This post is brought to you by one of my favourite bedtime stories called “Go the F*#k to Sleep” by Adam Mansbach. If you’ve read it, you’re probably a parent with a sense of humour. Pat yourself on the back. It’s hilarious. If you haven’t, go straight to Amazon, do not pass Go.

But seriously.

If we were to see this book in the context of talking to ourselves, it makes sense. “Go the F*#k to sleep”. This is our adult consciousness pleading to overactive younger cousin with ADHD known as our subconscious to take a break already!

Been there before?

Many of us struggle with surrendering to our bodies asking us to slow it down and rest. And this is costing us. Weight gain, anxiety, brain fog, mood swings, sugar cravings….the list goes on and on. At the very fundamental level, on Maslowe’s Hierarchy of Needs, lies sleep amongst other basic needs such as food, shelter, and warmth. If they go ignored, we experience serious consequences to the rest of our well-being.

We owe it to ourselves to rest.

Sleep is where we get our vitality. Sleep is where we do the important repair work. Sleep is where we give our hard working bodies the break they need. No more falling asleep in our spaghetti, on our keyboards, or in front of our bosses at a board meeting. Yikes!

Moving on.

Sleep is not a luxury of the fortunate. It is a necessity of the masses. If you want to live a better quality of life and you don’t know where to start, start here.

Start now!

Here are 5 things you can do to manifest better sleep:

1. Eat a lighter supper. Shoot for your lightest meal of the day to be at supper time. A heavy meal is very difficult for the body to take on as it is beginning to slow down, cueing us to move into a restful state. Aim for 6pm and eat no later than 7pm. After 10pm, our bodies move back into a higher metabolic phase; in other words, they wake back up. If we are resting before then, then we give our bodies a fighting chance to do their thing.

2. Turn off overhead lights. Artificial lighting tells the body to wake up when it naturally wants to do the opposite. Instead, turn on head level lighting so that it doesn’t look like sunrise in your house. That’s it.

3. Make yourself a sleep tonic. A “golden milk” to be exact. A warm mug of milk and honey is a classic sleepy time drink and all we are doing is giving it a little ancient eastern flare here. I’ve been making this treat for some time now and it is soothing and nourishing. Try the recipe below!

To a small saucepan, add 1 Tbsp of ghee over low heat. Let it melt then add 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp of cardamom powder, and  1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Stir frequently until fragrant, then add 1 cup of non-dairy milk such as cashew, almond, macadamia, or coconut milk. Continue to stir until milk is hot. You can add a sweetener if you like. Pour into a mug and wrap your mitts around this lovely gem. (Recipe adapted from “Healthy, Happy, Sexy” by Katie Silcox).

4. Try a sleep meditation. Bring yourself back into the now, away from all the anxious thinking with a breath meditation. By the way, if you have a lot on your noggen, get out a notepad or your journal and write that sh*t down! Get it out of your head, so you can be present like the gift that you are. Try inhaling and exhaling to the count of 10. Inhale on 1, exhale on 2….and so on. The catch here is if your mind wanders to anything other than the breath, you start back at 1. Spoiler alert: you never actually get to 10 because you’ve dozed off by then. I’ve only ever made it to 6….I think.

5. Say goodbye to screens in the bedroom. Say hello to an alarm clock! That’s right. That means the cell phone, the tablet, the computer, the television, and the laptop. All of it. Before you throw tomatoes, listen up. All of these mediums give off electromagnetic frequencies that raise your adrenaline (that kickstart hormone) and melatonin (that sleepy time hormone) becomes suppressed. Your room should be for the two “S”s. No not sandwiches and skateboards, silly. Sleepy time and sexy time. Although, the latter, some would say, is what the top of the washing machine is for. 😃

I digress, make your room a sanctuary for the most important keystone habit of your day.  You NEED rest. So go get some, will ya!

Hopefully, you’ve made it this far before dozing off. If not, I won’t be offended. Obviously, you needed it! By choosing  healthy habits that cultivate better rest, you are laying the foundation for a lighter more vibrant version of yourself. Now, go the f*#k to sleep.

Much love and light,

Kendra

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