I long for the days that I used to just lay my head down and fall asleep in a matter of minutes. No tossing and turning for hours. No waking up multiple times throughout the night. Sleep has become one of my biggest challenges as I entered my late-40’s. So I have made it my mission to find things that will help get me to sleep, keep me asleep and make me feel comfortable while going to sleep. I’ve already acquired quite the collection of matching pajamas and my evening skincare routine is my favorite time of the day. When it comes to actually relaxing my body and falling asleep, it becomes a battle! Ugh!!
Over the past year to year and a half, I have been testing different things to help with sleep and have finally found a few key products that have made a HUGE difference. It’s not perfect but my sleep is better than it was using these products. Since first publishing this post, I have a few changes and updates to my must-haves so here are my current sleep essentials.
My Sleep Essentials
I use these mostly at night to help me chill out and wind myself down for bed. My mind never stops racing and I have a hard time turning that off in order to get to sleep. These help me do that while still making me feel present. Read my full review of EarlyBird CBD Gummies here.
Regarding sleep, it does help me get to sleep, stay asleep and wake without feeling groggy. If my 8 years old wakes up after I take one, I am able to be coherent and alert immediately. It does not affect my ability to function in any way. I personally wouldn’t take one during the day because it makes me way too tired. And if I had to get anything done, I probably couldn’t and would take a nap. So for me these are strictly for nighttime.
While the Earlybird CBD gummies are not necessarily made for sleep, they help me relax in order to get to sleep much easier. But on the nights that I cannot get to sleep for whatever reason or have had multiple restless nights in a row, I need something a bit stronger which is why I love these THC gummies for sleep. They contain 10mg of THC and 25mg of CBD which is intense so I will only take half a gummy. But I am guaranteed to fall asleep within 30 minutes and remain asleep for the entire night.
I am not loyal to a particular pillow when it comes to what I lay on to go to sleep (if you have suggestions, I am all ears!), but I am loyal to a pillow that I lay ON me to go to sleep. If you have ever taken a yoga class, you may have had an instructor place a small bean bag pillow or weighted pillow over your eyes at the end of the class to help deepen your relaxation during the final resting pose. The Sleep Crown pillow is similar in concept and meant to be used over your eyes and top of your head to help create that same sense of calm.
For me, this has become an absolute must have for me to go to sleep because it reduces my anxiety like nothing else ever has. Because it immediately blocks out light and much of the sound in the room, I can feel my nervous system calming down almost instantly. The weight of the pillow is heavy enough to stay put. But not heavy enough to feel uncomfortable or put too much pressure on my eyes. I describe the feeling of having it on my eyes as feeling like I am in a cocoon. It’s soothing and helps me get to sleep so much faster.
I can use it whether I sleep on my back or on my side. It easily drapes around my head and stays put even when I move positions. Sometimes it falls off during the night. But I usually just put it back on and go right back to sleep. Because these are in such high demand and sell out so quickly, they usually give a notice for each drop so you can set your alarms. A bit of a hassle but 100% worth it!
If you are unfamiliar with using mouth tape to sleep, the reasoning behind it is it allows the mouth to stay shut while sleeping so you get a deeper more restful sleep. Using the mouth tape allows you to breathe through your nose more intentionally which can help you get a better sleep. Additionally, keeping your mouth closed while you sleep has been shown to reduce certain dental issues because your mouth won’t dry out throughout the night while open. Some people find it helps with snoring but for me personally, it helps stop me from grinding my teeth as well as not having my mouth dry out.
The tape itself is very pliable and stretchy so it’s comfortable to wear and stays puts ALL NIGHT LONG. You can wear the tape with the longer side running along your lips but I prefer to have it running up and down my lips in the shape of an “I”. I can still drink water easily if needed and it feels less constricting. I wanted to test if it really made a difference. So after I finished the entire pack, I went without using it for nearly 2 weeks and woke up with jaw pain consistently from grinding my teeth. I also was not sleeping as well those two weeks and woke up more frequently. Within two days of wearing my mouth tape again, all of these issues stopped. So I have been hooked ever since!
Now that we are going into the colder months, a humidifier is a non-negotiable for me when sleeping. Between allergies or random congestion, using a humidifier helps my sinuses. If I don’t sleep with one, I will often wake up to a VERY dry nose which worsens my congestion. I’ve tried quite a few different humidifiers over the years but end up getting rid of them at some point because cleaning them is a nightmare. I actually saw an Instagram ad about this brand and hoped it would really be different despite my past experience with other “easy to clean” humidifiers. I can confidently say after using this for the past year, it’s the BEST! No tricky crevices that will grow mold without me noticing and it is truly a breeze to clean.
Comments