A Good Night’s Sleep

For most of my life, I had trouble sleeping. I was prescribed different prescription drugs such as Xanax and Ambien to help me calm down and fall asleep. Most nights, I would add in a night cap of some beer or liquor, and maybe a hit of weed too. I complemented all of this with a mindless TV show like “family guy,” until I had slowly drifted into oblivion. I had a difficult time taking the edge off enough to get a good night’s rest. Today, I’m happy to say that this is no longer the case for me. I don’t need prescription drugs or substances anymore, and it’s all because of a few lifestyle changes that I want to share with you.

Develop a New Perspective of Bedtime

The first step for me was to establish a new relationship with sleep. My issues with sleep stemmed from a deeply rooted childhood fear around going to bed. My bedroom was a place I feared when it was time to go to sleep because this meant being alone with my racing thoughts and inner demons. I’ll get into battling your thoughts in a little bit, but for now, I want to emphasize how to separate your fears from something like going to sleep - understanding that our bedroom doesn’t have to be a place of fear and worry.

To do this, I personally made my room my temple. My bedroom became my sanctuary, my safe space. I recognize my entrance into my bedroom as the beginning of a sacred ritual. I recognize it as a place to prepare all my thoughts, knowledge, and desires to become consolidated so that I can sleep in peace and wake with ease. It’s a place where magic truly happens, and once I flipped my perspective and my mindset, I released my resistance and fear around bedtime.  

Quieting the Mind, Body, and Spirit

This is easier than you might imagine, and for me, it’s extremely important. If I don’t do this, then I lie awake for 30 minutes or more, struggling to shut my thoughts off. Before lying down, I begin this process with three easy steps.

1. Stretching – The Spiritual Ritual

After brewing hot tea, I head to my room, set the tea on the nightstand, and I do a modified yoga-type flow that involves loosening the shoulders, hips, and lower back, all while paying close attention to the breath. Slow, mindful breathing is the key here. I encourage you to explore your own variations, but these are some of my go-to asanas: 

• Downward-Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
• Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)
• Crescent Moon Pose (Anjaneyasana)
• Half Lord of the Fishes Pose (Ardha Matsyendrasana)
• Seated Twist Pose (Parivrtta Sukhasana)
• Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
• Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana)

If my day is packed and I can’t bring myself to fit in a few of these poses, then I lie in bed and at least do happy baby!

2.    Beauty – The Physical Ritual

This part of the evening ritual is all about taking care of the physical body.

1. Rinse your face with lukewarm water.
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2. Apply the Halo 42 ZincSulfur Masque mindfully. (Often, after applying the mask, I will do my stretching, or I will start journaling if I’ve already done my stretching.Sometimes, I use this time to brush my teeth, clip my nails, or do some other cosmetic routine.)
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3. After 15 minutes, I take the mask off. I slowly and gently rub some of the Halo 42 body oil onto my body and rub the leftover oil onto my face.
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4. I sip the rest of my tea and apply the Halo 42 lip mask generously before heading to bed.

3. Journaling – The Mental Ritual

By the time journaling comes around, I am generally clear headed. Journaling is not always active writing for me. Sometimes it’s just taking a quick inventory of the day. Often, it involves writing about something that happened throughout the day. Doing this helps me to work out an answer to a problem I may have. This process is liberating and really helps to ground the body and center the mind before the lights go out. It prepares me to enter a subconscious dream state, rest deeply, and emerge the next day renewed and restored.

I have adopted these steps and rituals into my life because of the many successful people who have shared their own personal solutions to abetter, healthier lifestyle. It’s my goal to do the same for you. Although a lot of these people are tremendous in the way they live (like Ben Franklin and his nightly inventory), I can only share what I’ve learned from them. So far, there are a few life hacks I’ve learned from the greats, and since tuning into practices that have greatly enhanced my sleep, I share my insights in hopes that you too will tap into the deepest rest possible.  

Are you interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey, but unsure of what to expect? Learn more about Halo 42’s story by visiting https://gosolo.subkit.com/halo42/