Bedtime Routines with Slumberdown

This post is in paid partnership with Slumberdown.

Sleep, we all want more of it, right?! I almost certainly do as I’d classify myself as a ‘bedtime revenge procrastinator’. Although I am often tired when I wake up, each night I still go to bed waaaaay later than I want too, no matter how good my intentions. I learned about this term earlier this year, I love this infographic that explains this phenomenon. 

Now my daughter is a bit older night waking isn’t as frequent as it once was, I am lucky that when I am asleep, I stay asleep. It’s just the sending myself to bed, and getting to sleep part, so when Slumberdown got in touch to see if I would like to attend a sleep workshop with their sleep wellness ambassador @ruth_anne_adams I jumped at the chance for some expert help. 

The event was so insightful, and I whilst I knew I wasn’t setting myself up for the best night’s sleep, hearing the science behind it from Ruth made everything make so much more sense and that I really needed to implement some positive changes at night. 

Starting off we need to feel safe to go to sleep, and the past 18 months or so has not really provided many of us with a feeling of safety which we need to drop off. You might’ve experienced lucid dreaming and feel really tired as we’ve probably had more cortisol in our system at night time than normal. I first learned about cortisol when I did Hypnobirthing when I was pregnant, it’s a hormone that our body creates when it thinks we are in a situation that requires a fight / flight or freeze mode. Whilst cortisol can help many important bodily functions, it’s not quite what we need when it’s time to sleep.

A relaxing bedtime routine (even if you work shift patterns) is the key to getting some good sleep, and it helps to encourage the right hormones and chemicals we need to help us drift off. I am so guilty of not giving myself time at night to get ready for bed, sometimes it’s scroll scroll scroll on my phone, turn over and wonder why my head is filled racing thoughts that keep me awake and prevent me from getting the 7-9 hours of recommended sleep we need. 

Some of Slumberdown and Ruth's top tips for a good night include looking at and incorporating some of the things below into your bedtime routine:

Smell

Activating the senses to support the core processes is a really great way to try and fast track sleep. Smell is our strongest sense as it bypasses the thalamus and goes straight to the brain's smell center, known as the olfactory bulb. This means things like pillow spray, diffusers or candles which you only use at bedtime can help us prepare ourselves for sleep, if we use a similar scent each time. The CBD pillow from Slumberdown has been infused with CBD oil, which can aid relaxation. Known for calming and reducing anxiety, the CBD oil has been blended with lavender and aloe vera for the most gentle and relaxing bedtime scent when your head hits that pillow. It will even retain its smell after washing, and can be washed up to 20 times for extra freshness in its lifetime. 

Journalling

You’ve probably heard so many people talk about the benefits of journalling, and it took me a long time to get onboard with I’ll be honest. But sometimes you just need to try and help clear your mind, and as I call it, put down all your thoughts to rest for the day. Every time I try it, it makes me feel better, even if it’s just writing down everything you need to do the next day, it means you don’t have to hold that information in your head as you’re going to sleep. You don’t have to do it for long, even a couple of minutes with a pen and paper may help settle your mind and quieten things down a little.

Breathing 

Another way to support calming your busy brain, is concentrating on your breathing. It’s something I am a big fan of, and it’s also something I am teaching my daughter to help her nod off (I can’t work miracles though). By concentrating on your breath in and out, you are encouraging your mind to focus on one thing and helping to activate the parasympathetic nervous system which will provide us with restorative sleep which is what helps with our energy, mood and even sex drive. 

Sound

So you’ve journaled, you’ve tried breathing and still you’re not feeling rested. It may be a guided meditation is the next thing on your list. Meditating can sound really intimidating, but again it’s all about giving the mind something to focus on. And I am always amazed at how quickly they help me relax. Ruth has provided a mediation that I tried when I attended her sleep workshop below, and even at 2pm in the afternoon this gave me a wonderful sense of relaxation. Give it a try and let me know what you think. 

Comfort 

It sounds so obvious, but comfort is so important to getting good sleep. I was shocked when I learnt that we should be replacing our pillows every one to two years, we won’t talk about how old my pillows on the bed are. Sleeping with one pillow is something I’ve done for years which is really encouraged, but depending on what position you sleep in determines what type of pillow you should use. If you sleep on your front, a softer pillow is needed, on your back a medium support pillow and if you sleep on your side (me!) you will need a firmer pillow. I love how plump the CBD pillow is, but another great product that Slumberdown do is their dual tog duvet ‘Made For You Two’. Bedding is a really important factor in getting the good night's sleep, this is perfect if you like the temperature different to your partner, featuring a dual tog design that will help to keep one of you cool and the other nice and cosy. Perfect for creating a great night’s sleep, no matter what both of your temperature preferences are. 

Visualisations

Encouraging daydreaming?! Yes please! A lot of us are probably on our phones too late at night, I did sleep with my phone outside the bedtime for a while, and it’s crept back in. It’s being thrown out again, and being replaced with some daydreaming. We’re all too familiar with negative daydreaming, but positive visualisations are a really great way for the brain to switch off as it encourages the release of serotonin and dopamine which are great hormones to aid sleep. 

One of the things I took away from Ruth is that creating a bedtime routine is a practice, you’re not going to nail it first time, or do everything every single night. However our bedtime rituals are really important, and like so much of life it takes a bit of time and work to get something that works for you. But I have already started to implement some of the things I have learnt and it’s something I want to commit too for the rest of the year and note the different changes and their impact on my energy in the daytime. Do you have a bedtime routine? I would love to know what you do in the comments below!

P.S. Slumberdown are offering blog readers 15% off the Made For You Two Duvet in King Size and the CBD Pillow. Code is INF15 and that’s valid until the end of October 2021.