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November 16, 2021

Sleep Self Care: Deep Healing

Maintaining adequate quantity and quality of sleep is essential to optimal health and wellbeing. While you sleep, your body is repairing itself and heals on a deep level. A good night’s sleep affects every area of life including:

  1. Increased energy to make beneficial lifestyle choices (cooking, exercise, self-care, etc.)
  2. Strengthened immune system
  3. Heightened alertness, focus and creativity
  4. Improved mood by reducing irritability and mental exhaustion

As a wellness company, we truly believe that sleep-care is an important aspect of self-care. With that in mind, we’ve pulled together a few rituals to benefit your sleep and wellbeing, including a breathwork practice to enhance dreaming for emotional and spiritual healing:

1)   Consistency: Go to bed and wake up at the same time, even on weekends! We know this may sound tough but think of it as honoring your body’s natural rhythm and therefore creating more ease in your life. As a note to keep in mind, the average adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. The restoration naturally lowers stress and anxiety.

2)   Intentional Sleep Space: Create a beautiful and nurturing bedroom environment. Crisp linens and low clutter to start. From there think of dark, cool, clean and comfortable. Lighting should be dim before bed and bright upon waking.

3)   Set Aside Electronics: About 30 minutes before bedtime, remove screens and electronics from your evening. Our helpful daytime tools, like smartphones, cause the brain to think the sun is still out and therefore lessens melatonin production. A key chemical the brain naturally produces to aid with the healing sleep process.

4)   Food, Drink & Movement: Cornerstones of daily life that can deeply affect how you fall asleep and how you sleep throughout the night. Set yourself up for comfort by enjoying lighter meals in the evening, which can promote more restful sleep as the body is able to rest without digesting a heavy meal. Within 3 hours of bedtime, limit your alcohol, caffeine, water or other beverages and high-intensity exercise can bring a smoother slumber throughout the night.

5)   The Wind Down: Gentle breathwork, meditation and yoga nidra are wonderful ways to activate the parasympathetic system, the rest and restore part of the nervous system. Slowing down the process of day-time life and allowing the mind, body and spirit to connect in the present moment is essential to honoring transition. As a gentle support, introduce BLNCD Sleep Oil to your rituals to promote smooth and restorative sleep. The combination of CBD and CBN not only allows for an herbal lullaby to the body, mind and spirit but also can address inflammation, a known hindrance to quality of sleep. Take a deeper look with this q&a with founder, Allison Vaillancourt

Our bodies take cues from our actions. What and when we eat it, what and when we do during the day are all part of an intricate system of signals that our brain uses to regulate all it needs to do for us to thrive. Honoring these rhythms is vital to our well-being and feeling in alignment with our life. 

Tonight before you head to sleep, try this magical practice to encourage falling asleep and to enhance your dream experience:

PRACTICE: Dreaming Breath by Ashley Neese, Breathwork Teacher

–  Get in bed, lie down on your back and make yourself comfortable

–  Set your intention

–  Begin breathing in and out through your nose slowly for a few rounds

–  Next, extend your inhale and exhale, allowing for a natural rhythm to take shape

–  Continue extending your inhales and exhales until they are as long as possible without stress or strain on the body or respiratory system

–  Repeat practice until you fall asleep

–  Journal first thing in the morning about your dreams

Keep your dream journal by your bed to be able to start writing right away. As you wake dreams fade so getting them to pen and paper is key. If you have difficulty remembering your dreams, set your intention for Dreaming Breath to remember your dreams. 

 

Resources: 

Ashley Neese, Breathwork Teacher

Shelby Harris, Sleep Psychologist

 

Written by Rachel Lyn

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