🎕

Oh, SLEEP!!!

SLEEP: Something we all need, something we so dearly crave, something that recharges our batteries like nothing else.

To set the mood, I'll do an acrostic poem that might even make you feel a little sleepy! 

S: Shut-eye, slipping into unconsciousness. 

L: Lying down in a fluffy bed of dreams.

E: Everyone needs this; no one is spared!

E: Enter theta waves in your brain!

P: Please value sleep in whichever schedule you currently have!

🎕

So! Sleep. Something that the world does to recharge itself, heal itself, consolidate memories, and get through the darkest portions of reality. Sleep is a necessity of mankind; those who don't sleep very much don't experience the world in the same beautiful way.

You know those days when you feel drained, your eyes burn, you can't focus on anything, and all you want to do is curl up and eat a bunch of chocolate (or other junk food)? You may feel emotionally unsteady, easily irritable, and just want to shut the whole world out? No, I'm not describing PMS, but not getting enough sleep does produce some of the same symptoms in the human body. And I'm here to tell you: SLEEP IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT! In terms of assisting your physical, emotional, and mental bodies, sleep plays a massive role in all three.

During the bright hours of the day, the body expends most of its energy by living, eating, talking, existing. The brain itself uses about 20% of our energy in any given day. We are given a finite amount of energy to start each day. Upon awaking, we are dealt cards of capability, most of them energized and ready to deal with life's ups-and-downs. When the day is done (and all of our cards have been played) we need to boost our energy for tomorrow. We need to get more cards so that we can continue handling future situations with ease. (Now I'm reminding myself of Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Yo! card games...goodness...I guess we aren't that different from the games we create).

At the termination of the day, our bodies desire more energy, so we snuggle into bed and conk out. Many people don't find falling asleep as easy as crawling into bed and just zonking. Talk about hard! But before I get into tips for falling asleep easier, I'll highlight the true importance of sleep and its role in the body.

🎕

WHY SLEEP IS SO IMPORTANT

(And why you should seriously value your sleep schedule more. Worship it.)

~ SLEEP ASSISTS CREATIVITY~

~SLEEP HEALS OUR WOUNDS~

~SLEEP ALLOWS OUR MIND A BREAK FROM STIMULI~

~SLEEP PROMOTES BETTER MEMORY~

~SLEEP IMPROVES EMOTIONAL REGULATION~

~SLEEP DECREASES THE BODY'S STRESS RESPONSE~

~SLEEP ALLOWS THE CONSCIOUSNESS TO TRAVEL TO OTHER PLACES**~

~SLEEP ALLOWS US TO CONNECT TO OUR DEEPER SELVES!~

And many, many more positive things. I'm not advocating for over-sleeping or laziness by any means. I only mean to promote a balance of restful recovery after each day. These words of advice are coming from someone who needs a good night sleep in order to function properly. My day is genuinely worse off if I don't sleep well the night before. More so than other people around me. Pulling all-nighters will KILL ME. :-)

Some people naturally don't need that much sleep (genetically!) whereas others need more. If you're someone who needs more sleep to function better...I'm wishing you luck. You're living in a world that functions on precise schedules, and it can be hard to carve out the sections of those schedules that you need for sleep. Do your best! <3

**During the deepest portions of sleep, the consciousness is free to travel to other realms. I'm not going to go too deep into this, as certain people have their various belief systems...but since we are not solely limited to a physical human body, we may experience dreams in areas that exist outside of Earth. Or meet with loved ones who have passed...hearing odd messages in dreams...**

🎕

Falling asleep can be so hard. Some people can just flop down on the bed and be out. Others need an entire ritual to fall asleep, since their minds won't shut off. Worries, anxieties, and fears can hold us hostage in wakefulness, even when we so badly want to fall asleep and forget about everything. Hours can be spent just laying there, doing nothing but tossing and turning. The mind can be so cruel when it comes to bedtime.

But! I do have a lot of tips for you, if this applies! A few years back, I used to be awake for hours, thinking, rolling around, feeling restless when I was in bed. Counting sheep just didn't work for me. My mind was too active; the sheep would turn into dinosaurs and start fighting and I would have to solve twenty math problems to break up the fight before another round would start on a mountain's edge between peacocks wearing hats, with spectators laughing at my inability to break up the tussle... >_<

Hah! Maybe this is you. Maybe this isn't. Whether it is or it isn't, I can attest to the usefulness of pre-sleep rituals that help me and can help you, too! You deserve sleep, lovely human being. So go and get it!

🎕

THE SANDMAN'S BAG OF SAND:

(Things to do before sleep, to help you sleep and stay asleep!)

🎕 Don't eat at least an hour before sleeping. Sometimes food indigestion can keep the stomach awake and keep us up with it. It can be troubling to lay in bed with acid reflux or an upset stomach. 

🎕 No phone use 30 mins before sleeping. I know I struggle with this one. It can be so hard to resist the urge of checking something, or, in my case, searching up the definition of lost words. Or checking how many wives King Henry VIII had. Gosh. I have to hold myself back so much. You don't even know the half of it! Resist, resist, resist phone use!!!

🎕 Stretch! With deep breathing. Stretching is a good way of relaxing tense muscles in the body. Before you sleep, this can really help with releasing the stress your body may have taken on during the day. You can stretch your legs, arms, neck, and back just laying in bed. There are so many simple poses that you can find on Pinterest or by experimenting and discovering which stretches feel the best. Personally, I love child's pose or seal stretching. Leg stretches are great, too! Remember to breath deeply (similar to how you breathe while sleeping) to let your body know NOW IS THE TIME TO SLEEP.

🎕 Listen to light music or meditative frequencies. Personally, I find music sweetly distracting from crazy thoughts and very comforting. However, I don't like to overuse my phone or drain my laptop's battery and fall asleep with it on. You can put your devices on timers so that they turn off when the music has ended. Or you can invest in a noise-maker! I have one of them. They play comforting sounds like crickets chirping or waves crashing ashore. All of the noises are very relaxing...otherwise, if you prefer silence, remove objects that make noise from your environment! Ask your family to shut off the TV. Or shift your bed away from the pipe that makes tons of noise. Whatever it is, do the best you can to set up a helpful environment for your night.

🎕 Write or read. This is a good exercise to dump your mental energy out before bed. If you have a journal, you can record your thoughts about the day, or sketch a picture, whatever you'd like. Reading can shift the mind into a dream-like state--imagining characters in a book acting out scenes uses similar mental muscles that help us visualize things in dreams. 

🎕 If nothing works...focus on sleep. This sounds kinda dumb. But I promise you, it isn't. Mind over matter, they say! If you're lying there thinking about this and that and her and him and homework and thoughts and love and the future and scary things...you need to reign those in! To do this, you can repeat a song or phrase in your mind that focuses on sleeping. Maybe it's: I'M GOING TO GO TO SLEEP NOW. I'M GOING TO SLEEP, CRAWLING DEEPER INTO SLEEP, FALLING DROWSIER. I'M GOING TO SLEEP...SLEEP IS COMING TO ME, I CAN FEEL SLEEP COMING TO ME... or something similar. By doing this, you're shifting away from the agitating thoughts and entering safe ones. You can use positive affirmations, too! Those always feel good before sleep. I AM POSITIVE, I AM POWERFUL, TOMORROW WILL BE A GREAT DAY, I AM LOVED, I CAN DO THIS, I AM AWESOME, I WILL SLEEP SOON. <3

🎕

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"What is without periods of rest will not endure."

-Ovid

Commentary///

Everything in the world requires some period of break. Winter is summer's long awaited break. Night is day's break. Sleep is human life's break. We all need these times to recuperate and reflect, so that we can grow stronger and more resilient. People who sleep less tend to get sick more often. You should value your health and your sleep schedule! Sleeping enough can show you how lovely resting can be if done right. So work with the sandman instead of against him! Do your thang! :)

🎕

Thanks for joining me in the sandman's kingdom. I'll remember this one. Maybe I'll have a dream about this one. I hope I do, instead of peacocks fighting!

Love & Light,

Izzy.