Good quality sleep is crucial to staying healthy – in mind, body, and spirit. But no matter how tired we are, sometimes falling asleep just feels impossible.
We receive lots of questions from our community about how to sleep better. Sleep can be disrupted by changing seasons, daily stressors, and anxiety about sleep itself. But whatever the cause, the key to sleeping well is a soothing, holistic sleep routine.
So, we’ve put together this special guide inspired by plants and medicinal mushrooms. Discover a world of great sleep with journaling, reading, dedication, and more. Follow our Sleep Guide every night (no cheating!) and start to enjoy blissful bedtimes again.
As the season changes, we call on new herbal allies & self-care rituals. Our favorite fall practices (and plants) are those that inspire balance and strong immunity.
Wishing you a blissful night’s sleep.
Our Better Sleep Guide
Wake Up
The key to sleeping well is waking up. Get outside early in the day to reset your circadian rhythm. Studies show that when we expose ourselves to natural light soon after waking, it helps regulate our body’s natural 24-hour cycle, so we fall asleep more easily.
Did you know that your body is literally wired to sleep when it’s dark and stay awake when it’s light?
According to WebMD:
“Nerves directly link your eyes and your body’s master clock. When daylight fades, your eyes signal your brain to make more melatonin, a hormone that makes you feel sleepy. And when the sun rises again, the signals tell the brain to turn down the melatonin”
Spagyric Tinctures
Spagyrics is a process that delivers a more potent set of benefits tailored to satisfy the intent of the user. Through separation, purification and recombination, spagyric tinctures offer the whole plant for healing.
Add one full dropper of The Medicinal Mushroom Co.’s Harmony spagyric tincture to your coffee or smoothie. Harnessing the transformative power of Reishi and Oyster Mushroom soothes your nervous system and supports good sleep. Tinctures are also delicious in warm milk, teas, and other heated beverages. This way, the warmth of these drinks can help soothe you into a restful sleep just as the mushrooms have!
Journal and Reading
Prepare for sleep. Keep a worry journal beside your bed. If a whirring mind keeps you awake for half the night, having somewhere to jot down worries helps you lock them down somewhere else so you can deal with them in the morning.
Writing down the day’s thoughts or manifestations for tomorrow is a wonderful way to loosen any stress you may have left over. Reading back what you’ve written a few times also stimulates a similar sensation to storytime before bed. Reading calms down the mind just as well. Have a calming book on hand once you’re done journaling to settle down even more and invite sleep in.
Turn off your phone
Skip the ‘fall-down-the-rabbit-hole’ Instagram scroll. All that blue light from your screen wreaks havoc with your sleep-promoting hormones. What is Blue Light you ask?
Blue wavelengths boost attention and mood and prove to be a natural ally during the daytime. However, blue wavelengths (blue light) become disruptive at night.
“Harvard researchers and their colleagues conducted an experiment comparing the effects of 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light to exposure to green light of comparable brightness. The blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as the green light and shifted circadian rhythms by twice as much (3 hours vs. 1.5 hours).”
Magical Baths
Put your monkey mind on mute with a relaxing bath. Our Unwind Bath Bomb with CBD helps to soothe the mind, body, and spirit. Simply fill up a bathtub with hot water, drop in one Bath Bomb, soak up its healing wonders and relaxing lavender scent. But, be careful! No sleeping in the tub.
CBD/CBN
CBD has gained popularity over the years, but its lesser-known sibling CBN was the first to be isolated around 1876 and was thought to hold the key to the sedative properties of the hemp plant. Our Sleep Well Tincture artfully combines the balancing effects and calming effects of CBD with the naturally occurring sedatives in CBN.
Place one full dropper of Plant Alchemy’s Sleep Well CBD/CBN beneath your tongue before getting into bed, or add it to a small glass of water to keep your body hydrated throughout the night. This carefully curated blend calms, balances, and has a gentle sedative effect.
Yoga Nidra
Once in bed, try this Healing Sleep Practice each night. Based on Yoga Nidra, involves deeply relaxing breathwork and visualization techniques to help you drift off and stay asleep.
Sleep Based Aids
We’ve found the tried and true trio that helps regulate energy in the daytime keeps us calm and lulls us to sleep. A literal dream, it’s our Sleep Collection.
SOURCES:
Booth, Stephanie. “Get in Touch With Your Circadian Rhythm”
Harvard Health Publishing: Harvard Medical School. “Blue Light Has a Dark Side”