Christmas can be an incredibly stressful time. Even more so when we are bereaved and faced with relentless waves of grief surrounded by festive joy and cheer.
To navigate this grief rollercoaster with more ease, we need to find ways to increase our capacity to cope with all the emotional triggers of the holiday season.
And the one area where we can have the most impact on our overall resilience is …… sleep. When we sleep well, we are more in control of our mood and emotions and therefore we can make healthier choices in all aspects of our life.
The problem is that grief throws a huge spanner in the works. Because it turns many of us into insomniacs.
With our brain on overload, our body tense and stressed and anxiety levels sky-rocketing, we struggle to find that peace we need for some restful and rejuvenating sleep.
So, what can we do in the run-up to Christmas to help us relax and stop our ruminating thoughts enough to get more of that magical elusive sleep?
Quite a lot, in fact, but let’s start with the basics.
Rituals help tell the body and mind that it's time to unwind and prepare for bed. But, after the loss of a loved one, we often need to find a new bedtime routine that works for us, and this can take time. Because what works for one person doesn’t necessarily cure another’s sleeping problems.
In general, whatever calms our nervous system can help us relax enough to send us off to sleep.
Here are a few ideas for some calming activities that you could try and incorporate into your new bedtime ritual:
- Choose calming music or an uplifting book over stimulating movies or browsing through social media.
- Enjoy a hot Epsom salt (foot) bath to soak up magnesium through the skin. Magnesium is the most powerful relaxation mineral available.
- Have a glass of warm almond milk before bedtime with ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, turmeric, and freshly ground nutmeg. If you are not on medication, adding 1 teaspoon of ashwaghanda powder can enhance the sleep-inducing potency of this bedtime drink. Add a few drops of maple syrup if you like it sweet.
- Show yourself some TLC by massaging some sesame oil into the soles of your feet. Put on some socks to keep your feet warm and the bedlinen clean. Sesame oil has a very grounding effect on us.
- Try one or more of the simple breathing techniques in this recording to slow your breath and create a sense of calm before going to bed: https://youtu.be/IR6HGhmfeBo
- Play 'Holy Harmony' by Jonathan Goldman on a loop during the night. This ‘sound therapy’ will distract your mind sufficiently to stop anxiety and unwanted thoughts.
Patience and perseverance are key to getting more consistent quality sleep. It is all about trial and error and having enough tools in our ‘Sleep Toolbox’ to never run out of alternative sleep remedies.
Would you like to learn what else can help improve your sleep over Christmas and New Year? Or help you keep your mood, energy, emotions, and weight, more stable this festive season?
Simply click on the following links for more resources to help you take back control and cope better with all the emotional triggers of the holiday season:
- Read my other holiday blogs
- Get my 40-page Christmas Survival Guide
- Discover bite-sized Christmas & New Year tips on my YouTube channel
- Watch the recording of my webinar 'Nutrition & Self-Care Tips For Surviving Christmas Without Your Loved One'
- Get started on a happier, healthier relationship with food this holiday season with my self-paced mini-course on 'Navigating Emotional Hunger During The Holidays', available here.
