Photo Credit: @kimk.styledwithlace
While the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, they are also the busiest. With shopping, decorating, wrapping, cooking, travelling, parties, visiting and eating galore, this is no time to lose sleep. Not only do you need your sleep to perform at your best for all of your commitments, but you also need to maintain a strong immune system--there is no room in the schedule to be sick.
Follow our guide this holiday season and you'll definitely sleep like a yule log, ho ho ho.
1. Make a list, check it twice.
Stress is a major contributor to sleepless nights. Try not to overload your schedule with preparation as well as events. The more prepared you are going in, the less stressed out you will be and less pressure you will feel, which will be a load off of your mind when you're trying to sleep. Nothing is worse than laying awake at night with to-do lists running through your mind as you try and get the sleep you know you need but can’t seem to get. It will literally keep you up at night. Take an hour, make a plan. Think about everything you need to do including big things like events and all the little things like cleaning the house, wrapping gifts, packing, travel time, etc., and put together a schedule so you can spread out all the work that needs to be done as evenly as possible to minimize stress and maximize your availability for spending quality time with your loved ones--that's what this season is all about, after all :).
2. Make sure YOU are nestled all snug in your bed.
Try to keep your sleep schedule as regular as possible. We understand this isn’t always realistic on the night of your office Christmas party or when having a special visit with relatives and old friends but, do your best to try to get up and go to bed as close to when you would normally as you can (within 2 hours is ideal). It may sound counter-intuitive if you feel extra tired from visiting--get extra sleep, but, sleeping in in the mornings will make it harder to fall asleep at night and, messing with your internal clock makes you groggy. If you start to lose steam throughout the day, try a power nap--it will refresh you and give you the energy you need to continue to be 'on' throughout the day. Keep it short, no longer than 30 min at the absolute outside, and try to keep it earlier in the day, preferably before 5pm.
3. Oh, what fun it is to ride in a four-door Chevrolet.
Everybody travels at Christmas time, even Santa Claus. We totally understand it can be tough to sleep under ideal circumstances, let alone on Grandma's pullout couch so, we suggest you bring a little comfort from home. You can bring a mattress topper to make even a wire cot feel comfy (easy to toss in a duffle bag and makes a huge difference) or, simply bring your own pillow, it's easily transported, handy in transit, and guaranteed to be comfortable and familiar. We also recommend that you nap, if you can, when you're en route in the car (of course, not if your the driver) or on the plane, especially if you had to get up early for the trip. If you’re travelling across time-zones, check out these tips on how to combat jetlag.
4. Santa baby, put a snowboard under the tree, for me.
Continue to make exercising a priority because it's good for the body and the mind, reduces stress and promotes healthy sleep. That doesn’t mean you have to hit the gym even in another city or country but, trade your 30 minutes of cardio a day that you would usually do on the elliptical for snowboarding, an after-dinner walk to check out the neighbourhood Christmas lights, or a snowball fight. This is a perfect opportunity to enjoy some outdoor winter sports and to get some daylight. Spending time outside in the winter helps to prevent seasonal affective disorder, is great for your circadian rhythm, and helps you regulate the production of melatonin, a chemical that naturally occurs in your body that helps you sleep.
5. Resist the twelve days of leftovers.
This may be the biggest challenge on our list with all the temptation of leftovers in the fridge but, do your very best to resist a late-night snack attack. As unarguably delicious as it is, it negatively impacts your quality of sleep because while your body should be using that time to rest and restore, it instead is forced to use energy to digest, throwing a wrench in the whole system. Late night snacking is also notorious for causing acid reflux and indigestion.
6. Don't put too much jingle in your bells.
Go easy on the open bar. Although it may seem like you can 'fall asleep' more easily when you’ve had a lot to drink, your quality of sleep is greatly diminished because alcohol decreases the amount of REM sleep that you get. Not to mention, it turns people to who don’t snore regularly into snorers and makes existing snorers even louder. While you may not think snoring disrupts your sleep, it will certainly disrupt your partners and potentially other guests staying in the house. Switch your eggnog for water 2-3 hours before bed for a restful and silent night.
ABOUT SLEEPENVIE
Sleepenvie is a Canadian online mattress-in-a-box and bedroom lifestyle brand that focuses on customization, convenience, and charitable contribution.
We make the mattress-buying process easy by delivering it directly to your door in one easy-to-handle compact box. We strongly believe in customizability, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. An easy one-minute quiz matches you to the ideal mattress for your lifestyle and sleep habits.
Check us out online at www.sleepenvie.com and on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest at @Sleepenvie. Sweet dreams!
