Alternative sleep tips

Sleep is essential for good physical and mental health. It is the time when our bodies heal and our minds process the day. If you struggle to drop off to sleep you will have no doubt tried the usual tips and tricks.

Phones need to introduce ‘bed mode’ to promote good sleep

Avoid electronics before bed, drink herbal tea, keep the room dark… advice like this can help to create a better bedtime routine to encourage restful sleep. But, what if these tips don’t help? Below we look at some sleep tips you may not have come across before.

Get colouring

We have spoken before about colouring and how it encourages mindfulness, but interestingly it can also help you get to sleep. This is because the action slows down the brain to the alpha-theta state, where you are almost meditative. This calms the nervous system, preparing it for sleep.

Try Kundalini breathing

If you are feeling ‘wired’, this breathing technique may help. Sit up in bed and pucker your lips (imaging you are holding a 10p coin in your lips). Breathe in with force, through the lips and exhale through the nose. Keep doing this for a couple of minutes and see how you feel.

Get rid of excess energy

Stretching out and doing exercise like yoga is often recommended for better sleep. If you feel you have an excess of energy however, you may feel better after ‘shaking it out’. Jump up and down or do a few laps around the house to help tire out your body.

Say ‘Aaah’

This may feel slightly odd, but chanting the sound ‘Aaaah’ can help to loosen your jaw and release pent-up energy. Try this for 10 minutes to help clear the mind and relax your body.

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Written by Kat Nicholls
Kat is a Content Producer for Memiah and writer for Hypnotherapy Directory and Happiful magazine.
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Written by Kat Nicholls
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