my current bedtime routine 🛌

✨ first published August 2019 ✨

many of you know, i’ve had my fair share of insomnia (link)

and sleep has been something i’ve been working on becoming friends with for a long time. issa struggle sometimes, cause so much about establishing a good relationship with rest is encouraging your mind to “let go”, however if you’re thinking about trying to let go, chances are you’re already doing the opposite, you’re focussing on it, “working” on it, which defeats the object right? Chances are, if you’ve ever wrestled with trying to get to sleep, anxiety creeps in about how much you reeeally need to rest, and worrying doesn’t really help anything at all, it’s useless energy unless channelled.

so, to those of you out there who struggle with it now and then, i see you, and i hold space for you, cause i know it’s so hard to wrestle with. and the good news is, if your mind is active and busy and overdoing it, you can put that into something that can better support your day to day. which is why i’m writing this updated piece on my current evening routine with insomnia in mind.

after a pretty brutal bout of anxiety during july, i had to get super serious about an intervention to help me rest.

here’s how it’s looking:

start in the morning.

first i guess it’s helpful to mention that my evening routine starts in the morning. lol. but really, i am trying, where possible to get up earlier. at the moment that’s not a problem as it’s still summertime and light, so will see how this goes. at the moment, i’m waking between 5 and 7.30am. that means i try to bring things forward. which leads me to….

an early evening meal.

between 4 and 6pm. i know. who knew i could be one of those people eh? i used to think i was “continental” but now, i guess the effects of 10 years in Norway, i’ve changed. and you know what, it’s helped!

more games.

i know, for real. i’ve been taking big breaks from socials where possible. i feel like a child when i tell you that games (yes, on my phone) actually help me to relax. i know. to some it doesn’t, but i’m enjoying gentle games that feel meditative to me. they include:

hay day - still! well, i reinstalled it after a couple of years! whose farm can i visit?!

two dots - something soothing about it. good sounds too!

murder in the alps - ok not so seemingly soothing but it’s slow and kind of relaxing. ish.

homescapes - i now have a cat named mingus and probably the only house i’ll ever be able to afford to own again….and i play games in order to decorate it. so, guess this is how it’s going to be eh?

evening yoga practice.

i’ve always enjoyed evening yoga, probably cause that’s how i started and practiced yoga for years. currently taking restorative 20 minute practices with ketil. lots of props. include breathwork. oh. does this sound like a euphemism? it isn’t! but yeah. here’s some videos i made in case they help you.

evening bath.

i mean, Ethel would take a luxurious bath every day if she could. and so i try, as long as it’s not too hot out. epsom salts as standard. not using any essential oils in it at the mo unless it’s in bath milk. soak for at least 20 minutes! usually have the best conversations with ketil at this point and get loads of ideas for the podcast so then feel a bit, um, awake but somehow think the process of soaking and chewing the cud helps to release the day. although always a danger it slips into work. it always slips into work, i can’t lie, but, well, perhaps the talking tires me out?! shrugs 🤷🏽‍♀️

skincare rituals

usual post bath rituals cause i wash my legs and moisturise 🥴

i think skincare, morning or evening, is one of those things that i find so soothing. basic self care, and i know there are folks who tease millennials for this activity + avocado toast + good coffee + plants + living in extortionate expensive rental properties in a suffocating economy - i’m guilty of some of these things and also an elder millennial not millennial (turning 40 this year, i celebrate) but honestly, truly, when the world feels like a dumpster truck fire so often, we need these little joys.

does it help to do some kind of skincare post? or video or something? lemmeknow!

so yeah. moisturisation is key, followed by roll on essential oil blends. currently using neals yard ones…well, for about 5 years or so now. they are good! relaxation is my fave for bedtime.

diffuser

a blend of bergamot, patchouli and a blob of peppermint or rosemary essential oils depending on my mood

dive into book (in bed)

currently reading Patsy. It’s….exquisite!
hey, are you a part of my book club? The Other Bookclub?

aaaaand….

…By this point i’m usually conking out which is frustrating cause reading is what i love the most yet i’m tired - the irony. i can’t complain cause that’s the goal, right? to knacker myself out enough to sleep. and this process usually takes me around 2.5 hours. yeah i know. but…it’s enjoyable for me, and i truly think it takes me this long to wind down from my day! i guess i consider all that stuff in my head that needs some time to process….so i’m just spending some valuable moments cleaning the fuzz from the tumbledrier, you know? so it can work a little better? …is that me being nostalgic for a tumble drier in norway?! it was shared, and nobody else cleared the lint. just me. but i enjoyed it. is this getting weird? or are you my people? if you are, you’re probably into another weird soothing thing i do, watching “process videos”…you’re welcome!

ok! so that’s all! oh, i’m still taking cbd oil by the way. slightly lower dose and sometimes i forget, but so far, the last couple of weeks of this routine has been working well!

i guess it’s important for me to always add that this is of course, simply what i’m trying out and it’s currently working for now! but i’m always open to experimenting and switching things up cause one thing is for sure in this life: change. so not getting too neurotic about this stuff (and up in the head) and instead, appreciate carving out time to process at the end of the day.

so i’d love to know what you think!

tell me about your current evening routine, what works, what you suspect might not. what you would like to try. what turns you right off. i wanna know!

feel free to comment below or tag me someplace! igStories, your own blog, etc.

wishing you a relaxing and easeful night’s rest!

dionne xx

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