It is comical how rapidly my system can shut down and fall asleep. Whether it is sleeping through an entire international flight, falling asleep at Pizza My Heart after the endless Stanford Invite 10k’s or the moment my head hits the pillow, I’ve always prided myself on my ability to sleep.
As of late, it’s been a little bit tougher for me to fall asleep, I just moved into my own space that is off of the main drag so it’s awfully quiet…too quiet? is that a thing? I also have developed an extraordinarily bad case of lockjaw which I have almost completely fixed with ART(active release therapy) and the following evening rituals. The goal of the routine and these strategies is to get into the Delta and Gamma brainwaves of relaxation before I fall asleep.
Here is a step by step timeline of what my evening routine looks like to prepare me for bed and prepare me for an extremely efficient morning.
Step 1: Prepare a glass of Calm. Calm is a magnesium supplement that you mix with water. It tastes horrible, but the benefits are twofold. First, magnesium helps in relaxation, sleep aid, and calming energy levels down. Second, magnesium greatly helps in the reduction of muscle cramping and charlie horses in the middle of the night-great!
Step 2: As I chug my Calm and try not to think about the taste I do all the little stuff to prepare for work the next morning. Set up the coffee pot, make my prerun meal, pack up my post run meal, turn the tea kettle on and finish any dishes in the sink. Calm has been finished.
Step 3: Prepare a cup of Kava Root tea, this one is my favorite, but if you have a different one you like share it with me!
Step 4: Lay out and pack all the different types of wardrobes I’ll need for work the next day. Yes, just like Beyonce, I have several wardrobe changes in a day.
Step 5: Do my skincare routine(LOL potential future blog post but also maybe not. Wear sunscreen folks), floss, brush, pee approximately 17 times.
Step 6: I have my diffuser pumping 24/7 in my apartment so in the evening I throw a few drops of this blend into the water. For my birthday my sister got me a new facial/pillow spray from Saje that I have been using and loving as well. After a few spritz’s I lay down watch a show or read(reading is rare but I read a book recently so I just want everyone to know that). This is the time I’ll do active release therapy on my jaw, rub some CBD lotion on my TMJ and try my best to unwind.
Step 7: Around 9:30pm when it’s time to fall asleep I grab my soundproof headphones, lay down completely horizontal on my back and open up my sound healing meditations. I received a generous gift of mediations from a company called IAwake which uses a lot of different sounds to calm energy and transition into Delta and Gamma. Apps like Calm and Headspace are great too, it’s whatever works for you!
Step 8: After my mediation I roll over and knock out for my early morning.
If you have any questions about any steps, don’t hesitate to ask… I know you all have my phone number!
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