Good morning dear friends! Did you get a peaceful, refreshing sleep last night? I didn’t! I am on a healing  journey after living with chronic illness for many years, and it seems that no matter what changes I make to my diet, stress level, or how exhausted I am, I still struggle with insomnia and waking up feeling unrefreshed.

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I do not want to take pharmaceutical sleep-aids, since these just mask the problem and many times will not actually help the body get back into a normal rhythm of restorative sleep. They can also cause other side-effects and become addictive. Thankfully there are some other options. A few years ago I made some progress with beating insomnia using all natural products and enjoying some calming nighttime rituals, and with the new year I have made a resolutionI to get back into the little pre-sleep routine that was working for me then. Today I am sharing the all-natural tips for better sleep that worked for me.  *This post contains affiliate links.

Whole Living

About 45 minutes before bed, treat yourself to a nighttime ritual with a nice hot bath, hot (decaf) herbal tea, and good reading. You can use an all-natural bamboo bath tray to hold your tea, bath products and some small all-natural, essential oil soy candles to create a spa like experience.

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When it comes to night time reading, books are better than tech devices. Choose something calming to read, such as anti-anxiety Bible verses or if you are really having trouble with insomnia, read something boring that makes your eyelids feel heavy! If you don’t like to read, this can also be a great time for prayer and spiritual contemplation.

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While many people can’t bear the idea of being apart from their phone at bedtime or just can’t get into reading from a book, it’s important to reduce your exposure to the blue light from your phone. As this disrupts melatonin, the sleep hormone, you may want to invest in blue light glasses or a filter on your phone.

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A hot bath infused with essential oils is a great way to get ready for sleep. Use all natural bubble baths, bath salts or all-natural bath fizzies made with relaxing chamomile or lavender. Both herbs have calming, sleep promoting properties and have been used for centuries to fight insomnia and anxiety. Heavily perfumed, non-organic bath products with synthetic fragrance may smell good, but they can actually be full of chemicals and hormones that disrupt sleep patterns and trigger headaches.

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My Messy Life

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You can grow and harvest your own chamomile and lavender for beauty products, cooking and medicinal uses, or you can purchase the dried herbs  in bulk.

Frontier Co-op Organic Chamomile Flowers, German, Whole, 1 Pound Bulk Bag

French Lavender Dried Lavender Buds – 1 Pound 

Lavender and chamomile tea is a wonderful natural sleep aid and I simply love the nighttime ritual of enjoying a small cup of this tea before bed.

Traditional Medicinals Organic Chamomile With Lavender Tea

The addition of warm milk can also help promote sleep. Substitute almond for dairy milk. Almonds promote sleep and cause less digestive stress for most people.

Lavender Chammomile Nighttime Tea

Just like the right pair of shoes, the right sleepware can make all the difference in your quality of sleep. If you like the warmth and comfort of pajamas but suffer from hormone or health related night sweats, I want to try these: Sleepy Time Women’s Bamboo Pajamas, Hot Flash Menopause Relief PJS,

Sleepy Time Pajamas

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Sheets and bedding can also make a huge difference in your quality of sleep. Make sure that your sheets are made from a high quality, breathable fabric and that they are kept clean and smelling fresh. Remember to use all-natural laundry products as well.

Nellie’s All-Natural Laundry Soda

Lavender Essential Oil

Place a few drops of lavender on your pillow and bedsheets or spritz them with a DIY  pillow spray. You can also diffuse pure, organic lavender essential oil as you sleep.

Sweet Nature’s Beauty

If you are having trouble sleeping due to chronic pain, Magnesium supplementation can be a huge help.  When I started reflecting on what supplements I was taking when my sleep was a lot better, I remembered that my integrative medicine doctor had prescribed a high quality, (vegan, gluten free) magnesium supplement  and I was talking it regularly.

Now Foods Magnesium Citrate Supplement

In addition to the tips I have shared here today, the infographic below provides a few more nightime rituals for better sleep.

Infographic Design By Bed Sheets for Hot Sleepers

In closing, the number one tip I will share is to “unplug and unwind!” Technology and social media distractions will only get the brain revved up with racing thoughts. I have found it is better to put the tech away about an hour before bed.

I hope you will try out some of these all natural tips for better sleep. I do know the tea works well! How are you sleeping dear friends? Feel free to share any other sleep hints or tips that you may have. I love hearing from you!

May you have restful sleep and days full of energy and vitality!

Amber