For a long time, an unpleasant artifact from my college waitressing days when shifts began at 4pm and ended around 2 am was the irritating inability to fall asleep at normal hours. I have over the years reversed this to some extent but my circadian rhythm does not still feel quite the best. Though I can now sleep way before midnight and function well around 8 am, I confess that I am still a little jealous of my friends and hubby who can wake up at 6 am, chock-full of energy and ready to change the world.In order to even envision waking up so early, I figure that I would have to sleep at 10 pm because without 8 full hours I can barely function. My Christmas gift from my sweetheart certainly helps: I got an amazing heated back massage pad which we draped over my home office chair. It gives me countless hours of pure bliss. A short back massage from it before bed is heavenly. Cuddling with the baby, dog and baby daddy helps too. :)
Then, of course, there is the typical warm shower. I purchased this yumm mint body wash and Mentha shampoo/conditioner too recently to elevate my blah routine daily showers and help me relax. Aaaah, mission accomplished on a thousand levels. These are so great, with amazing aromas and full of peppermint oils that will blow your mind and give your body that tingly-tangy feel, like cold cream but only better. Maybe the hot water combo puts it over the top.
I also try to minimize the time online right before bed. Then, again, sometimes, this girl has got to work. No one said that 10 page-long science journal papers (or anything work-related) are fun to peruse at night but seldomly, no, I'm lying, actually, a lot of times, that happens. So when I came across this useful free app which it makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and sunlight-like during the day, I knew I had to try it. By removing the blue light at night and giving your screen a soft sepia tone it is designed to reinforce your correct circadian rhythm and help you relax in spite of using your gadgets before bed. At the beginning it was hard getting used to the low-lighted screen but hang in there. I am beginning to like the diffused glow that makes my mac screen look very pretty right now (at 7 pm).
Here is another very cute purchase we made lately, quite fitting with the daily thread. :) Love this creative idea and I may be buying it for friends who will become new parents, as a (sort of) gag gift. Speaking of useless but awesome gag gifts for new parents, before Jack was born we received this in triplicate! And it is very, very funny.
I would love to hear how you wind down at the end of the day, my dears. Any sweet ideas, or something so very efficient that we all need to hear about?
Photo by .tara.
