New Year – New You…

Or is it?

Are New Year resolutions an opportunity to embrace change that will enhance your life or just another reason you’ll feel like a failure because you haven’t managed to stick to your new regime?

As we begin a new year, there’s often pressure felt to make changes and improvements in our lives. The idea of a “new year, new you” can be exciting, but intimidating too.

How many of us have made resolutions, following them enthusiastically until one morning we sleep in, grab a slice of lavishly buttered toast on the go, buy a high calorie lunch and then later feel too tired to exercise or take our make-up off? Yep, been there with the end result being “Stuff it – this is too hard. I’ll never manage to keep this up”. Failure; once again you feel rubbish. Never mind; next year…

Realistically, does it matter? What really matters is that we feel happy.

Perhaps we just need to implement a few small changes, and not even all at the same time, to make a big difference to our happiness levels. Imagine if we could just get one thing in our lives under control this month? Next month we’ll move onto something else.

By succeeding at one small thing, we automatically feel accomplished and empowered to tackle the more seemingly difficult tasks.

Let’s have a look at one of them:

Get more sleep – seems obvious, but it’s really difficult to do! I know I have FOMO (fear of missing out) and find it impossible to go to bed in case I miss out on something! Could be a TV programme or just a bit of conversation! However, I do realise the benefits of getting enough sleep and decided to set myself a target of getting to bed 30 minutes earlier at least 5 nights a week.

When I think about all the health benefits of getting enough sleep it certainly makes it a more worthwhile proposition.

Here’s just a few benefits of getting enough sleep:

• You’ll be much less irritable and will get along better with others

• Your risk of developing serious health problems will be reduced

• You’ll get sick less often as your immune system will be stronger

• You’ll maintain your weight more easily

• You’ll be able to think more clearly and have better focus.

All good reasons to get more sleep.

When I manage to get more sleep, I feel great; really accomplished! And it’s incredible just how quickly you start noticing the benefits of regular sufficient sleep. I have more energy, wake up earlier and more easily and get so much more done in a day.

Of course another challenge could be actually getting to sleep!

Why is it when you go to bed and you’re tired, you just can’t nod off, but toss and turn seeing every hour on the clock? Ladies of a certain age will know exactly what I’m talking about as they listen to their partner blissfully snoozing beside them. It’s a good job we don’t cook in the bedroom as the rolling pin and frying pan might find new uses! Anyone with a stressful job, young children or other unusual circumstances may find sleep patterns interrupted or reduced occasionally. Long term this will be detrimental so what can we do about it?

Well, actually there’s quite a lot.

There’s things you can do at home, such as take a relaxing bath with nice scents and candles. Turn the TV off an hour before bedtime or at least watch something relaxing and not unpleasant. So the News is a no go.

Do your skincare routine, but take time to enjoy it. Apply some nourishing body lotion.

Try a bedtime yoga routine with relaxation techniques. Listen to soft music. I ask Alexa to play “Music to Sleep”. It’s amazing!

Certain herbal remedies can help too. There are CBD, Melatonin, Valerian, Magnesium, Lavender and Glycine. There will be many others too, but these ones are all well known for their sleep enhancing properties.

There are various ways to use herbal supplements. Massaged onto skin, taken orally in tea, tincture, tablet or powder form, as a room spray, in the bath. Trial is best. Find one that suits you to get the best results.

Certain salon treatments can help too. Here we’ll look at a few of them.

Indian Head Massage – with gentle soothing massage to the head, face, neck and scalp, tension is reduced and people quite often find themselves falling asleep during the treatment! If you couple this with CBD, the soothing and balancing properties of the massage balm and tinctures help to reduce anxiety levels and promote better quality sleep.

CBD Massage – Full Body or back massage. Again, the gentle massage movements with CBD tinctures, balm and oils stimulate the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the body to balance sleep patterns and reduce anxiety.

Taking a CBD supplement at home can help you to fall asleep quicker and stay asleep. It’s easy to use and is completely legal, being classified in the UK as a food supplement. The THC levels (the part of the cannabis plant that produces the psychotic effect) have been greatly reduced or removed so it won’t show up in any work-based drug screens.

Ear Candling is a super relaxing treatment too. Many people report feeling more relaxed and in a better mood after ear candling. The process of ear candling may reduce stress and anxiety by clearing the ears and sinuses, which can allow for improved breathing as well. For many people this has been an effective way to help with sleep!

Hopefully I’ve given you some food for thought. Why not try it for two weeks to see how you get on? And don’t beat yourself up if you only manage to get to bed earlier one or two nights. That’s still improvement and once you’ve proved to yourself that you can do it once, you can do it again!

Last year I was rarely in bed before 11 pm. Now I’m rarely in bed after 11 pm. I still have a way to go, but instead of feeling like a failure because I haven’t managed to get to bed earlier every night. I am really happy that already I feel better about doing something positive about my health.