Day 4 Op. Snooze

Relaxing at 'Zzzed-time'

How are you coming along? Don't worry if you need to space out the actions in these emails. Allow yourself the time to do the work - that's what counts. Today, we are going to continue with improving your pre-sleep (your zzzedtime) routines.

You can read the text ahead and/or dive straight in by downloading the audio tip and audio relaxation for use today and tonight - so click on the download and read no further unless you want to dig a bit deeper.

Your Downloads for today:

I want to focus your mind on developing your relaxation practice as you settle in for sleep. Taking time to relax before sleep can pay dividends in terms of sleep quality. Your new sleep routine (from yesterday's email task) will greatly help. Try developing your relaxation routine with the following:

Your task today:

As part of your routine, consider building in some specific relaxation rituals. Here are three things to consider as well as a bonus audio resources for you:

1. Build in 5 to 10 minutes of relaxation practice. There are many different ways of encouraging your body and mind to relax, but let's keep it simple. After all, your aim here is to create some simple routines and rituals upon which you can build. Try an audio guided relaxation that focuses on something (whether that be your breath, your body, or visualisation). I have attached 10 minute audio guided time-out of my own. Click on the download button to access. In it I encourage you to focus your attention on your breath. Settle into bed and give yourself ten minutes to listen to the audio and try it over a few nights.

2. Alternatively, if you find my voice doesn't work for you, have a search on Google, You Tube, Sound Cloud or Spotify for other recordings.

3. Beware late night meals including caffeine drinks and alcohol. This can really disrupt your relaxation efforts. I'm a party pooper I know, but this can really disrupt your sleep. In relation to alcohol especially, it may feel useful in that it can help 'knock you out' for sleep, but it disrupts sleep quality and you can find yourself waking up in the early hours as your body gets to grips with eliminating it from your body. Having said that - evidence suggests a light 100-200 cal snack (some argue protein rich, some carbohydrate rich - experiment and see what works for you).