea steep for several minutes and drink slowly. The mint can settle your stomach and the ginger will help to soothe stomach and digestive upset. 

Earl Grey and Bergamot

Bergamot is actually known as an herb that helps with depression and anxiety. It is also considered to be a mild herbal sedative. This can be extremely helpful herb when you are dealing with severe insomnia and sleeping disorders. Some people claim that the herb bergamot can actually be difficult to drink in a tea on its own. For this reason, many people mix bergamot with a tea like earl grey. You may be thinking that earl grey tea has caffeine and would not work for sleep. Keep in mind, there are decaffeinated options of this tea. 

One of the best tips to adding any of these teas to your night routine is to switch them up a bit. If you, for example, drink chamomile every night then your body will build up a resistance. Try different teas each night, see what works for you, and make your own mixtures. Test them and note the results. 

3. Yoga Poses For Deep Sleep

You may have heard of adding yoga to your daily routine for a variety of health reasons. One of those reasons may be to promote a better sleep pattern. If you find yourself not achieving REM sleep, or not being able to stay in REM sleep, then you may be wondering what the cause may be or how to fix the issue. One way to fix it is to change your yoga routine slightly so that you incorporate poses just before bed for deeper sleep. Here are a few of those poses and how to achieve them.

Legs Up the Wall

The legs up the wall pose is exactly how it sounds. You will lay on your back with your the back of your legs flat against the wall. Your body should be at a 90 degree angle. Your arms are laid out, palms up, to your sides. The idea of this pose is to workout stress from your back muscles and to relieve tension from your legs. Breathing techniques can be used with this pose to further help in stress release. It can be done using the headboard of your bed instead of a wall as well.

Seated Forward Bend

The seated forward bend is a fairly easy pose to do, though you may need to work on it a bit to get a full stretch out of this one. Sitting down with your legs straight in front of you, lean forward slowly. The goal is to have your upper body flat against your knees and your hands cupping the soles of your feet. This forward bend allows you to stretch your body and exhale breaths and toxins that you may not feel you have. These toxins can build up and cause stress in your system that affects your sleep pattern. 

Revolved Head to Toe

You can finish your yoga poses for deep sleep routine with the revolved head to toe pose. This pose is done while sitting up with your legs stretched out to your sides. You do not need to be in a full split position, but do work to get your body as close as you can to that ideal. Leaning to your right, touch your head to your knee and your fingers to your toes. Hold this pose for a few breaths and then slowly rotate or revolve to the other side. Do this several times before bed. 

These poses do not have to be done on a yoga mat. In fact, they can be done in bed literally just before you lay down to sleep. These poses are easy for beginners to do and do not need to be combined with other yoga workouts or exercises. 

4. Breathing Techniques For Better Sleep
One of the many ways that you can help with your stress and help disconnect the stress from your insomnia. One way is to use herbal methods like teas and supplements. You can also choose to use meditation. Though these methods may help, there is one that can help you for better sleep and for stress reduction at anytime that could lead to poor sleep later in the day. This method is to use breathing techniques. If you aren't sure which techniques may work, here are a few to consider.

4-7-8 Breathing

This breathing technique has been said to have the ability to put you to sleep in as little as 60 seconds. The technique is simple. Lay on your back and breathe in deeply. Breathe in to the count of four. Hold that breath for a count of seven. Exhale the breath to the count of eight. Repeat this until you have fallen asleep. It is a cleansing breath, slow breathing technique, and will help your body to slowly calm down and create a feeling of calm. 

Counting Breath

This type of breathing technique is exactly what it sounds like. You simply breathe in and count that as a breath. Breathe out and you can that as a breath as well. So, you would be breathing to each count. For example, breathing in would be count one and breathing out would be count two. This works for people that find counting to be restful and calming. This can also be the start of a breathing technique that bleeds into another technique like the 4-7-8 method. 

Bellows Breathing

Bellows breathing is just a bit different than the other two relaxing slow breathing techniques. Bellows breathing is a rapid breathing technique that has you bringing in a breath and holding it and releasing it in fast quick breaths. Your goal is to breath in and out three times per second. The idea is that this will mimic cardio workouts and help relax your system. This may work for people that find a rapid breathing to be soothing and stress releasing. You can do this for a total of 15 seconds your first time. In fact, some doctors suggest starting with that pattern and not exceeding 15 seconds their first time. 

These techniques are ones that should be tried and worked out to a pattern that works for you. Give yourself time and allow yourself the space to work with these different techniques to find the right pattern or technique for you and your sleep needs. 

5. Reasons to Set a Nighttime Temperature
You have tried a sleep routine or ritual. You have tried apps and journaling. You have tried everything you know to do to achieve better sleep. The problem is you still find yourself waking up at night and you aren't sure why. You are too hot, too cold, or in some way are uncomfortable. One thing that may be wrong with your sleep pattern and that may be your temperature. Here are a few reasons you should set a nighttime temperature, how to find the right one, and how to get used to it so you can sleep through the night.

Regulate Your Body to Sleep

When you think about triggering your body into a sleeping pattern, you may be thinking about sleeping rituals. You may also think about teas and herbal remedies. One thing that can boost your rituals and teas as well as other sleeping enhancements you are imploring is to regulate the temperature. Your body will get used to the temperature and connect that temperature to the sleep ritual you have put into place. This will trigger the body and let it know that it is time to sleep. Your body will regulate to this temperature.

Matching Your Internal Temperature

As you sleep, your body temperature lowers. This is a naturally occurring action. As your body lowers, the room may become too hot or too cold. This causes your body to wake up and for you to feel uncomfortable. It means adjusting your thermostat and then waiting for your room temperature to regulate and your body temperature to start back on its natural path as well. This can mean the loss of more sleep. A set temperature of 65 degrees is what is recommended to avoid this issue. 

Breathing Assistance 

One thing that can wake you up at night is your breathing pattern. If you have sinus issues, air quality issues, upper respiratory issues, or related breathing issues then you are going to wake up. Warm rooms can affect your breathing and can make it difficult to breath in and out of sleep. By keeping a consistent cool temperature at night you can avoid this issue and breath clearly throughout the night and into the morning.  Combining the air temperature with air quality, like using air quality plants such as aloe vera, you can boost this aspect of your sleep routine and benefit your sleep even more. 

By setting a temperature you can help boost your sleep ritual and help sleep through the night. This can help immensely, especially for those who are experiencing ongoing sleep issues. 


