Five Ways to Wind Down and Destress

Diva's and Gents!  Hey ya'll! I hope you're as beautiful as ever on this first day of April.

I was fortunate enough to be in the company of several friends this past weekend and one of the things discussed was ways to wind down.  

I shared that after hitting the job grind daily, most of us have other things, or responsibilities that feel more stressful than the job we just left, and sometimes even though our heads hit the pillow, our brains just won't shut off.  It wants to be twins with the Duracell bunny and keep going and going.  It wants to tell us how to do things like complete future pressing issues and tasks. It knows it should be resting or winding down, however it wants to elude deep and invasive sleep.  uugh.  However I have been trying to come up with some "me time" routines, and one of them is my "before bed to help me sleep better" routine.

I started earlier this year trying to combat rest thieves.  Here are five ideas that I've found useful in helping me to wind down.

1. I set aside thirty minutes to an hour before my actual bed time to start to wind down.  This gives me time to surf the net, social media, read or make those last minute phone calls.  This helps me release some of what's rumbling around in my mind.

2. Brew some tea.  One great benefit of Chamomile tea consumption is the powerful ability of its ingredients to aid in relaxation, and it taste good too!  I can sometimes feel my eyelids getting heavy after I ingest a good amount of it.

3. Develop and then utilize mindfulness bedtime exercises.  These include dimming the lights in my bedroom (even the lights on the cell and other electronics), my breathing exercises, and my praying/meditation.

4. I stopped trying to fall asleep, and instead I just relax.  If I forced it, I end up adding stress to my list of ailments.  Don't need that.  Just try and relax. and before you know it, you're in la-la land, at least I am.

5. Aromatherapy using linen sprays.  Company's sell linen sprays is several scents; petitgrain, chamomile, geranium, sandalwood rose, and lavender.  I DIY linen spray, it's very easy.  I take distilled water, add it into my 1 ounce blue spray bottle and add 10 drops of lavender oil, shake it and use it at night time to spray down the bed, the pillows and I spray some in the air.  I love it, and it works well for me.

If you have any suggestions, please drop them down below and share.  You know we're all about sharing here! Let's help everybody wind down!