Five Tips for Sleeping Better at Night

As someone who tends to get insomnia easily, I've tried a range of different exercises and methods to help my brain relax enough to allow me sleep. When I was younger, I can remember my father telling me to "count sheep" before bed until I dozed off, but, unfortunately, this really didn't do anything except remind me that I can count well! As I've grown older, however, I have stumbled across many methods which supposedly aid sleep—some of which seem to work.

For anyone who is struggling, I have compiled a list of tips to combat that dreaded insomnia. I hope they work for you guys as they've definitely been helpful in regulating my sleep patterns.

1) Pick a set bedtime and keep to it:

Ideally, getting to sleep before 10pm is the most beneficial for your body. Studies have shown that the best time for your body to get optimum rest (and heal itself) are those crucial couple of hours before midnight. Our brains thrive on routine and a set bedtime will mean that your brain will start to differentiate between when it should be relaxing...and when it should be thinking! At first, it might be tricky to break the habit that your brain has developed, in terms of not sleeping, but please do not be tempted to get up if you can't sleep. Stay in bed and keep your eyes closed. If you do this for a couple of weeks then your brain will start to recognise when it should be sleeping and establish a new routine.

2) Increase your magnesium and calcium intake:

Often, sleep deprivation is caused by calcium and magnesium levels getting too low. If you want to ensure a restful night's sleep, either take foods that are rich in magnesium (like dark leafy greens, pine nuts, sesame seeds, fish etc) and calcium (like cheese, milk, yoghurt etc) or pick up some tablets from your local health food store.

3) Breathing exercises:

A really handy exercise for relaxing your body enough to sleep is to breathe in for six seconds, hold for three, and then release for seven seconds. Keep doing this until your mind quietens and you get into a nice relaxed sleep.

4) Turn off all laptops, phones, consoles etc at least an hour or so before bed:

Bright artificial lights, in general, are well-known to decrease sleep quality and duration. If you want to ensure that you get a restful sleep, you need to turn off all of these screens an hour before bed—and keep them away! (Do not be tempted to reach for that mobile!)

5) Keep your bedroom tidy:

An untidy bedroom often equals an untidy mind. Your thoughts are far more likely to be calmer and more collected in a tidy environment, rather than in a messy room. Eliminate clutter physically and you're subconsciously telling your brain to eliminate clutter from your life internally, too—and often that will have a powerful effect in helping you to feel more peaceful.

Extra tips:

As a general rule, lay off heavy meals or sugary snacks/drinks before bedtime, too. If too much sugar or carbs are in your bloodstream, you body will end up with an excess of unused energy and struggle to relax. As a general rule, a nice glass of milk and honey before bed can do wonders.

Recently, I've also discovered that if I eat a banana in the day then I sleep much better, too. The banana regulates the blood sugar levels and stops them from spiking in the evening, which gives me a much better chance of getting some sleep!

Hope this helps. If you have any added tips, please feel free to leave them in the comments below!

F x

Dreams - Mouth Dreams

As someone who tends to have a fair few strange dreams, I thought I'd write a few blogs which attempt to work out the meanings behind why we dream about certain things.
One thing I've dreamed about a lot recently is vomit. In a few dreams, I've literally been holding sick in my mouth because I've been in a public place. In one dream, I had to get off the bus early and run through a shopping centre until I could find a public toilet to use. The vomit that came out in those dreams was actually bits of food, utterly whole and perfect.
In other dreams, I've pulled endless clumps of orange peel string out of mouth and almost choked on it. Again, I had to rush to the safety of a bathroom before I could do anything.
In my last dream, I was regurgitating milk into a bin whilst being watched by a small child who needed my help.
So, for anyone else experience vomit-filled dreams, what does it all mean?

Vomit
Vomit, in general, often refers to a purging of some sort of emotion. Perhaps there's some part of life - or some aspect happening in your life - that is literally making you feel "sick to your stomach".
Vomiting could also mean that you're unhappy with the way life has turned out or that you feel you've overindulged too much lately.
Since these particular dreams involved trying to avoid public places, the dream was probably signalling that too much has been held back in social settings. Emotions have been suppressed but they're threatening to spiral out of control, as it were.

Pulling String Out of Mouth

Again, the fact that things are literally being pulled from the mouth indicates that you are trying to get rid of an aspect which you don't like from your life. It may even be that you've felt you've had to hold your tongue too much around other people recently. Since the string is being yanked out of the mouth endlessly, it suggests a desperate need to get rid of something unpleasant or upsetting. It may even be that you've felt people have been "stringing you along" and the dream world is reflecting that in some way.

Tips

• Try to look at the exterior factors going on in your life and see if you can spot any similarities
• Think about how you were feeling in the dream. Did you feel helpless? Panicked? Irritated? Hurt? Had you experienced feelings similar to those just before having the dream?
  

Happy dream interpreting! I'll be back to chat about more dreams and random reflections soon, I expect! Feel free to leave a comment if you've experienced similar dreams!