If there is one thing we should prioritize, it’s sleep! Sleep awareness week is here, and we want to help you achieve the deepest most restful sleep of your life. Sleep is crucial because it is the time where our minds and bodies go through repair and rejuvenation.
Without it, our bodies suffer to make up for the lack of rest. Sleep deprivation can present itself in various ways: stress-related weight gain, excess cortisol (stress hormone) levels, lack of focus, brain fog, fluctuations in appetite, worsened memory, suppressed immune system, and mood changes. Like with anything, good sleep takes practice, and trial and error. Having a nighttime routine is vital for adequate sleep quality — and incorporating CBD sleep support products can be an ideal to-do.
Here are a few things you can incorporate in your life to create a soothing sleepy time ritual!
Step 1
Instead of having lots of stimulation in the evening through technology use and abrasive lights, focus on relaxation. We should be limiting our tech use and refrain from any tech at least 30 minutes before bed. There’s a spot in between our eyes in charge of detecting light changes to help the body know when to produce melatonin. When we use too many abrasive artificial lights and technology, the light signals to our bodies to not produce melatonin and stay awake despite our biological clock knowing it is supposed to be bedtime.
Step 2
Try to have dinner at an earlier time. Make it a goal to eat no later than 7:30 PM. We should all give our bodies about 2-3 hours to digest our dinner before we head to sleep. Our bodies should not have any food inside them. When we sleep, our bodies become dormant and minimize energy use to help repair the body. When your digestive system is still running, all the blood and resources must rush to your digestive system to help break down your dinner. This is why midnight snacking is not ideal. Instead of resting, your body will have to keep working, making you feel unrested in the morning.
Step 3
The foods you choose for dinner should not be too spicy, fried, fatty, or heavy. Aim for a balanced plate with baked, steamed, boiled, or sautéed foods. It is also ideal to opt for warm dishes instead of cold ones. By eating something warm, your body doesn’t have to work extra hard to warm it up and break it down.
Step 4
Exercising in the morning or during the day helps de-stress our mind and body. It also helps manage serotonin production to ensure your body can successfully induce sleep.
Step 5
If you choose to nap throughout the day, only nap for 30-minute intervals. Psychologists say that the 30-minute mark is perfect. If you sleep past 30 minutes, you’ll enter a deeper phase of sleep, hence why so many people wake up groggy from naps. When you take a power nap of 30 minutes, you wake up energized instead of groggy and disoriented.
Step 6
Create a soothing ambiance. Whether that entails lighting a candle/incense, dimming the lights, drinking hot tea, taking a bubble bath, reading, meditating, journaling, or conversing with your partner/roommates, choose things that you know will make you happy and curb the urge to pick up your phone.
Step 7
Avoid excessive caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine should not be consumed past 3 PM during the day.
Step 8
Stare at the blue sky for about 2-5 minutes during the day. This helps reset your biological clock and it’s really therapeutic.
Step 9
Take CBD regularly and/or 1 hour to 30 minutes before bedtime. CBD has been shown to encourage optimized melatonin production while also decreasing anxiety levels, thus inducing peaceful sleep. We at ReThink offer various sleep support products infused with CBD and melatonin. Check out our sleep support capsules and syrups, stress and mood shots, tinctures, and gummies.
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For more information about how our myriad CBD products can help you get ready for bedtime, reduce anxiety, and support sleep, contact our team today. The ReThink family wishes you the deep and soothing zzz’s night after night!
