It’s always hard to recover and get back in the swing of things after a holiday because my sleeping patterns are all messed up. During holidays and vacations, I’m usually sleeping late and waking up late so it’s always a challenge for me to get back in my regular schedule and sleeping routine.
When I find myself having trouble falling asleep, here are a few things that usually work for me.
Meditate. I pray and meditate before falling asleep and I find that it helps to clear my mind and relax my body. I make sure to cut off all the lights and close my eyes while I meditate and after meditating, I usually fall right asleep.
Practice deep breathing. I consider deep breathing another form of meditation. Slowly inhaling and exhaling before you go to sleep helps to clear your mind by focusing on your breaths and relaxes your body by slowing down your heart rate. The sounds of my breath inhaling and exhaling are also very soothing and can help me fall asleep.
Drink hot tea. Drinking hot tea right before bed helps me to relax and wine down from the day. I usually shoot for chamomile tea and I add honey for a splash of sweetness.
Read. Reading is definitely relaxing for me. I usually will drink some hot tea and read a couple chapters before falling asleep. Sometimes I find myself falling asleep while reading because I am in such a relaxed state.
Take a hot shower. Hot showers are definitely my go-to right before bed. Hot showers are soothing and relaxing. Crawling into bed right after a nice hot shower is a for sure way to fall asleep quickly, especially after a long day.
Limit bright lights and interactions with electronics. My mind is always racing as I am thinking about everything I have to get done the next day and because of this, I sometimes have trouble falling asleep. To help with this, I try my best to cut off all interactions with electronics and that includes phone, computer, camera, etc at least 1 hour before bedtime.