Sleep Hygiene

Sleep is a precious thing, not only because of all the mental and physical health benefits, but just simply because we're often tired and it has become a scarcity. Sometimes our work or commitments pull us away from a full, restful night's sleep, and other times we toss and turn, struggling to fall asleep. Or, maybe we find ourselves more productive at night and tend to push off sleep in favor of (finally!) getting some work done.

This week, we're learning about sleep hygiene and how we can protect our precious sleep.
woman sleeping

Table of Contents

The Idea of the Week

Have you ever procrastinated sleep in favor of enjoying leisure activities? This is a fairly common phenomenon called Revenge Bedtime Procrastination (a 5-minute read), in which we sacrifice sleep in order to relax, wind down, and do something that we want to do that our busy schedule didn’t permit us to do during the day. While revenge bedtime procrastination has its consequences, we can adopt good sleep hygiene to improve our sleep quality and end our bedtime procrastination. 

If you follow Daylight Savings Time, the clocks are turning back this weekend, and while the extra hour gained back is delightful (an extra hour of sleep? woo!), it can also disrupt our sleep habits. So, here are a few tips (a 5-minute read) to protect your sleep as we approach the changing clocks. 

When we’re tired, we often associate it with needing to sleep, but while we learn about sleep this week, it’s important to keep in mind the other types of rest we need (18-minute video): physical, social, mental and emotional, creative, sensory, and spiritual rest. 

Practice of the Week

A good way to create a sleep routine is to follow your body’s natural sleep cycle. When we wake up in the middle of a sleep cycle, we’re likely to feel groggy and tired, but when we wake up between sleep cycles, we’re more likely to feel refreshed and alert. This online sleep calculator is a great tool to calculate the best times to wake up based on our sleep cycles, or alternatively, calculate the best times to fall asleep in order to wake up at a specific time. 

If your goal is to consistently wake up early in the morning, Rowena Tsai shares 4 practical tips (13-minute video) to wake up early. Even if you don’t want to wake up early, you can still integrate these useful tips into your sleep routine so you wake up feeling refreshed and not so groggy:

  1. Reduce decision fatigue in the morning. Make your decisions the evening before, such as choosing an outfit, packing, and deciding what you’ll eat for breakfast.
  2. Your day actually starts the night before. Waking up early means knowing how much time you need to sleep and then planning your day around that. (This is when our handy-dandy sleep calculator can help us out!)
  3. Choose your alarm wisely. Do you really want the frantic, blaring alarm to be the first thing you hear in the morning? Try choosing a tone that won’t jerk you out of sleep, but rather gently rise you from your slumber, like the gradual crescendo of birds chirping.
  4. Know your “why” for waking up early. Understanding why you want to wake up early can help motivate you to achieve your goal and adjust your goals and process so you achieve good sleep hygiene. 

How will you protect your sleep this week? Let us know on our Instagram or Facebook page!

News of the Week

Save the Dates!We will have a Forest Therapy Nature Immersion on November 20, 1-3 pm at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, Cazenovia.

On this 2-hour Forest Therapy Walk, Certified Forest Therapy Guide, June Leo-Randazzo, will guide you on a gentle, slow, and mindful stroll on the trails of Stone Quarry Art Park in Cazenovia. You’ll leave behind the stresses of the world and get in touch with the healing powers of the forest. A highly interactive and respectful experience, you’ll have opportunities to sit quietly in contemplation with the invitations offered, as well as share with others in the small group—all at a safe physical distance outdoors. 
The walk will end with a tea ceremony using wild foraged plants from the area and snacks. 
Click here to learn more and register!

We will also have a Sound Bath and Reiki on December 3, 3:30-5 pm at the Breathing Space Studio in Erieville.


Anxiety Group for Middle School Girls

This group is HYBRID. You can join online or in-person at the Breathing Space Studio in Erieville!

To register or learn more about this group,
please contact Kayla at [email protected].


Have an idea for a group you would like to see? Send your requests in an email to [email protected] with the subject “Group Ideas.”


The Thought of the Week

Wishing you a peaceful week!

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