The festive season can be quite intense. Extended families, Christmas work parties, preparation lists, masses of food, excitable children, New Years Eve parties! So, it's important to keep your energy levels up and your mind sane amidst the chaos that is, as my Dad likes to say, the Silly Season.Sleep is the best time to settle the body and mind. They say we need, on average, seven hours a night. But everyone's different. Some feel they need nine, others a maximum of six. In my mind, as long as the hours you do get are really restful - a quality 40 winks - then your body will rejuvenate enough to function. Here are some quick tips to make sure you get the best rest possible before your head hits the pillow.
Steaming baths...
A nice hot bath with a few drops of essential oil or bath salts infused with essential oil will soothe tense muscles and relax the body in preparation for sleep. Hedgerow Herbals make lovely sleep inductive organic bath oil blends and bath salts.
A soothing cuppa...
Sleepytime tea, Yogi tea, camomile tea. Any tea that's caffeine free. A tea with Valerian, the natural herbal sedative, in it will calm anxieties. But any herbal tea that cleanses the system (most naturally make you feel cleaner inside), settles the mind and slows the body will aid sleep.
Natural bedding...
Organic cotton bed linen and duvets are divine to sleep on. Mentally it's a relief to know you're not breathing in leaching chemical dyes (proven to happen slowly over time) but you can really feel the softer texture of the natural material on your body.
A great mattress...
Organic mattresses are ideal. The fabrics and materials they use to make them are chemical free, for example they only use natural glues, which are solvent free. Abaca Organic are a Welsh company that make their mattresses from locally sourced wool.
