God's Natural Rhythm - Peaceful Slumber
Has counting sheep turned into mentally tallying all the to-dos for tomorrow? Are you unable to fall asleep shortly after getting into bed? Are you dreaming about getting stuff done or solving tomorrow’s problems?
Sounds like you may need to unwind your mind to be able to fall asleep and get some quality ZZZ’s.
To Boost Energy Naturally, Need 7-9 Hours of Peaceful Sleep
Sleep supports all normal brain and body function. God designed our bodies so that our internal organs get a chance to conduct maintenance (like tissue repair, muscle growth, protein & hormone synthesis, memory consolidation). Additionally, dreaming is key to mental and spiritual well-being. We need 4-5 dream cycles to restore us. Good quality and quantity of sleep allows for you to awake refreshed, focused and energized to go about the next day.
Sleep deprivation affects ability to focus and think clearly, compromising good decisions and reaction times. Insufficient rest may make it difficult to keep emotions on an even keel as increased feelings of irritability, anxiety, sadness, or anger are common.
Very few people can actually get by on 5-6 hours of sleep. The rest prop themselves up with caffeine, sugar or other stimulants to get by. It can create a perpetuating cycle of exhaustion and fatigue.
Our routines and actions through the day set us up for a good night’s rest. Ensuring we are
- connected with circadian rhythms,
- fasting 3 hours before bed,
- reducing usage of stimulants / depressants / liver loaders (alcohol, caffeine, sugar, etc)
are all key. This article though will focus on relaxing as get into bed, so you can fall asleep quickly.
RELATED: Improve Energy & Reduce Stress By Finding God's Natural Rhythms - Sunrise
A Tip to Recharge & Unwind … Relax to Sleep
Unwind Your Mind to Sleep
As you are getting into bed, you want to be relaxed. Feeling that there is not enough time today or mentally jumping into tomorrow, creates tension physically and mentally that makes it hard to fall asleep. Here are a couple of quick tips, to evaluate and build into your routine as you get into bed.
- Ensure there is minimal muscle tension. As you do either activity, really get focused on the sensory feelings so that your mind is not doing something else.
- Standing next to the bed, from head to toes, do a quick wiggle and shake of each body part to find where any tension needs to be released
- Alternatively, once in bed to a tense and release of each part from head to toe to ensure there is no tightness
- Calm the nervous system with deep belly breathing.
- Count your breathing to keep the mind focused on winding down.
- Pick a pattern like 4-7-8 that keeps you mentally on engaged and slowing. For a count of 4 breathe in deep so the abdomen sticks out, for a count of 7 hold your breath, and for a count of 8 slowly exhale. Repeat 4 times.
- Prayer soothes the spirit. Close the day with a bit of gratitude that helps you relax. If some of the situations on your prayer list create some worry, maybe you want to do those in the morning.
- I run through the GLADES, by creating a list of the following from the activities of the day:
- Gratitude
- Learned
- Achieved / Accomplished
- Delighted (Smile, Laugh, Joy)
- Expressed
- Surrender or Sacrifice
- Biblical meditation with a favorite relaxing verse. Recite slowly in your mind as a safe fortress against tomorrow.
- I run through the GLADES, by creating a list of the following from the activities of the day:
Relaxing Sleep Space to Help You Sleep
You also want a peaceful sleep space that helps you relax. A few suggestions:
- Bedding that makes you go “ahhh” as you get into bed.
- Be mindful of room temperature as your body temperature falls in preparation for sleep and rises in preparation for wakefulness.
- Clear your sleep space of distractions, stimuli, and stressors to help associate your bed with rest.
- Incorporate calming scents, such as lavender, vanilla, or jasmine, by diffusing an essential oil, using lotion, or a pillow spray. Or a hot cup of herbal tea next to the bed for you to enjoy cool the next morning.
Imagine for a moment how you would benefit from a good night's sleep. What would be different about tomorrow if you were able to easily fall asleep and stay asleep? Is it worth it to experiment with changing your bedtime routine to feel rested to meet the day & all that God plans for you?
RELATED: Improve Energy & Reduce Stress By Finding God's Natural Rhythms - Winding Down
Experiment for Yourself
Only you and God knows will grant you the most peaceful sleep. Play with some of these ideas or use these to seed some brainstorming of your own. For one week, try one (or more of these tips) for yourself. After a week, do you feel differently? Have you experienced better rest? Do you feel recharged in the morning?
(If this is not quite enough to help you get fully rested, check some of the related posts I mention. It may take a combination of tactics to find what works best for you.)
My hope for you...
Sleep is precious and critical to nourishing body, mind and spirit. Finding your bio individual balance within the natural sleep - wake cycle, will make a significant difference on the amount of energy you enjoy through the day.
I hope that these words (or what you experience through trying this tip to Recharge & Unwind) can serve to inspire and energize changes in lifestyle and food choices. You deserve to have flourishing health so you can best celebrate Faith, Family & Freedom.
Please share any feedback you have in the comments below.
Looking for other types of tips on how to boost your energy naturally? Check out these 8 ideas.
