Creating Sleep Rituals for Restorative Sleep

 

Sleep is something I get asked a lot about. So many of us can’t fall asleep because the mind is running, or wake constantly through the night and never get refreshed. Listen in and read below for my top tips for creating a successful sleep ritual.

Causes

• Cortisol/stress hormone imbalance
• Low progesterone
• Anxiety and running thoughts
• Poor sleep environment: Everything from darkness, sound and temperature can effect you
• Liver congestion: If you wake between 1:00-3:00am, Traditional Chinese Medicine says you’re liver is overloaded (time for a detox!)
• Low melatonin production due to age

Here’s what you need to know to create your own sleep ritual.

Food

Before supplements, always put your focus on food. There are a number of nutrients (and even more foods) that can help your sleep.

1. Magnesium Foods: Magnesium helps with muscle relaxation, promoting sleep
   1. Leafy greens of all types, nuts and seeds, fish, avocados, brown rice, and dried figs
2. Tryptophan Foods: This amino acid (protein building-block) promotes good sleep quality because it is used to make sleepy chemicals like serotonin and melatonin
   1. Turkey, chicken, pumpkin seeds, fish, crab, rolled oats, white beans, eggs
3. Tart Cherries: One of the only food sources of melatonin, eating cherries or taking tart cherry juice could help your slumber. 
4. Pre-Bed Protein Snack: Having protein (extra points for using a source of tryptophan) will help to stabilize your blood sugar during sleep to prevent stress hormone imbalance and waking during the night
   1. Turkey rolled in lettuce with avocado
   2. Small smoothie with protein powder, pumpkin seeds and non-dairy milk
   3. White bean dip with veggie sticks or a few gluten-free crackers
   4. Sleep herbal tea (see my sexy examples below) mixed with collagen protein powder and consumed 1-2 hours before bed

 

Self-Care Practices

Self-care is awesome and fun- you ARE doing it, right? If not, or if you need something a little more exciting than your current ‘self-care’ routine of a glass of wine and Facebook scrolling . . .

Get my list of best self-care ideas for sleep in my free Creating Sleep Rituals Guide. 

My Sleep Rituals

Creating a ritual for sleep can help lessen the overwhelm of daily life, and achieve seriously restorative sleep. Here I’m sharing my personal sleep rituals, to give you an example of what it could look like.

 

1. Tea- lavender, tulsi or lemon balm usually
2. Deep Breathing/Mediation
3. Protein Snack
4. Legs Up The Wall Pose on my Acupressure Mat
5. Laptop curfew- I read after this until I fall asleep
6. Lavender essential oil on pillow, temples, nape of neck and wrists
7. Magnesium Foot Cream by Cook’s Organics (and Magnesium supplement if necessary)