Hong Kong: a city that never sleeps.
Neither do the people who live there.
Maybe it’s the intense work culture. Maybe it’s the non-stop nightlife.
Or, maybe it’s just an addiction to stalking exes on Instagram at all hours of the night
Whatever it is, we aren’t sleeping enough, and it’s hurting us.
Or as Matthew Walker puts it, “The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life.”
So is that it?
Are we just a generation of insomniacs destined to roam any of the hundreds of 7-Elevens within 1km of our apartment at 2 am wondering if the milk in your fridge is expired yet or not?
Well…sort of. But we’ve got hope. Even as I type this past midnight.
Here are my top 4 easy ways you can do for better sleep
- Limit caffeine intake after 12 p.m and replace it with chamomile tea.
Naturally caffeine-free, made from dried flowers, a relative to the daisy. The sweet goodness acts as a nerve tonic and a sleeping aid. It’s relaxing qualities come from apigenin, which is a chemical found in the plant that binds to receptors in your brain and literally calms your nerves. One cup of chamomile tea 30 minutes before bed makes wonders.
- Meditation – by far the most natural, medication-free tool you can invest in to help you beat insomnia!
Guided, sleeping meditation, mantra meditation, it’s entirely up to you.
Many friends were trying to convince me to meditate and from my experience, people come to meditation when they are ready. I use this cool free app Insight Timer which has more than 30 000 free meditations that you can filter by length. Start small with 5 to 10 minutes before going to sleep and in no time you can feel the difference not only in your sleep but also in your well-being. I personally have a favourite sleeping meditation called “Breathing into Sleep” that sends me to Dreamland.
- Massage
I swear by it! One of the biggest benefits of living in Asia is the accessibility of massage places on every corner. It’s affordable and a form of self-care.
I truly recommend trying Head massage. It’s another level of relaxation. I always feel lighter, peaceful and very zen.
- Floating
For anyone who is not familiar, floating is lying in the individual tank or ‘DreamPod’ with 10 inches of water and 500kg of Epsom Salts dissolved in it. This allows your body to forget about gravitation for a while and float effortlessly on the surface. The whole experience lasts 1 hour. The benefits from floating vary from Reducing stress and anxiety to relieving chronic migraine. Every time after flotation I felt like a new, calmer version of myself. No wonder, I found out that 1 hour of floatation equals 4-5 hours of sleep. Go float, you won’t regret it!
- A bonus one
The bedroom should look different than the office.
Charge your phone in another room, hard to reach and avoid scrolling on the internet a few hours before going bed. Give yourself time for the simple things in life as reading a book before bed. Making this as bedtime ritual can put your mind and body in the appropriate mindset of good night sleep.
Getting enough sleep is critical to every aspect of our mental, physical and even creative well being.
What kind of significant changes you can make? Small steps can have a large impact. Especially when it comes to sleep.
What works best for you and how much sleep do you need to thrive? Share with me here
