Momentum Issue 42: Create a Nightly Power-Down Routine
Importance
Sleep is crucial to good health.
And crucial to good sleep is our preparation for sleep. One such way to prepare our bodies and minds for rest is with a nightly power-down routine.
These routines will be highly individual, as we will explore below. However, they all serve the same purpose - to support our circadian rhythms as well as our bodies and minds in the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
I think most of us know that inadequate sleep is detrimental to our health. However, as a refresher, a lack of sleep leads to reduced immune functioning, increased systemic inflammation, increased blood pressure, and weight gain, among many other detrimental consequences.
Implementation
You will need to experiment and see what works best for you.
However, the key is to incorporate practices that prepare both the body and the mind for sleep. You’ll want to start this routine at least 60 minutes before your bedtime, but ideally 90 minutes. This will allow adequate time for your body and mind to transition from the day and wind down for sleep.
Some things you could try include:
Lavender oil in a diffuser
Reading
Spending time with family or pets
Supplements
Magnesium
L-theanine
Functional mushrooms (especially reishi)
Adaptogens such as ashwagandha
CBD
We also want to ensure we avoid some things during this routine and the few hours preceding bedtime, such as:
No exercise at least 4 hours before bed
No food or liquids (except water) at least 2 hours before bed
No alcohol at least 90 minutes before bed
No screens or other blue light at least 1 hour before bed
No mental stimulation or stress at least 1 hour before bed
If you want to read more about improving your sleep quality, here is a free link to a more comprehensive sleep article:
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