When you’re in a festive flurry of sticky tape, smoked salmon nibbles and stocking fillers it’s all too easy to focus on creating the perfect Christmas for everyone else and forget about your sweet self.
Like the good little elves that we are, we urge you to take the time out to relax (perhaps sipping a little Amaretto) between waiting patiently in 90 minute post office queues, sweeping up mince pie crumbs and selecting the perfect jigsaw for Aunty Rita.
Just like you can’t pour gravy from an empty gravy boat, you can’t give everyone fabulous festive times when you’re feeling frazzled and battered by the season. So remain firmly #TeamChristmas by doing a bit of what you love every day and gifting yourself the best present ever…SLEEP!
We all know that after a frantic day of festive planning, shopping and socialising our bodies slow down for rest, but our minds continue whirring full of tasks to complete tomorrow. The excitement, annoyances and stresses of the day; that thing you just remembered you didn’t do.
Overthinking at night happens to us at any time but the festive season appears to be the hardest so we have four simple ways to send yourself off into a sweet, smooth, slumber this festive season.
- Stay Mindful
Start with your bedtime routine. Take time to tune in on how your face actually feels as you're cleansing, toning and exfoliating. Set a timer for 2 minutes whilst you brush your pearly whites and use it to empty your mind.
When you get into bed, lay back onto your silk pillowcase and do some gentle stretching. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Do a count of 10 slow breaths in and out. If your mind wanders and thoughts start creeping in, start back at one again until you’ve made it to 10.
If you find it hard to silence your mind chatter try resting your fingertips on the outer edges of your brow bone to stimulate some of the points for clarity & calm. A Lavender Eye Pillow works even better as it rests on all of these acupressure points and the Lavender aroma is instantly relaxing.
This exercise is an instantaneous way of focusing you on the present and giving your brain a much needed break.
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Practice Night Time Gratitude
We’re not going to recommend promoting your life as blessed to everyone you meet but some simple private gratitude exercises can go a long way.
Noting down three things you're grateful for that day and putting them in a jar is an effective way to bring some balance to your life and keep exercising that positivity muscle.
Don’t choose this time to start thinking too deeply about them. They can be as simple as having clean sheets, that feeling when another driver let you in a lane of traffic or the opportunity you took to have a good catch up on the phone with a loved one.
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Use a Bedtime Journal
Pop a notebook beside your bed with a section for each day. Write down whatever you wish. We find it useful, before slipping on our relaxing Eye Mask, to tick off what we did that day and scribble down what we plan to do the following day, things like tasks, meals, even what we plan on doing at the gym.
With the thoughts firmly etched on paper they’re less likely to whirl around in our head as we lay down with your sleep mask on, ready to count sheep.
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Audiobooks
Audiobooks provide a great night-time companion – we’re currently listening to the new Philip Pullman Dark Materials prequel: La Belle Sauvage, transporting us out of our world and into a much more fantastical one. It’s definitely one to add to your Christmas list! They allow you to wind down without the blue light from screens which have been proven to reduce our ability to sleep. Think lullabies for babies and you get the idea.
Just don’t forget to set a sleep timer so you don't have to keep scrolling backward or wake up eight hours later 15 chapters down the line and your Holistic Silk Eye Mask of course!
Sweet Dreams xx
