34 Self-Care Tips to do Before Bedtime

Maintaining a steady routine of self-care is important for your mental and physical health, especially during these tough times. It all starts with getting plenty of sleep. If we don’t get our recommended 7-9 hours of rest each night, it might lead to problems such as increased stress, impaired cognitive thinking, poor attitudes, and the inability to focus. 

Creating a bedtime routine and sticking to it can go a long way in helping you get a good night’s sleep, namely because it will signal your body that it’s time to rest. Having a comfortable sleep environment and taking time to relax as you get ready for bed can set the stage for restorative sleep, and can result in you feeling alert, well-rested, and ready to take on the upcoming day. 

Of course, no one bedtime routine is the same as people have different needs and preferences. While some self-care tips apply to folks of any age, such as creating a comfortable sleep environment, each age group also has tips that address their specific sleep needs. 

• Children: Children need the most amount of sleep, between 9 and 16 hours depending on age. 

• Teenagers: Without adequate sleep, teens are at increased risk of mental health problems. 

• College students: As they transition from kids to adults, college students need a good night’s rest to maintain strong mental health. 

• Adults: Getting a good night’s sleep helps promote long-lasting good physical and mental health. 

• Parents: Self-care that includes relaxation tips and stress relievers goes a long way in helping parents get restorative sleep. 

34 Self Care Tips 

This guide will review important information for each of these age groups, and provide tips on how they can achieve healthy and restorative sleep.

Children 

• Talk about their emotions. To help promote healthy sleep, it’s important for children to express their thoughts and emotions. The Washburn Center for Children in Minneapolis recommends talking with your children about their feelings on a daily basis so they see it as a normal part of their day. Ask things like, “what has been a highlight of your day and why?” or “you seem down today, what has you feeling sad?” Really listen to what they have to say, and respond thoughtfully in a way that encourages them to keep talking. 

• Try children meditation apps. Apps can be a handy tool to help calm children as they prepare for bed. For instance, “Stop, Breathe & Think” offers mindful sleep stories and meditation activities to help ease the mind. “Smiling Mind” features meditation techniques to help children sleep better, while “Sleep Meditation for Kids” provides mediation stories to help children relax. 

• Go outside. It’s no secret kids have a lot of energy, so it’s important to allow them time to expend that energy before bedtime. Let them go outside and play in the afternoon, but limit exercise within four hours of bedtime, per Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Otherwise, they could become over-stimulated when their bodies should be winding down. 

• Limit screen time. While electronic devices have become a normal part of most kids’ lives, they should not be a part of any child’s bedtime routine. In fact, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, screens in the bedroom are accompanied by insufficient sleep that affects 30% of toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children. Therefore, eliminating screen time at least one hour before bedtime can help set the tone for a more restful night’s sleep. 

• Set expectations. Another way to help prepare kids for a good night’s sleep is by setting expectations for bedtime. Remind them of the evening schedule, such as finishing homework after dinner followed by a bath and story time before bed. 

• Prepare for tomorrow. Encourage children to prepare for the next day by picking out their clothes for school and packing their lunch. This will help them take ownership in their daily routine. 

Teenagers

• Encourage a routine. Like younger kids, teens need a routine to help them feel settled. For instance, they have to finish their homework before playing video games, or no more electronics past a certain time. 

• Limit caffeine. Many teenagers start drinking more caffeinated beverages, such as coffee and energy drinks, which can be overstimulating for them. As such, their daily caffeine intake should be limited to one cup of coffee, one or two cups of tea, and no more than three cans of soda, per the American Academy of Pediatrics. They should not have any caffeine within an hour of bedtime. 

• Relax somewhere other than your bed. While it’s tempting to text your friends or watch TV as you lounge in your bed, this should be avoided. You want your body to recognize when it’s time to sleep, and climbing into bed should be a signal that sleep is on the way. Therefore, keep your bed as a “sleep only” spot. 

• Take a hot shower or bath. Many teens jump in the shower first thing in the morning, but research from the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin found that taking a warm bath or shower one to two hours before bedtime can significantly improve sleep. Water should be between 104 and 109 degrees Fahrenheit for the best results.

• Get regular exercise. Just as kids need exercise to expend energy and maintain good health, so do teenagers. Getting in the habit of exercising at a younger age can help ensure teens maintain this healthy routine, which will lead to better sleep. 

• Talk to them. The teen years can be extremely stressful as kids transition through young adulthood, experiencing a new range of emotions and situations. Encourage them to voice their feelings and their stressors so they won’t stay up all night thinking about them. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry recommends teaching them assertiveness training skills so they can state their feelings in polite, firm and not overly aggressive or passive ways.  

College students

• Maintain open communication. College can be a huge transitional period for young adults, so it’s important to keep the lines of communication open. Build on the talks you have had with your parents through the years, and tell them how you are feeling. Remember that discussing your feelings go a long way in helping you sleep well. 

• Create a care package for sleep. Put together a sleep kit with your favorite sleep mask, earplugs, aromatherapy scents, white noise machine or soothing music. Dig into this kit anytime you need to reset your body for a good night’s sleep. 

• Use “do not disturb” mode. Young people today are more plugged in than ever, and it’s important to unplug at least an hour before bedtime each night. Turn your phone on “do not disturb” so you can tune out your friends’ text messages or late-night notifications from your apps. 

• Set up a spa night. Stress plays a key role in disturbing your sleep, so it’s important to de-stress often. Take time to unwind with your friends by indulging in a little pampering, like applying face masks or giving one another pedicures. These are a great way to wind down and reset your body’s stress levels. 

• Plan your day. Planning out your next day’s schedule during times of busyness or stress can help you feel in control of what you need to do. Amherst College suggests planning out your day by writing down what you have to do with deadlines so you have a handle on what needs to be accomplished when. 

• Try journaling. Writing down your feelings goes a long way in helping you process and sort through what you are experiencing. For instance, writing out a frustrating situation or something you’re stressed about and then destroying that piece of paper can help you let go of the negativity you feel about it. 

Adults

• Set aside time for a bedtime routine. It’s easy to feel too busy for a bedtime routine, and, instead, just fall into bed when you’re exhausted. However, bedtime routines are essential for good sleep, so, if necessary, build it into your schedule. Don’t be afraid to set a reminder of when to start your bedtime routine, so your body will know it’s time to start winding down. 

• Substitute your nighttime wine for tea. Although wine could help you feel sleepy, it may actually disrupt a good night’s sleep. Trade it out for a caffeine-free tea that promotes sleep. A few good choices include: 

• Chamomile

• Lavender

• Lemon balm

• Yogi Bedtime Tea 

• Practice good skin care. While removing your makeup and applying moisturizer is a great way to maintain healthy skin, it also can help your body relax as part of your bedtime routine. It’s one more signal to your body that rest is on the way. 

• Meditate. Meditating before bedtime helps you achieve a sense of inner calm that can lead to more restful sleep. It also can help reduce cortisol, the hormone associated with stress. To help you implement meditation in your bedtime routine, you can try a meditation app such as:

• Calm

• Buddhify

• 10% Happier 

• Simple Habit 

• Read a book. It’s often said you can get lost in a good book. By doing so, you escape the stress of everyday life. In fact, according to the University of Minnesota, reading can relax your body by lowering your heart rate and easing the tension in your muscles. Per a 2009 University of Sussex study, reading also can reduce stress by up to 68% and works faster than drinking hot tea or listening to music. 

• Set goals. Listing your goals for the next day, whether personal or work, sets the stage for a productive day. Write out at least three goals, but make sure they are realistic so you aren’t stressed about getting them done. 

• Get out of the house. When you’ve been home for long periods of time, the stress can accumulate and start to feel overwhelming. Therefore, it’s important to get out of the house and enjoy a change of scenery before you start your bedtime routine. Take a walk around the block, spend a few minutes in the backyard swing or play with the dog. 

Parents 

Raising kids can take a toll on parents if they don’t make time for themselves. Include one or more of these self-care tips in your bedtime routine to promote better sleep. 

• Try aromatherapy. The essential oils used in aromatherapy have been shown to help reduce anxiety and promote calm. Using sleep masks and pillows infused with scents such as lavender, chamomile or jasmine can help you relax, per the Mayo Clinic. 

• Write down wins and struggles. Expressing your achievements and difficulties in writing helps you sort through and process your thoughts and emotions, which can reduce stress. 

• Shower in low lighting. Taking a warm shower before bed can promote relaxation throughout your body. Turning the lights down can further aid this relaxation. 

• Indulge in adult coloring books or puzzles. According to the Cleveland Clinic, spending time coloring relaxes the brain, diverts attention from your worries and increases pleasure, all of which reduce stress. Focusing on an adult puzzle can also help clear the mind. 

• Get intimate (singles and couples). A healthy sex life promotes good health from lower blood pressure to decreased anxiety to, yes, better sleep. Even individuals can benefit from self-intimacy. 

• Enjoy a massage (self massage or couples). Massages have been shown to reduce fatigue and improve sleep because it relaxes the muscles and calms the brain. It also improves blood flow, reduces stress and boosts serotonin, which promotes sleep. 

• Listen to audio therapy. Although loud noises like listening to the TV are not conducive to a good night’s sleep, listening to soothing music or a white noise machine can relax your mind and promote sleepiness. Incorporate this technique into your bedtime routine by turning on the music or white noise 30 to 45 minutes before you want to fall asleep. 

• Look at old photo albums of good memories. To reduce anxiety and refocus your mind, take a stroll down memory lane by looking at photos of favorite vacations, special occasions and fun moments throughout the years. The emotions of these memories will boost your body’s dopamine production, which makes you feel good and more relaxed. 

• Journal with your spouse. Just as writing down your own thoughts and feelings can help you process your emotions, journaling with your spouse can help you work through problems together, reaffirm your love for one another, and lead to deeper intimacy. These processes can reduce stress and improve your sleep. 

• Incorporating self-care into your bedtime routine will go a long way in improving your sleep as well as your overall health. In our busy world, that can be difficult, so it’s imperative that you make time for a consistent bedtime routine every day. 

The original post of this article can be found at Slumber Yard

5 Ways to Stave Off the Quarantine Blues

Shelter in Place has left many of us cooped up at home for the past many months. You may be struggling with feelings of fear, sadness, and anxiety--all of which are valid. These are strange times that hold a lot of uncertainties and unknowns. The reality is, there’s no right or wrong way to feel. But many of us still have work to do, relationships to nurture, and lives to live! 

If your feelings are getting the best of you, keeping you from doing the things you want or need to be doing, it might be time to reach out for some extra support (like seeing a psychotherapist!).

However, at Mindful NYC, we recognize that these uncertain times have left many of us with some financial anxieties. While we do offer sliding scale services, we also pride ourselves in providing resources through blog posts and social media to the larger-Manhattan community. 

So! Here are a few of our favorite ways to keep the quarantine blues away:  

1.Make your bed

New York apartments aren’t known for their square-footage, you might be surprised what a difference a made bed can make to your day. Making your bed every day can serve as a ritual, or cue, to let you know the day has started. While also acting as a micro-cleaning practice to help you keep your space clear and clutter-free! 

2. Take a shower 

When you’re not leaving the house for anything (except maybe to get groceries), it can be easy to let your hygiene slip. Take the time each morning (or night!) to shower, paying attention to your showering experience. Take note of how the water feels on your skin, use your favorite soaps and conditioners, savoring their scent--really allow yourself to be in the moment while you pamper yourself!

3. (safely) Get moving!

Movement has so many benefits, it can lift your mood, enhance learning, promote creativity, and decrease stress! Safely going for a walk, riding a bike, or doing some stretching on your balcony or in the park can make a BIG difference in your day--allowing you to take a break, change up the scenery, and get those feel-good neurochemicals going. 

4. Cut yourself a break

It’s really important to remember that these are unprecedented times. We’re in the middle of a global trauma. There’s a lot of hype in the world right now about using quarantine as a time to learn a new skill! Get fit! Actualize your best self! Blah, blah, blah. Your value is not based on how much you can do. You deserve a rest, no matter how much or how little you’re doing right now. It’s ok to take a break and honor your limits. 

5. Pay attention to your body

The pandemic is causing us all a lot of stress (individually and globally). Stress is a physical process in our bodies that raises our blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration rate--along with a host of other physiological reactions known as the stress response. When our stress response is sustained for too long like during a pandemic, our bodies become strained. We may find ourselves feeling depressed and anxious. Paying attention to what is happening in our body can be the first step to experiencing some emotional relief. 

BONUS: Anything that helps us relax physically can help us feel better emotionally. Some ways to relax physically might be: taking a hot bath or shower, getting some movement, putting on a weighted blanket, taking a few deep, slow breaths, meditating, practicing some yoga, or drinking a hot cup of tea. 

This is by no means a comprehensive list of ways to stave off of the quarantine blues. Still, we hope it gives you some idea of ways you might incorporate small, but impactful acts of care into your day-to-day routine. 

10 Reason Why Your Children Should Do Yoga

Yoga is a series of stretches and poses that an individual does while controlling their breathing technique. Since it’s a gentle activity, almost anyone can do it, regardless of your age or fitness level. Yoga allows children to express their energy and joy. It gives them an opportunity to try out new poses, which encourages them to believe and achieve. 

Yoga exercises can be intense and vigorous, depending on your personal choice. No matter which type of exercise you do, it will allow your mind and body to relax and reflect. 

1. Yoga allows children to challenge themselves 

Children will be given the opportunity to try out new yoga poses. To an extent, children get to overcome an obstacle. 

2. Children get to take time off and reflect on their personal health

This allows children to understand what works well for their body, this can be related to breathing problems, anger management, and even time management. 

3. Yoga encourages connection between each other

Children will learn to communicate with each other, especially when they are practicing poses with a partner. 

4. Yoga provides a method, environment where children can explore themselves

The environment that the children practice in will be private, meaning they will learn about their strengths and weaknesses. 

5. Yoga works as a “natural medicine” for people of all ages

Yoga is a natural, drug-free method for your body to reset and re-energize.

6. Children will understand how to control their emotions through success and failure

Failure does not always bring negative effects. In fact, children can learn about the process and how to prevent failure. 

7. Yoga is non-competitive (Self-challenge) 

Instead of competing with other, yoga allows you to set goals ( achieve whatever pose you like).

8. Yoga improves sleep patterns especially in young children

Yoga can benefit sleep schedules, as well as breathing techniques. 

9. Children learn about determination and perseverance

Without determination and perseverance, the chance of success is rather low.

10. Encourage kids to be patient and learn

In the beginning, children will have to pay attention to practice certain poses. They might even have to observe an expert first before trying it out themselves. 

Yoga brings positive aspects to our spiritual and mental well-being. Growing up is a challenging period of parents and children, let us use yoga to de-stress and unwind. Yoga provides such a wonderful activity for the family. So why not try it out?  At Lan Lan Yoga, we utilize a simple three steps method to take Yoga for children to the next level by having the children to reflect their own experience, helping them perceive, believe and achieve!

Breathwork

Chances are, you've heard of breathwork. In recent years, it’s made its way into yoga studios, the latest meditation apps, and wellness circles across the country. But what’s so special about breathing? 

What is breathwork?

Simply put, breathwork is an intentional practice of breathing. It can be understood as a form of active meditation in which there is a sole focus on a specific breathing pattern for a set period of time. 

Some techniques utilize a three-part breath--inhaling, holding, exhaling, and holding again for four counts each--whereas others practice six breaths per minute, inhaling and exhaling through the nose for four minutes or more. Consciously controlling the breath can have positive effects on our emotional, psychological, and physiological states (Morningstar, 2001). 

How does it work? 

Generally speaking, breathwork is a means of regulating the autonomic nervous system. When our sympathetic nervous system is activated by a stressor, we may feel anxious and overwhelmed. 

We often spend more time than we realize in our sympathetic nervous system throughout our daily lives--feeling frazzled at work or in an argument with a significant other. Especially during the holiday season, stress can run high. Often, patients will report challenges interacting with family and having difficulty shifting gears to focus in on their internal experience. By taking even a five-minute break to check in with ourselves, we have the power to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and bring the body back into balance (Jerath, R., Edry, J. W., Barnes, V. A., & Jerath, V. 2006). 

Tapping into the parasympathetic system, colloquially called the “rest and digest” system, improves the ability of regulatory centers of the brain to manage over-reactivity in the emotion-processing centers of the brain (Jerath, R., Edry, J. W., Barnes, V. A., & Jerath, V. 2006). Breathing techniques that stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system induce a relaxed state, allowing for greater emotional regulation and mental clarity (Morningstar, 2001). 

Breathwork can be especially helpful for the following issues:

1. anxiety

2. panic attacks

3. depression

 (Jerath, R., Crawford, M. W., Barnes, V. A., &  Harden, K. 2015). 

As we breathe deeper, we start to slow down and become increasingly present. We learn to quiet the mind and connect to our bodies. This heightened awareness allows us to not only feel more grounded, connected, and safe with ourselves--but also with others. 

Using breathwork in therapy

In my experience, ignoring bodily sensations in therapy means we’re only doing half the work. Sometimes the body--and especially the breath--expresses emotions in ways that cannot yet be verbalized. In session, I utilize breathwork to help patients anchor themselves and begin regulating difficult emotions. 

Sometimes, this can be helpful at the start of a session as a way of establishing safety in the room. Here’s how we might begin: 

• Close your eyes and identify sensations in the body. 

• Locate the breath in the body and notice if you’re breathing mostly in your chest or more deeply, from your diaphragm.

• Begin to deepen the breath.  

• I would then guide the breath through a short exercise: inhaling for a series of counts, holding the breath briefly, and then elongating the exhale. 

Guiding you through a breathing exercise usually takes a few minutes and may involve visualizations. With practice, it becomes easier to bring the body and mind back to a state of calm. Ideally, this is a practice that you could ritualize and implement into your daily life, outside of session. 

REFERENCES:

Jerath, R., Edry, J. W., Barnes, V. A., & Jerath, V. (2006). Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system. Medical hypotheses, 67(3), 566-571.

Jerath, R., Crawford, M. W., Barnes, V. A., & Harden, K. (2015). Self-regulation of breathing as a primary treatment for anxiety. Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback, 40(2), 107-115.

Morningstar, J. (2001). Breathwork as a therapeutic adjunct in counseling. 

Morningstar, Jim,“Breathwork-Therapy of choice for whom?”, The Spirit of Breathwork, (2001).