Almost through the week, friends! At Good Life Tea, we are hoping you all are enjoying this week as well as looking forward to the warmth that is coming this weekend!
As the week winds down, I’ve come to think about how often we do in fact, wind down, & often times, how difficult that can be. Why is this? For instance, every night we must calm ourselves down, after our long, tenuous days when it is time for bed. For many, this can be difficult & take hours at a time. These are valuable sleeping hours that we need! Why is getting ourselves to calm down & relax so difficult these days? Why has it become such a struggle to quiet our minds at the end of the day? Why as children did it seem like a seamless & almost effortless part to our day?
The answers to these questions are many. As adults we are faced with much more turmoil & commotion throughout our days. We can be dealing with stress at work, anxiety that comes with keeping up a household, bills, a packed schedule, god forbid, the unexpected unfortunate event of something like a fender bender; the list is endless. & by the end of the day, all of this stress is hard to simply let go of & immediately fall to sleep. Often times, as well, right before bed, we may be doing activities that serve only to further us from a restful time. We also may be consuming snacks or beverages that deter from calmness.
Children, as mentioned above, seem to be able to calm themselves rather quickly & fall into slumber. This, surely, has something to do with the lack of numerous stressors in their lives, but also, children most times have a bedtime ritual that encourages relaxation. This may include a bedtime story, prayers, conversing with their parents of the course of their day, snuggling a beloved pet or stuffed animal, or perhaps, drinking a glass of warm milk or tea! As we grow, this practical ritual seems to be lost or forgotten and, in turn, we find it hard to prepare our minds & bodies for sleep.
As well as losing this little bedtime ritual, we may partake in things such as exercise before bed or watching certain television programing known to raise your heart rate or blood pressure. The news, sometimes packed with controversial political drama or recent events, can send your mind into a frenzy when all it wants to do is calm down! Likewise, shows with a lot of violence or suspense will deter from relaxation.
As mentioned in our last blog post, dealing with unsuspecting caffeine containing foods, we often times eat & drink things that only make it harder to relax! Things like ice cream, chocolate, hot fudge, chips, teas, coffees, etc, are all things that we eat or drink late at night that hinder us from catching those zzz’s!
Being an adult is hard enough, so let’s go back to our roots of a child-like bedtime ritual. & in our case, let’s always incorporate tea. As our day comes to a close, we should be mindful to surround ourselves with calming things. Perhaps we choose a calming music to listen to as we get ready for bed. Maybe, a hot shower or bath would help to relax into the evening. After doing so, brewing a big cup of our favorite decaffeinated or caffeine free tea to sip. Personally, as I ease into nightfall with my tea, I like to talk to my family members about their days. It’s a nice time for us to be with each other, talk about the events of our days, laugh, cry, & bond. Other’s enjoy reading a book before rest. This is very reminiscent of being read a bedtime story as a child & is known to quiet the mind & allow it to drift off into dreams. If watching tv or a movie at night relaxes you, I urge you to opt for a less suspenseful or action packed option & lean more toward a feel good or light hearted choice. Again, personally, another activity that truly relaxes me, is sketching. I love to draw & if you too are so inclined, maybe think about having a bedside sketchpad that you can just doodle into your dreams with. If you are fortunate enough to have animals with you, science has proven that spending time with them, & petting them is shown to lower blood pressure, reduce heart rate, & relax individuals. & lastly, we have done a few blog posts encouraging meditation in your daily life. Bedtime is a wonderful time to practice meditation & quiet your mind. Meditation is a learned skill & takes time to master. You may start with a minute long meditation as part of your bedtime ritual & work your way up to longer ones.
All of these suggestions are so that you can be fully well & rested & ready to take on the new day! Tonight, take your time to be mindful of your “winding down”. Brew yourself a big cup of tea & relax into the evening. Be aware of your bedtime routine & let us know how it goes! If you have any suggestions of your own for bedtime rituals, please share them! Stay warm, stay rested! — Kay-tea :)
Check out the following!
This is the blog article referenced talking about caffeine!
Here is a link to our decaf teas!
& Finally, our caffeine-free teas!