Sleep tips
Fall Is Wellness Season: Feel-Good Moments at Home
By Deluxe Sleep · Published on
Fall Is Wellness Season: Feel-Good Moments at Home
Every year it comes around again: the leaves turn colorful, the days grow shorter, rain and fog become almost a daily occurrence – fall has arrived. Barbecue evenings with friends and after-work trips to the outdoor pool are a thing of the past. Instead, use the fall season to relax. Sweet idleness and feel-good moments in the evening are not only good for the soul – they also improve your sleep quality in a lasting way.
Warming the heart with tea and hot milk
Are your fingers still numb from the rain and wind? Then a hot drink helps you warm up. Herbal infusions of lemon balm, lavender, hops, passionflower and valerian not only warm you but also have a sleep-promoting effect. If you're not in the mood for tea, a cup of warm milk with honey also helps you relax. That's because milk contains a relatively large amount of L-tryptophan, an amino acid (a protein building block). The body cannot produce L-tryptophan itself, so it has to be obtained through food. Once the amino acids reach the brain, the body turns them into serotonin and then into the sleep hormone melatonin. The fructose in the honey and the warmth ensure that the L-tryptophan is absorbed more quickly. Whether tea or hot milk: with a warm belly, falling asleep and staying asleep is that much easier.
Literary treats as a bedtime snack
Anyone who reads a book before falling asleep has been shown to enjoy better-quality sleep in the long run. Why is that? An engrossing book helps us dive into the fictional world of the story and forget everything around us. Worries and stress, which cause poor sleep, are replaced by creativity and imagination. If you always read shortly before going to bed, you create a routine over time: the body learns that reading is always followed by sleep – so after a while, the time it takes to fall asleep automatically gets shorter. But be careful when reading on a smartphone or tablet: the bright light of the screen suppresses the release of melatonin, since the sleep hormone is only released in darkness. If you still can't keep your hands off your tablet and the like, we recommend software or an app that tints the screen in yellow or orange tones. Do you only have old, dusty books lying around at home, or are you not much of a reader? Then perhaps a podcast or music is a suitable alternative. The SRF series Schreckmümpfeli, for example, is a cult short crime radio drama written by Swiss authors. But be warned: only for those with strong nerves!
There's something in the air… scents for well-being
Have you ever heard of the French writer Marcel Proust (1871-1922)? Then you surely know the madeleine effect. In this phenomenon, a taste or a smell evokes very specific memories – as is the case, for example, in the famous madeleine scene in Proust. How does it work? Scents travel through the airways into the limbic system, where our emotions are also generated and memories are stored. Scents and emotions are therefore closely linked. Does a Chalet fragrance diffuser perhaps remind you of your last ski vacation in the mountains? Then make use of this effect. In a relaxed mood, it's much easier to find sleep afterward.
Cozy blanket, hot water bottle, foot bath & co.
For many, fall and winter are cold-feet season. Falling asleep then feels downright impossible. But it doesn't have to be that way: wool socks or foot baths bring relief for cold extremities, while hot water bottles also warm cold legs, cramped stomachs, stressed backs or tense necks. On top of that, these sources of warmth provide relaxation and comfort. Medicine and wellness in one – what more could you want? With these aids, you're a good deal closer to falling asleep quickly and sleeping restfully. Incidentally, a kind of hot water bottle has existed for centuries: so-called warming spheres made of gold, copper or bronze were filled with glowing coal or hot iron and, until the 18th century, kept priests' fingers warm in church.
Whether it's a hot tea, evening reading, a pleasant scent or a hot water bottle – with simple means and methods you can create relaxing feel-good moments at home and lastingly improve the quality of your sleep. Well-rested and refreshed, it's easier to start into a gray fall day too.
If you're looking for the right bedding or a fragrance diffuser for your feel-good evenings, we're happy to advise you in our showroom in Bischofszell.
Source: This article is based on an article from the BICO sleep blog (bico.ch). The research findings, product developments and test results mentioned in it come from BICO or from the third parties named in each case.