Leonie Featherstone

Make Sleep your Friend!

by Leonie Featherstone How would you rate your relationship with sleep?

So many people who are battling in life are often either overlooking or struggling with one critical component. Restorative sleep! Research shows us that all lost sleep accumulates progressively as an ever-growing sleep indebtedness. This sleep deprivation has been linked to impaired memory/judgement, accidents, mood irregularities and health/weight issues. Those are compelling reasons to make restful sleep a priority! So, how can we harness this evasive and critical component of our holistic wellbeing? Whilst there is no ‘one size fits all’ remedy, the following are universal guidelines. Identify, Decide, Act! Keep a ‘sleep diary’ to uncover patterns of behaviour and activities leading up to bedtime that could be sabotaging your sleep efforts. › What are you thinking about while you can’t sleep – what are you ‘feeling’? › Check your ‘conditions’ - Lighting/Bed/Pillows/

Temperature › Avoid watching ‘bad news stories’ › Avoid stimulating foods and beverages › Remove technology from the bedroom › Create a calming environment with rituals eg

Meditation/Journaling/Music/Essential oils › Maintain a Rhythm with a regular sleep schedule, going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time to help regulate your body’s internal clock “One of the most simple but important reasons technology affects our sleep is cognitive stimulation,” says Mark Rosekind, PhD, former director of the Fatigue Countermeasures Program at the NASA Ames Research Center and president and chief scientist at the scientific consulting firm Alertness Solutions. “As your brain revs up, its electrical activity increases and neurons start to race -- the exact opposite of what should be happening before sleep.” “That ‘glow’ from electronics is also at work against quality shuteye. The small amounts of light from these devices pass through the retina into a part of the hypothalamus (the area of the brain that controls several sleep activities) and delay the release of the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin.” What else can WE do to enhance our sleep? For thousands of years, essential oils have been utilized for their calming and soothing properties, so they are ideal bedtime companions. Here are my favourite pre-sleep rituals: › Wind down time with music and doTERRA

Balance blend › Journal and use essential oils that support those thoughts/feelings › doTERRA Lavender Peace in my diffuser and spritzed onto my pillow › doTERRA Jasmine, Rose and Neroli anointing my shoulders, arms and ear lobes › Asking myself – ‘what was the best thing that happened to me today?’ › Gratitude – being thankful for everything in my life › Faith – feeling comforted knowing that I am protected by a higher power

Scents of Restoration doTERRA Room Rollerball (10ml) Vetiver Diffuser 3 drops of each Wild Orange Lavender 3 drops of each & top with Fractionated Coconut Oil