A Natural Healthy Lifestyle Starts with a Good Night’s Sleep

Have you ever spent the night tossing and turning, or just given up on getting to sleep so you play games or read because you’re tired, but you’re not sleepy?

Have you felt draggy all day long because the night before, you didn’t get a good sleep?

How many hours do you tell yourself you need to get by? Less than 8 - I’m guessing.

Are you working to all hours because you say there aren’t enough hours in a work day?

I can tell you I have been able to answer yes to pretty much all of those questions over the last 20 years.

I can also tell you that since I started putting a priority on getting a good night’s sleep, I have been the most productive I have ever been in my life!

With a good night’s sleep, I find I am more energetic - sure that one’s obvious, but along with that comes focus and productivity.

Did you know that research on professionals and their sleep habits showed that although 7-8 hours of sleep were recommended, the average professional reported getting only 6.5 hours most nights.

That lack of sleep - even a half an hour per night can impact your focus, diminish your creative capacities, your motivation, and yes, cause irritability - all of which can impact organizational effectiveness, not to mention the effects it has on your health - both mental and physical.

If you’re like me, I bet you think that changing your life to make sleep a real priority is nearly impossible.

If you’re like me, I bet you think that you are doing your best to get a good sleep, but it just doesn’t work for you.

I can really relate - I went for years feeling tired all the time. I dragged myself through my life, sleeping late at every opportunity. I dreamed of the time when I could sleep in every day!

So what changed?

I started sleeping through the night and getting a good rest every night - 7 or 8 hours average, 7 days a week.

Now, I wake up easily before my alarm even goes off. I am awake and alert early in the morning, so I have extra hours in my day.

I have time for a morning workout.

I have time to eat a proper breakfast.

I have better focus and productivity all day long.

I get more done than I ever did before - without working until 2 or 3 in the morning.

And I don’t even want to sleep-in any more…

It all started with a good night’s sleep.

I’m not saying there is just one answer for every person - we all have to create our own healthy habits that will support a good sleep routine. You can’t just wave a magic wand and cure a lifetime of bad habits, but I found a few things that work really well for me, and they aren’t that hard to try for yourself…

• First - I have set up a routine to support my sleep. I set a digital curfew for myself. I have an alarm that goes off at 9 p.m. and then it’s no more TV, no more Instagram, no more Facebook, no more email, no more work. I start to wind down, get ready for bed, read, write in my journal.
• Second - I use essential oils - some on my feet to help my body calm and relax to obtain a really good rest. My choices are doTERRA’s Serenity and Cedarwood. I find they really help me get an uninterrupted sleep. I also put doTERRA Breathe into my diffuser to help me feel more relaxed because it opens up my lungs.
• Third - I set the temperature in the room to be cooler than during the daytime. I find sleeping in a cool room with warm blankets is really helpful for getting a good night’s sleep.

If I still have too many thoughts whirling through my brain, I grab a sudoku - it requires concentration to solve and stops all those whirling thoughts - then as soon as my eyes get heavy, I put it down immediately - no one last clue!

So I realize that not everyone is going to have the best results from a single set of tips, but check out this link, and you will find an article I contributed to that features 67 different sleep experts offering their best tips.