Sleep is essential for physical and mental health and wellbeing. When we sleep our body is detoxing and regenerating, as well as healing and repairing our blood vessels and organs.  A lack of quality slumber is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression and obesity.

Holistic Lifestyle Coach Holly Zoccolan, aka 'The Health Zoc', explains how we can get a better night's sleep with some practical top tips on how to drift off no matter how stressful your day has been.

Epsom Salts

Taking an Epsom Salt bath relaxes your muscles and your mind. Epsom Salts are high in magnesium and sulfate – magnesium is crucial to the human body’s functioning and sulfate assists with flushing out toxins and cleansing the liver.

Epsom Salts reduce stress, remove heavy metals, reduce water retention and decrease inflammation of the joints.

Meditation & deep breathing

When you get into bed, take a few deep breaths and focus on what you are grateful for in your life. Focusing on the positive aspects of your life can help calm your mind and reduce stress build up, as well as moving you into a more relaxed state of being.

Guided meditations and listening to beta waves can also help get you into a more relaxed state and will assist with falling asleep.
 

Relax with your legs up a wall

This posture is restorative and helps to relax the body and the mind. My partner and I do this for 20 minutes every night before bed and we have noticed how much more relaxed we feel once we get into bed.

Laying with your back flat on the floor, place your legs straight up against a wall so you are in a 90-degree angle. Keep your lower back pressing into the floor. Stay there for 5-20 minutes before you go to bed. Close your eyes and breathe, noticing how your body feels.

Deep breathing in this pose will elevate the benefits and make you feel calm, content and relaxed.

Drink chamomile tea

We hear so much about how drinking chamomile tea can help you fall asleep, but why? Chamomile tea includes a flavonoid called apigenen, which binds to the receptors in our cells and helps us relax.

It has been proven that chamomile, whether in tea, tincture or essential oil form, is one of the best medicinal herbs for fighting stress and promoting relaxation.

Drinking a cup of chamomile tea can relax your body and mind so is great to drink before heading to bed.

Purchase some blue light glasses

As we spend so many hours a day sat in front of our computers, when we get home our bodies don’t actually know that it is night time and time for us to be winding down.

Wearing blue light glasses during the day blocks out the blue light coming from our computers and phones which makes our bodies think it is day time, all the time.

These glasses have been known to assist with fatigue, headaches and insomnia, and help your body relax when you leave work.

Opt for essential oils

Essential oils have been used for centuries for just about everything, including sleep. A combination of lavender oil, bergamot oil along with sandalwood, frankincense and mandarin, has been used as a sleep-inducing blend.

Using essential oils in your routine before you go to bed is therefore a great and natural way to encourage your body to relax while calming your mind before you head to bed.

Some of the ways I like to use essential oils include diluting with coconut oil and using a spray to spritz your room and pillow before bed, or using a diffuser to fill your room and energetically relax the entire space you are in.