This post is about creating a power down hour!
If sleep is something that you are having trouble with it can effect a lot of your decision making throughout your day! See below some tips of things you can implement to enhance your sleeping patterns. Sleep is just one area of taking care of our wellbeing whilst creating each day to be a new exciting day to be embraced with purpose and passion!
For further assistance with this see the link below to the Growth Package or book in for your free 45 min coaching session to discuss further.
Here are some tips to help you create your power down hour
Some of us can have limiting beliefs around sleep!
A limiting belief around sleep can be when you here someone say oh l have always had trouble sleeping it is just the way it is! Or it runs in the family l must have that gene too! So you could change your limiting belief by saying to yourself l sleep well or Sleep is one of my top priorities as l know the decisions l make are much better after a good nights sleep! These are just a couple of examples and when you think about it how many people may have to make a decision and they will say l am not sure at the moment let me sleep on it! So know if you are a person that does not sleep well this too can be changed when you are ready to get to know what the real cause of the problem might be.
First step is to recognise what you are doing in your evening, is it watching TV? if so what kind of programs are you watching? What have you eaten for dinner and what time have you eaten? Have you had a few glasses of alcohol or coffee in your evening? Are you the person that cleans up and sorts out the household or are you able to share the load so everyone has a task to do and then you can look forward to relaxing for your power down hour. Once you have become aware of what your evening habits are you can then look at changing them somehow.
If you are a person that does drink alcohol in the evening it is suggested to have one glass of wine and then have a large glass of water afterwards then to wait for an hour prior to having a second glass then have another glass of water. Also do not drink any alcohol for 2 hours prior to going to bed as it can have quite an effect on how you sleep. If you are a coffee drinker wait for 90 minutes after you get up in the morning prior to having a cup of coffee and make your last cup for the day at around 2pm.
Second step If you know your time of wanting to go to bed for yourself and your family start your power down hour by turning off the Television, stop looking at any phone or social media, unless you are perhaps wanting to listen to a nice meditation that is online. So some suggestions are to sit together with your family, husband, wife, mother or father whoever is in your household and dim the lights a little setting the stage for relaxation, lighting a candle can be nice and calming (depending on the age of your children) read a book, have a nice conversation with each other about how your feeling right now at the moment and allow each other to their space to talk without any judgement or responses (in other words really listen) and if anyone is feeling a bit anxious about something that has occurred in their day it gives them a chance to express it out loud without any judgement, and then as a parent you could say right here right now we are all well, we are all safe and know that you will have a good nights sleep tonight (reassurance can really be of benefit to anyone that is feeling anxious or concerned about something)
If you find yourself thinking or worrying about things that you have to do the following day - write yourself a to do list so then you do not have to think about it again. If you have any things you need to get ready for the next day making sure you have your clothes & your kids things ready for the next day so you are not rushing in the morning. Now go and do all of your hygiene activities, shower, brush teeth etc.
Third step Once you have hopped into bed practice the 4 -7-8 breath technique which is getting comfortable and breathing in through the nose for the count of 4, then hold the breath for the count of 7, then breath out through the mouth for the count of 8 breathing out any toxins that may still be in your body. Do this as many times as required to assist you falling off to sleep, this does take some practice so do not give up if this is the first time you have tried this just keep it going for at least 7 days then start to notice the difference when you continue to practice. You may also notice when you awake in the morning you may feel a lot more energised on awakening as you have slept well.
At times you may hear people mention that they have not slept well and it has made them feel anxious, however this is not the case often their is something you might be feeling anxious about that is having an effect on your sleep. So it is so important to continue paying attention to what you are doing in your day and how you are being when your doing it! Sometimes we just go on our merry little way throughout and just being on autopilot (doing things automatically without much thought) so when we bring ourselves back to the moment and pay more attention is when the magic truly starts to happen as we become more aware of our own behavioural patterns and with that awareness you can then start to create the changes. So it is very important to notice what you are participating in throughout your day to be able to understand yourself and become your true authentic self!
I always say to my clients just try it and see what happens and notice how it makes you feel, because the thing is you will never know what the experience is like for you unless your prepared to give it go!
The information above has been recommended by a Sleep Doctor by the name of Dr Michael Breus
So if you do suffer from a sleep dysfunction (ie insomnia) look him up so can educate yourself further on this topic. This is a youtube video of Dr Breus talking about the four different sleep types.
I went through the above process myself and was amazed at the results
"Practice the steps above if you are serious about changing a limiting belief around sleep"
Get Inspired
This is a wonderful time to make that change one day at a time by saying YES to creating the REST of your Life to become the BEST of your life - make an appointment with me now for your first free session and l promise you that l will devote my utmost as a mentor / Mindfulness + Awareness = Happiness coach to assist you 100% to help you DISCOVER what lights you up! I can honestly say the journey l have started on by saying YES to life has changed all areas of my life and l could not be happier to be of service in helping you discover your goals, aspirations and dreams. The power of now is where it starts, trust yourself if this feels right for you now listen to your intuition and start the process one step at a time.
Answer the questions below and email me Now to discuss some tools that may assist you with your sleep or book in for your free 45min coaching session to discuss further
Do you find it challenging to get to sleep?
Are you waking up in the night noticing your mind is racing?
Are you finding that lack of sleep is making you feel scattered throughout your day?