Last week, we quickly jot over some tips for easing back after the holiday season. These tips can totally work for staying consistent, yet sane during the season as well!
Here is a quick refresher in case you forgot…
1. Sleep… 8 hours is ideal. Consistency will help.
2. Nutrition and Hydrate… Doesn’t have to be complicated during this time, just doable.
3. Move… Get blood flow in some sort of way.
4. Mindset… Be realistic and OK with not feeling in the best shape. Instead of going for your fasted time, go for perfection in movement until you feel like you are ready to push hard again.
Let’s start diving a little deeper into each one though.
Starting with Sleep.
Yes, ideally you should be getting 8 hours or more of sleep. However, the holiday season is a hectic time, so it is understandable if some night you do not get 8+ hours.
What we do not want though is the stress of the season keeping you up and ruining your chances to sleep 8+ hours.
If this is you.. AIM FOR CONSISTENCY. This will help keep your sleep cycle in a routine, which will make it easier to fall asleep and allow you to sleep when you can.
Create consistency by…
– Going to bed around the same time every night.
– Implementing a sleep time routine.
If you pair these two together long enough, your body will naturally start winding down.
Creating a sleep time routine…
The point of this is to establish a routine that tells your CNS (Central Nervous System) that it is time to relax. Think of tasks that calm you down and start doing them around the same time every night.
Here is a list of relaxing activities that you can implement into a sleep time routine:
– Meditating
– Breath Work
– Journaling
– Reading (Pick a boring book though. You wouldn’t want to be going to bed all jacked up thinking about what is to come next in your book).
– Epsom Salt Bath
– Stretching
– Give yourself an oil massage
You can also pair one of these with a
Sleep Time Tea which contains adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha or valerian that help calm the body down.
SIDE NOTE: If you go to the bathroom frequently in the middle of the night, cut water off an hour or two before bed so it does not wake you in the middle of the night.
Athletes may also want to add a small bedtime carb snack to help bring down cortisol level and give the body recovery fuel.
Downregulating the CNS (central nervous system) takes time and work just like a muscle. Once you decide on your sleep time routine stick to it and build your muscle.
Need help putting together a sleep time routine or staying accountable? Email us!
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