Marcus Richards
You may be longing for relaxation after eight hours of work, but what to do if unwinding seems impossible?
The secret stays in a bit of pampering in the evening. A common mistake, if we could call it that, is that you tend to either neglect yourself or simply be preoccupied with other tasks that allegedly need to be done at once. Well, if you have a full-time job, relaxing appears unreachable, all the more so since you are negligent about your evening routine. The point is to prime your body and mind for restful sleep so you can wake up fresh the next morning. Your evening habits and routines should calm you for the night and empower you for the day ahead, so ensure you get serious about your evening ritual.
You deserve a break – and here are a few ideas on how to indulge yourself after a busy day so that you can thrive the next:
Make the bedroom your sanctuary
The bedroom should not be just the room you sleep in – it should be a real sanctuary where you recharge your batteries after all the hustle and bustle of the day. Having a warm and cosy bedroom can be more beneficial for your sleep hygiene than you imagine, so ensure you pay special attention to the overall ambience of your bedroom. Is the temperature suitable for sleep? It may sound a bit trite, but setting your thermostat to an adequate temperature is vital for restful sleep. Sleep Foundation says the best temperature for comfortable sleep is between 15.6 to 19.4 degrees Celsius. It may appear too cold, but there are scientific reasons behind this statement. Since your body temperature generally drops once you fall asleep, a cooler – not cold – sleeping environment is recommended. We are sure you have often experienced restless sleep accompanied by tosses and turns due to a hot room temperature. You may not have realised the reason at that time, but now we hope you have a clearer picture of the temperature’s importance as regards night-time sleep.
In the same manner, ensure you declutter your room before bed, as a clean layout tends to promote good sleep. Other details you should be mindful of include your room’s colour (choose something that is not visually stimulating but rather soothing to the eye), curtains, and noise.
Savour a warm, calming drink
While energy drinks are not recommended before going to sleep, no one says you cannot indulge in a warm and calming drink like tea, hot cocoa, and milk. As long as your choice is caffeine-free, you can savour your drink peacefully from the comfort of your sofa. If you frequently struggle with insomnia or find it hard to fall asleep, you may also want to try some cannabis drinks. Studies have proved the benefits of cannabis for psychological – and physical – health. The plant is believed to reduce pain, nausea, vomiting, and epilepsy. Cannabis can also help with poor sleep, anxiety, some psychotic disorders, and ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).
However, it does so as long as taken in lower doses. Marijuana contains a significant amount of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), a psychoactive cannabinoid responsible for the so-called “high” feeling. Anyway, if your cannabis has no more than 0.3% THC, you should be safe. Thus, you can use cannabis to prepare a delicious drink, such as cannabis milk, cannabis Thai iced tea, and hot canna-cocoa. If you are a bit more adventurous, you can grow your own cannabis using some feminised seeds. And the best part? You can use them at will.
Soak in the bath
The evening should be that “me time”, and the best way to ensure that it really is, is to take a long and relaxing bath. You might be tempted to just have a shower and go to bed, but setting a ritual of this kind is even more beneficial. Consider adding some bath salts and bubbles, lighting a fragranced candle, and playing some music for the ritual to be complete. You may not realise how much these little things count until you see the improvement first-hand. Rest, reset, relax – that should be your evening motto. Oh, and do not forget to indulge in your favourite drink. Whether it is a quality wine or a fresh smoothie made from cannabis seeds like those from Seedsman, it is your worth to feel privileged while soaking in the bath.
Read to feed and calm your mind
A good book will also be alluring no matter the time of the day, but it can be even more beneficial in the evening. That is because reading can reduce stress levels, improve heart rate, and decrease blood pressure. It has been proven that 6 minutes of reading a day can relieve stress by about 68%, which is quite impressive. That is because your brain will hold on to that particular story and make you forget (if we could say so) about your problems. We all know that a common impediment to relaxation and profound sleep is thinking too much, overthinking situations and making unnecessary scenes in our minds that are not even possible. Well, reading is a potential solution to this problem, as it can lure you to sleep.
Journaling
Sometimes, the best you can do to calm your mind is to get thoughts out of your head or, shortly, journal. This practice allows you to replay and express the events and circumstances of the day and express in a manner beneficial for your mind. Physically handwriting emotions and thoughts is a form of therapy, just like art therapy, that makes it easier for you to overcome anxious and depressive thoughts. When thinking about all these, they might seem unclear, but once you give them a form – this time, words – you are likely to get a full picture of your feelings. Getting your anxiety out of your mind and onto paper contributes to deep sleep, so you may want to try it out; after all, you have nothing to lose.
Ensure you make EOD – end of the day – the true end of the day with these simple and practical routines.
