ith so much to do before the wedding day itself, it's easy to get overwhelmed with the ever-growing to do list! But the night before your wedding should be as relaxing as possible - put your to-do lists to one side, because there's nothing you can do now, and try to focus on the excitement of the day ahead. Which is definitely easier said than done. So, we caught up with experts over at This Works to get their advice on all things sleep and what a bride can do to ensure they feel well rested.
What can a bride do to switch off and relax before bedtime?
Planning a wedding can be incredibly stressful and it’s not unusual for us to hear from brides who find that even if they try to have an early night, they lie in bed with their minds racing unable to switch off.
There are some simple steps we can all take to maximise the sleep we do get and to help us manage the daily stresses in our lives.
1. Give yourself a chance to unwind before going to bed, for example do not plan your to -do list, read or write emails, avoid social media and switch off your phone in the hour before bed.
2. An evening bath or shower helps you physically and mentally feel as if you are “washing off” the stresses of the day, which will help suppress cortisol and dispel bedtime anxiety.
3. Encourage drowsiness by dimming your lights.
4. Keep your bedroom at around < 19 degrees to avoid increasing your core temperature.
How can a bride build a good bedtime routine?
At such a busy time in life it’s important to make sleep a priority – to give yourself time to rest and recharge so that you don’t burn out before the big day!
Establish a bedtime routine and stick to it – by doing so you start to train your mind and body to know that it’s bedtime – we recommend you start unwinding at least an hour before bed by stepping away from blue light and mental stimulants such as emails and social media. A warm shower or bath is great but if you like it hot then try to have them at least two hours before bed to avoid raising your body temperature which can inhibit sleep.
Pay attention to your bedroom set-up – keep it at a comfortable temperature of 18 degrees or just below and adjust your lighting depending on whether you want to remain alert (bright light) or allow drowsiness (dim light).
Put away your device and keep screens out of your bedroom. Apart from the negative effects of blue light emitting devices on the sleep hormone Melatonin, the constant monitoring of our social media, emails and alerts means that our brains are overly stimulated at a time when we should be reducing stimulation and allowing our minds to become calmer, paving the way to sleep.
And finally, food can play a big part in how we sleep - high fat foods just before bedtime can make it harder to sleep soundly, meaning this is not the best time to eat ice cream or chocolate.
If you do find yourself waking in the night it’s important to avoid further stimulating the brain – so for example don’t start planning your to do list, thinking about work, or under any circumstances reach for your phone.
Try, if you can, to stay in bed and keep your mind still, for example by focusing on a specific point of a ‘virtual’ picture or replaying in your mind part of a film or documentary, or even a book you have recently read.There is also something to be said for the old adage of counting sheep.
What techniques or tricks are there to drift off more quickly?
Establishing a regular sleep routine with any of the previously mentioned tips will help but if you are still unable to switch your brain off then you may want to try a natural sleep aid such as a our deep sleep pillow spray which releases an immediate burst of our sleep fragrance that is proven to calm a racing mind and ease you into sleep more quickly. In trials, 97% of users slept better than normal, 98% of users felt more refreshed in the morning and 89% of users fell asleep faster than normal.
It’s also important to note that you can make up for lost sleep at night with a short daytime nap of either 30 or 90 minutes, short naps of this length are proven to improve physical and mental performance.
This is why we have introduced our sleep power nap spray, its potent formula contains our 100% natural signature Sleep fragrance in both the free form and the microencapsulated form, making it our most concentrated sleep formula yet. The free fragrance is released immediately ensuring you can nod off rapidly even when under pressure and the microencapsulated fragrance is motion activated, meaning that it is released throughout your nap as you move on your pillow for a less disturbed sleep whatever your environment.The multi-purpose delivery system effectively induces sleep whenever you choose, providing you with better quality sleep, disturbance-free.
Which products from This Works would you recommend for deep, restful sleep, and why?
To help treat the immediate problem of not being able to sleep or broken sleep we’d always recommend one of our award-winning pillow sprays.
All our pillow sprays are blended with our 100% natural Deep Sleep Superblend of therapeutic grade essential oils; French True Lavender, Wild Chamomile and Vetivert – a fragrance blend which has been shown to activate the areas of the brain associated with emotions, pleasure and calmness with the potential to bring the mind into a predisposition towards sleep. The difference between them is in how this fragrance is then released.
In addition to sleep power nap spray we have two further pillow sprays to help anyone who can’t get to sleep or stay asleep.
Our deep sleep pillow spray is designed for those who struggle to get to sleep, releases an immediate burst of a therapeutic fragrance that is proven to calm a racing mind and ease you to sleep quickly, facilitating a more restful night.
Sleep plus pillow spray is our solution for restless sleepers and those who wake in the early hours, is micro-encapsulated with the fragrance captured in tiny spheres that break on the pillow as you toss and turn, continuously releasing its therapeutic aroma throughout the night, offering immediate and sustained relief to those who struggle to stay asleep and helping to reintroduce a normal sleep pattern.
