Better Sleep in 4 Steps
Over the past few months I have noticed how the things I am doing before I lay down to rest affect my quality of sleep. I set out to find a nighttime routine that works effectively for me, and where I can see the difference in my quality of sleep.
As a witness to my pre-sleep patterns and behaviours, I noticed that if anything gets neglected in my pre-bed routine, the quality of my sleep in affected. I’m able to see how each of the parts of my routine below plays a role in the overall success of my sleep.
I’m writing this blog to share with you what I have found to be the most effective pre-bed routine to achieve a high quality of sleep.
1. No blue light one hour before bed
One hour before lying down, I turn off all “blue light” devices. The blue light (backlit) of our devices causes our brain and eyes to believe that it is still daytime while we are looking at them. This disrupts our body’s natural rhythm of winding down. I now know for a fact that if I am on my device within an hour of going to sleep, I will have a light and turbulent sleep.
2. doTERRA essential oils
I have many different combinations of essential oils that I like to diffuse at night. Here are some of my favourites to diffuse for sleep:
- 2 drops Ylang Ylang + 2 drops Vetiver
- 2 drops Lavender + 2 drops Cedarwood
- 2 drops Ylang Ylang + 2 drops Frankincense
- 4 drops Serenity
I also apply essential oils to my feet before bed. The oils enter your bloodstream within 30 seconds of application! I mix two drops of oil with a ½ tablespoon of fractionated coconut oil and rub my hands together. Then I take three deep breaths of the oil from my hands and apply the oil to the bottoms of both feet, covering the entire surface area and the bottoms of the toes. Here are some of my doTERRA favourites that I put on my feet before bed:
- serenity
- lavender
- frankincense
- ylang ylang
- peace
- console
- forgive
I am also using a LIQUID SLEEP roller and have had a lot of success with it. You can make your own 10ml roller bottle and leave it by your bedside!
How to make a LIQUID SLEEP ROLLER:
- 15 drops lavender
- 10 drops vetiver
- 5 drops frankincense
- 5 drops ylang ylang
- 5 drops wild orange
Combine all drops in a 10ml roller bottle. Top with fractionated coconut oil.
Roll the roller on the bottoms of your feet and rub it in so it covers the entire surface area of the bottoms of your feet. Rub it on your neck as well!
3. Mantra meditation and prayer
I practice a 5-minute mantra meditation and say a prayer before I get into bed. This releases things that I picked up or attached to during that day that will not serve me while I sleep. It allows my neurology to settle down. My mantra always begins with “I AM”.
For example:
I am free
I am loved
I am healthy
I am abundant
I am peaceful
I am confident
I am living in my truth
Inhale to say I AM. And, Exhale to say the chosen word (for ex: abundant)
My prayer is for my angels and guides of the highest truth and compassion to surround me and bring forth the highest good while I sleep.
4. Reverse the flow of your thought patterns
In the 5 minutes before bed, as you lie down to go to sleep, instead of thinking about all the things that didn’t go well that day, of all things terrible things happening in the world, or of the things that hurt you or how things could have gone better, take a moment to reverse the flow and set your subconscious mind up to marinate in sleep for 8 hours to work to elevate you rather than keep you in a fear based loop. Use the last 5 minutes of your day to say the things that you want as though they have happened already. As a result, your subconscious mind will marinate in this and will spend 8 hours in this state rather than a negative state.
In the words of Dr. Wayne Dyer…
“What you want to do, is reverse this practice (of negative thoughts before bed) because your subconscious mind is listening to how you are asking the Universe to provide for you what it is that you would like to attract or manifest into your life. And if you fill your subconscious mind with all of the things that you don’t want that you don’t like, that make you unhappy, that make you depressed, that make you worried, then your subconscious mind, which is impersonal, can’t make a distinction between what you are feeling as a result of what you place into your mind and or what is actually happening in your life.”
I sincerely hope that you benefit from these tools. All of the doTERRA oils suggested here and roller bottles are available for purchase at The 889 Shop (varying in-store or online). If you are interested in learning more about doTERRA Essential Oils in your life contact me at [email protected]!