Why is it important to improve your night time routine?

As adults, we should all be getting 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night and not many of us achieve that. As we age we need a little less sleep - around 6 to 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep over the age of 70.

Your body needs this time to recover, rest and recharge for a new day and we should wake up every morning feeling refreshed & energized. If you feel like your body needs some more time to recover, then look no further at our Homeopathic advice from expert Caroline Gaskin.

Healthy bedtime habits can help to improve your rhythm, and these top tips have been designed to help you get the best night’s sleep possible. 

1. If you know you tend to run hot take a warm shower followed by a colder shower before bedtime. Lowering your body temperature before bedtime can help you sleep better.
2. Take a 20-minute bath with 250gm – 500gm magnesium-rich Epsom Salts to relax the muscle and soothe your nervous system. Magnesium is best through the skin, take a cooler bath if you are worried about getting too hot in bed.
3. It’s rare to meet people who need magnesium as we lose it through stress, tea, coffee, alcohol, sugar, excess sweating and heavy metals in our system. Luckily it is easy to add magnesium back in. Keep going for 6 months to restore levels.
4. Always try to be in bed by 10:30 pm, even if you can’t fall asleep quite yet. Being comfortable in the dark helps your body produce melatonin, the hormone that helps you slip into sleep.

It’s important that you figure out the process which works best for you and your families sleeping habits. Start to think about your long-term goals and work backwards from there. Like every adult, every child has unique sleeping preferences with age having a huge effect on our sleep cycles, so we shouldn’t be frustrated when our children don’t sleep as well as we do.

Hopefully with the following tips there won’t be a so called “storm” at bedtime, however the “calm” is still very important. Unlike adults who’s cortisol levels consistently drop throughout the day, children have the ability to gain extra boosts – even when they’re tired! This means that taking part in overly exciting games and activities before bed could prevent your children feeling tired. Try a calming bath, sleepy story time and relaxing music to help prepare them for drifting off.

Once you introduce the sleep routine which works best for you, your child or your baby, try and stick to it for at least 2-3 weeks. Breaking this routine may set you back in your progress. You need to give the techniques some time to work!

Routines are just as important when it comes to naps during the day. Children and babies feel safe and secure when they recognise a process. When your child takes naps, try to differentiate these from the bedtime routine, involving different toys and songs etc so your child can learn to understand the difference between naps and night time

Thank you again to Carolin Gaskin for her top tips on the best night time routines. Is stress keeping you up at night or looking to change your bedtime routine? A bath before bed is a great way to unwind, but not only that, find out about all the benefits a soak can bring. 

Build your perfect sleep wardrobe with Soak&Sleep and go check out Caroline Gaskin's website as well.