Here it is 5:05 in the morning, I can’t sleep. I am playing around on my tablet with my website and I come across this unfinished draft about sleep. What synchronicity!

I have been awake since 2 am. What woke me up I will never know but going back to sleep proved futile. So after 3 hours of tossing and turning I just gave up, got up, made a pot of coffee and decided today was the day to research and finish this post.

My sleep habits have never been great and insomnia and restless sleeping has always been something that I have battled. As I have grown older, it seems to have gotten worse, adding pain to the equation. I have tried all the fancy beds, from Sleep Comfort, the “what is your sleep number” bed, to memory foam. Many say it’s all about the mattress and personally I love my memory foam mattress but it doesn’t stop all the nightly chit chat that your brain happens to do.

Why does our brain decide it HAS to solve a problem at 3:00am!

So for my own knowledge and for you, here are some tips for a better night sleep.

First off, check the lighting in your bedroom. We sleep better the darker it is, turn off or block out as much ambient light as you can.

Remember those picture frames that would rotate through your photos showing a new one every 30 seconds? I had one in our bedroom on my side of the room. Every time it rotated it changed the ambient light in the room. I was sleeping horribly. It was an article by Dr Mercola that opened my eyes to ambient light and how it effects our sleep. Once I unplugged that gadget my sleep improved!

He had other great ideas like turning off the TV well before bedtime. We don’t sleep with the tv on but I know many people do. Not a good thing for a good night sleep. Actually his advice is to not watch TV before bedtime but that isn’t gonna happen in our home.

Essential Oils

You know I love my essential oils, right? On the night table is a bottle of Vetiver, which is my oil of choice to help calm and relax me as well as shut the dialogue down in my mind. Since I am not fond of the smell of Vetiver it is one I apply to the bottom of my feet.

Other Essential Oils you can try are Lavender, Cedarwood, Bergomot, Ylang Ylang, Sandlewood and Roman Chamomile.

Not sure which one to use? Try Serenity Restful Blend which is a wonderful blend of all of them and more and smells divine!

PS: Don’t pay Retail for these wonderful oils. A wholesale account is easy and you get 25-55% off. Ask me how or Join and save today

Crystals for sleep

Crystals have a unique vibration so we will be looking at crystals that have a calming and grounding vibration. Remember to cleanse your Crystal and program it for a good night sleep before using

Amethyst– this is usually top of my list because it is one of the most calming of the crystals. Try placing a piece inside your pillowcase.

Plus it’s readily available and most crystal nuts have at least one piece.

Black Tourmaline– I have a small piece sitting on my night stand (right next to my bottle of Vetiver). Normally thought of as a stone of protection this crystal can also be grounding and calming.

Quartz (Clear) – Clear Quartz is usually the jack of all crystals and if this what you have then use it.

Rose Quartz – this beautiful pink crystal is soothing and full of gentle love.

Selenite– Selenite is a wonderful tool to use for clearing your aura and for protecting your space. Selenite was named after the Greek Moon Goddess Selene. With its translucent whiteness it brings the moon to you in a calm and grounding way.

Unless you are wearing a piece of crystal jewelry specifically for sleep I do recommend removing all jewelry before bedtime. The jewelry you wore during the day to energize may be the culprit that is keeping you awake.

Reiki and your angels

Using Reiki will definitely help quiet the mind, relieve aches and pains, ground you and help relax you for a better nights sleep. Place your hands wherever you feel most comfortable, let Reiki flow and say a prayer allowing your angels to help quiet your mind and help you fall asleep. Sometimes I ask for an angelic lullaby!

I read this article on Reiki Rays called Insomnia and the Reiki Blanket. What a cool idea and one I will most definitely try.

I hope this gives you a few things to try because sleep is so darned important and something most of us struggle with.

Please feel free to comment with your favorite methods and share this article with friends if you know someone this might help.

Namaste and Blessings