We can’t get your boss to agree to give you a daily nap break, but we can help you make the most of the sleep you do get…
The short days, colder temperatures and abundance of cashmere could even make a toddler feel snoozy.
And while this time of year everything is centred around cosiness - wrapping up for Christmas markets, pouring a glass of mulled wine, settling in front of the fire - when it’s actually time to go to bed, sleep can be strangely elusive.
Maybe it’s the lack of light throwing your sleep rhythm out of whack or your mounting to-do list, or maybe you just can’t seem to get the central heating to duvet-blanket ratio just right, but few of us feel properly rested come morning.
Here are five seasonal snooze suggestions to get you catching those Z’s quicker than you get through your Crimbo selection box…
1. Don’t go to bed hungry
Some of us immediately want a nap after a big bowl of pasta (the carb coma is real), while others are just irritable and uncomfortable.
Advice varies a lot and there’s no one perfect time to eat before bed, but research suggests that having a light snack a couple of hours before you hit the hay can actually help you sleep.
Oats, milk and bananas are all thought to be fairly soporific, thanks to compounds within them that spike your body’s production of happy hormones like serotonin, without giving you a sugar rush.
Plus, you won’t really be able to get to sleep quickly if you’re hungry, so tuck in.
2. Indulge in a bath
There are few things more relaxing than slipping into a warm bath - as soon as your limbs hit the bubbles you can almost feel the tension lift out of you.
As well as helping to relax your muscles, a bath raises your body temperature, meaning when you get out, it drops again - which basically tells your brain ‘it’s sleep time’.
For maximum effect, add in lashings of Sanctuary Spa Sleep Drift-Off Bath Soak. With lavender and midnight flowers to help promote sleep, it’ll wrap you in a cosy cocoon that’ll have you ready for deep sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.
What’s more, it’s skin-softening, meaning you’ll also feel like velvet when you slip into bed. And everyone knows nothing beats the feeling of clean, soft skin on fresh bed sheets.
3. Spritz your pillow
We’ve all felt so tired at work or on the bus that we feel we really could just fall asleep right there and then - and with it getting dark at 3:30pm, we’re all zombies most of the afternoon.
Yet in some cruel twist of fate, when we’re actually in bed, boom: wide awake.
Ease yourself into the Land of Nod with Sanctuary Spa Sleep Dream Easy Pillow Mist. Infused with the same midnight flowers and lavender oil, the mist also has uplifting jasmine and de-stressing ylang ylang to help still your mind.
Give your pillow a light mist before you climb into bed, and allow the relaxing scents to help you drift off quickly.
4. Pick up a good book
None of us are immune to the power of a good scroll.
We all know the temptation. Just stay on Instagram a bit longer, maybe you’ll see something funny, maybe hop over onto Explore, maybe you’ll find a new follow something funny…
Before you know it, it’s been forty minutes and you really don’t know what you’ve been looking at.
Not only is it a bit defeating, but the blue light coming from your phone screen can suppress your production of melatonin - aka, the sleep hormone.
Instead, pick up a good book at least half an hour before you want to go to sleep.
Curl up in bed and try and get through a chapter or two - you might doze off before you know it…
5. Schedule some self-care
There’s nothing like a little self-care to help you switch off.
Taking the time to properly pamper yourself and do something just for you can enormously help with your stress levels, which are no doubt surging this time of year.
Forget the to-do lists coming out of your ears for a minute and carve out fifteen minutes to massage yourself top to toe with Sanctuary Spa Sleep Relaxing Body Butter.
A heavenly blend of midnight flowers, sweet almond oil and lavender oil, it’ll soften the skin and leave it smooth and radiant, while helping your mind and body unwind before bed.
With cocoa and shea butters for deep hydration, it’ll keep the dreaded ‘winter skin’ at bay whilst also helping you feel like you’ve just swung by a spa en route home.
Beat the snooze button and indulge with Sanctuary Spa’s new Sleep range.
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