3 Simple Secrets to a Great Night’s Sleep

I’m a teacher, which means my mind is on my students, the problems they share with me, the grading I need to do, and the next day’s lesson more than I would like to admit (but if you’re a teacher too, you get it). That being said, I have a lot of trouble falling asleep at night because my mind is always racing. Over the last few months, I’ve come across some things that have really helped me fall asleep quickly when I lay down at the end of the day…

Scent

There are a couple of different things I use to make my room smell like I’m ready to go to sleep, but the shared factor is always lavender.

Diffuse Essential Oil Blends: there are bunches of good blends to diffuse in your space when you’re ready to sleep, but the one I use most often is a blend of lavender, eucalyptus, and peppermint. Or try…
– Lavender and Stress Away
– Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, Frankincense
– Lavender and Cedarwood
– Lavender, Lemon, Rosemary
– Lavender, Frankincense, Cedarwood, Vetiver
– If you really dislike lavender, try Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Grapefruit
– Aromatherapy Sleep Body Cream: This is made with Lavender and Cedarwood essential oils and is like magic to the senses. Get some.
– Pillow Mist: A light, sleepy smelling spray on your pillow will help you fall right to sleep. I have a scent that isn’t sold anymore, but I’m sure they all would do the trick!

Sound

To get my mind off the thousand-and-one things rolling through it, I use the Headspace App (I have found the app to be much more user-friendly than the website). Headspace is a free app. You can subscribe and pay monthly for extra features, but what I regularly use to fall asleep is free.

Basically, Headspace is a meditation app. If you’re weirded out by this, don’t be! I was too, at first, but there is nothing weird or spiritual about the meditation on this app. To help me get my mind off the day and into a more relaxed state, I use what they call “sleepcasts.” There are 16 different meditation-like stories that have all different background noises, narrators, and settings. The meditation has you take deep breaths and walks you through a different setting and story, very calmly and slowly. My mind drifts off, and I have always fallen asleep before the story ends when listening to Headspace.

Sight

Blackout curtains. They change everything. Also, put down your phone at least a few minutes before you try to fall asleep. It may come as a shock, but I’ve found that scrolling through my phone with the screen light 6 inches from my face in a pitch-black room does not help me go to sleep. Now, I set my “Do Not Disturb” for 9pm, I set my alarms, and finish whatever I need to on my phone at least a few minutes before I am ready to hop in bed.

So, if you struggle to catch some Z’s, why not give a few of these ideas a try? You have nothing to lose!