This morning i woke up happily squirming in bed like a little fairy unfolding herself out of a smooth leaf, and hummed to myself softly before rousing from bed. I had gone to bed at 11pm, and was asleep by midnight. Glorious!
I think it’s such a gift to be able to wake up like this.
A few years ago the way i woke up would have either been either of the below:
– wake up and check phone for messages and start replying them frantically
– wake up in horror panicking about all the things i needed to get done for the day
– wake up in a burst of energy and happiness jumping out of bed like TADA HELLO TODAY!
It was either one extreme or the other, and more often the panicky kancheong type, which really isn’t a sustainable way of sleeping / living!
I started altering the quality of my sleep from various bits of info i picked up over the past 5 years, and find myself regularly lecturing friends about the importance of sleep, so i thought i’d share all my sleep tips. Or maybe, i just want to lecture more 😆
You’ve heard the typical drill on improving sleep like exercise regularly and not to consume caffeine at night (duh).
The below is a set of personal beliefs i have…
I practice all the below, sometimes i may miss one out but i don’t stress over it.
Sleep meditation music
Whenever i have friends telling me they have problems sleeping, my first suggestion would be to try sleep meditation music beforehand. There are tons on YouTube, and they play at specific frequencies which will get your body to rest mode. Sniffing some essential oils can help calm your state down too.
Dim the lights closer to bedtime
In general, i only switch on the white light in my rooms if i’m packing or looking for something. I switch on lamps i’ve placed all around the apartment for a cosier atmosphere, and also to prepare the body via sight that it’s night time, and bedtime is coming soon!
Our invention of artificial light allows us to be more productive at night, but also forms bad habits for our bodies.
When i was camping in Tanzania, we were asleep by 9pm cos there’s barely any light to do stuff by.
If you stay in a small town or village anywhere in the world where energy is precious, most people sleep early.
Think about ourselves as living creatures – we were meant to sleep when it’s night time.
Your body heals best 11pm – 4am
I read this somewhere and it always stuck with me as a push to try to sleep earlier. Fine, it doesn’t always work cos there are nights i LOVE messing about till 2am, and others i may party till 4am :p
But knowing that fact encourages me to sleep early more than half the week. When we sleep, our bodies are healing themselves. If we want to live longer, we gotta sleep proper!
Invest in awesome bedding
Considering the bed is where we spend almost 1/3 of our lives, it just seems logical that we invest in the space where we lay our bodies to rest. I’m a fan of goose down pillows, 800-thread-count bedsheets (look out for sales) and a massive bed i can roll around over and over in.
Also quite particular about colour schemes for the bedroom so it’s relaxing. Mine is predominantly white, with closed storage space (so i don’t see any distracting loose items) and light blue / lavender curtains and bedding. Super relaxing. Writing about my bedroom makes me want to run in and lie down now!
Leave the curtains open…
For the moonlight to come in. I know this sounds strange (but anyway, i am strange, and my strangeness is probably why you are still reading this) but this affects women more. In the past when we were hunters and gatherers, we didn’t have no black out curtains. The moonlight reacts with our physiology and if we’re sufficiently exposed to moon rays, our periods will be synced with the moon, which is why it’s also referred to as the moon cycle. When our body’s cycle is synced with the full moon – this is when women are most intuitive (and also why we get crazy cos we really just want to be left alone to process all those emotions running like cray through our system). Back in the day, all the shamans (thus village advisors/leaders) were women but males soon wanted that position and decided that they should be shamans instead 🙄
Sleep alone (when possible)
Throughout my various relationships, there are some partners i loved sleeping next to every night, and some i didn’t. When you sleep at night, it isn’t just your body healing itself, but you are also spiritually healing yourself on a subconscious level while you are in dream state. When you sleep with someone next to you – both your energies will merge and heal together, so you’re actually subconsciously intertwining yourselves together. When you sleep alone, it’s a powerful thing cos you are healing yourself without the force field of another.
Turn off the modem & router
This is a new thing i started practicing this year. We’re constantly surrounded by radio frequencies and waves that we’ve artificially created. I have a thing against artificial waves, they are* radiation after all. (Google: how microwaved water kills plants.)
Now just before i go to bed, i switch off the modem and router, so my space will be as free from it as possible as i enter dream state. I also try to remember to put my phone on flight mode if it’s going to be next to me (alarm will still work), or as Simon Sinek suggests – just get an alarm clock and put your phone in another room so you don’t check it before and after bed. Reduce your eyes from having to stare at more artificial light! Surely we stare at the laptop and phone enough as it is… and also, the aliens will get you less! 😀
