A restful night of sleep is one of the most beneficial experiences the body can have, but what about those nights when you don’t get enough sleep? The body exhibits many negative side effects in response to sleep deprivation.
I pride myself in having a bedtime ritual that normally nets about seven hours of sleep each night. I recently experienced an episode of waking at 3:30 a.m. on consecutive days. My mind raced with thoughts and concerns from previous days to worries about what the new day would bring. I was exhausted and it was clearly reflected by my appearance.
To help clear my mind, I decided to add journaling to my bedtime ritual. Studies have shown that writing thoughts on paper helps to reduce mental clutter. I simply wrote a letter to myself acknowledging all the things on my mind, with a plan that I’d deal with them in the coming days.
The outcome has been restful nights of sleep, a great mood and good energy.