Stressed out? Overwhelmed? Feeling physically and mentally drained? Have trouble sleeping at the end of the day?
If you answered yes (and, even if you didn’t) you’ll want to read on so you can explore the wonderfully simple and effective ways that can help you maintain your sanity and gain a greater peace of mind.
Self-care bedtime rituals are not only key to practicing self-love, but also essential for our emotional, physical, creative, spiritual, and mental health.
Let’s face it, whether you are a career girl, working parent, or stay-at-home mom, you probably look forward to the end of the day when you can enjoy the quiet and just relax a bit before you head off to bed. Unfortunately, because of the busy lives we lead and our inability to turn off our brains, finding even a bit of quiet time for ourselves just doesn’t seem possible most days.
Oftentimes, the daily, hectic schedules we’ve created to climb the corporate ladder, support our families or make certain our children’s needs are met don’t really leave time for much else. For many, simply relaxing in the evening or getting a sufficient amount of sleep to recharge for the next day seems more like a dream than reality.
The worry, stress, and anxiety we feel during the day often follow us home from the workplace or are magnified after a tough day at home with the kids. That is why taking care of ourselves in an enjoyable way before heading to bed is so important—especially for those who suffer from insomnia or struggle nightly to fall asleep. So here is the perfect self-care bedtime ritual, including aromatherapy oils, candles, meditation, and finally sinking into the best silk pillowcase for great sleep!
The Importance of Self-Care
The truth is our body, mind, and soul craves self-care. We not only need to spend time on ourselves… we deserve it! With busy mornings, hectic afternoons, and exhausting evenings, there is no better time to indulge yourself with some powerful self-care before you head to bed and close your eyes at the end of the day.
Self-care is so important because it allows us to develop a healthy, positive relationship with ourselves while empowering us to be the best version of ourselves. Practicing self-care not only improves our own quality of life and overall well-being, it also benefits the people around us because we have more energy, compassion, patience, and yes, even more love to give.
Practicing genuine self-care will involve recognizing and accepting your imperfections, while also discovering and exploring new ways to improve yourself—without feeling like you are being selfish.
Bedtime rituals can involve anything from aromatherapy oils and candles to meditation and experiencing the soft sensual feeling of silk enveloping your body or soothing your head as you drift off to sleep on the best silk pillowcase.
Although there are many self-care ‘accessories’ that can help you develop a nighttime routine, the ultimate goal of any self-care bedtime ritual will require being present in the moment as you immerse your mind and body in the peaceful, relaxing environment you have created.
Creating the Perfect Self-Care Bedtime Ritual
The perfect self-care bedtime ritual will engage all of your senses as you calm your mind and relax your body; but first, you’ll want to create a tranquil atmosphere using these tips:
Unplug – Tune in to relaxing and turn off the digital world. Stop checking your email, text messages, and social media. Turn off your cell phone, laptop, tablet, and television.
Dim the lights- Dim bright overhead lighting if possible or turn on a low-watt bedside table lamp. Want an even softer light? Burn a few of your favorite scented candles.
Embrace the quiet- Focus on being completely in the moment, welcome the quiet stillness that envelops you, and practice mindful breathing to clear the day’s thoughts from your mind.
6 Things that Can Enhance Your Self-Care Ritual
- 100% organic silk bedding and the best silk pillowcase- Better sleep means better health, so the bedding you choose is vital to getting a good night’s sleep!
If you truly want to indulge in self-care, Fait avec Coeur's 30 Momme Pure Organic Luxury Silk Bed Sheet Set and/or their heavenly 30 Momme 100% Pure Organic Silk Pillowcase are invaluable investments - it’s the best silk pillowcase on the market. After all, who wouldn’t want to experience the sensual, soft touch of silk caressing your skin as you nestle into bed?
Just a simple, yet luxurious 100% organic silk pillowcase from Fait avec Coeur is the perfect addition to any bedtime ritual. Not only is silk a natural fabric that is soothing for your skin, it can have a huge impact on your quality of sleep. As an added incentive, silk possess anti-aging properties that can help you look radiant and feel refreshed when you wake up.
- Aromatherapy oils- As a holistic treatment that enhances both physical and emotional health, aromatherapy oils are a welcome addition to any self-care ritual. Also known as essential oils, each unique oil works its magic when you inhale the evaporated oils or by topical absorption through the skin.
Aromatherapy oils offer the user a wide range of benefits including but not limited to: managing pain, improving sleep quality, reducing stress, agitation, & anxiety, soothing sore joints & muscles, alleviating headaches and migraines. You can make or buy essential oil sachets that slip under or inside your pillowcase - the Fait avec Coeur silk pillowcase is the best silk pillowcase for this option, as they have a zipper enclosure to ensure your sachet stays in place.
Each of the following essential oils have distinct healing properties, uses, and effects. Choose the one that best suits your mood, preference, and need.
Cypress Eucalyptus
Geranium Ginger
Lavender Lemon
Mandarin Patchouli
Peppermint Chamomile
Rose Rosemary
These essential oils can be used in a number of ways:
- diffusers
- aromatic spritzers
- inhalers
- bathing salts
- body oils, creams, or lotions for massage or topical application
- Candles- One of the most popular, inexpensive ways to practice self-care. Candles not only heighten our sense of smell and invoke a feeling of calmness & serenity, they can be a powerful stimulant for our mental well-being.
As a therapeutic tool, candles have the ability to create an inviting ambiance that transforms your surroundings via the scent. In fact, many of the scents that candles emit not only have a warm, calming effect, they can also have a positive effect on our mood, sleep, memory, and self-confidence.
Always choose a scent you enjoy, but keep in mind that the most soothing scented candles contain:
- Lavender
- Vanilla
- Jasmine
- Rose
- Chamomile
- Sandalwood
- Pamper yourself- You should always take the time to pamper yourself, it’s not a luxury—it’s a necessity!
- Take a warm aromatic bath or shower
- Engage in a nightly beauty routine
- Write in a journal
- Curl up with an inspirational book
- Enjoy a warm cup of your favorite tea
- Make a daily gratitude list of 5 things you are grateful for
- Meditation- We live in a world where it seems we are not only bombarded with new information on a daily basis, we also have to remember a great deal of important information such as appointments, work deadlines, lunch/playdates, grocery lists, special occasions, and the list goes on and on. It’s no wonder our brains never get the opportunity to rest; which is why it is so important to incorporate even just a few minutes of mediation into our nightly self-care rituals.
Whether you use guided meditation audios or visualization tools and breathing techniques, meditation offers a number of benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, reducing stress, and relieving anxiety.
Meditation can be an incredible healing practice at the end of the day because it allows us to transition from a busy, hectic mode to a more relaxed and calming one.
Practicing mindful thinking on a daily basis enables us to mentally separate from our day as we prepare our body and mind for rest. Mediation also teaches us to slow down and be present in the moment so we can clear negative thoughts from our minds and find our inner peace.
While all these self-care practices and accouterments will certainly enhance the process of unwinding at the end of the day, you’ll want to continually incorporate them throughout your nightly ritual if you want your efforts to be successful.
- Sleep with a silk eye mask - Once you’ve set aside intentional time creating a bedtime ritual to shut down the stress and anxiety of daily life, extend that self-care one step further to ensure you fall into a truly restful sleep. Using a silk eye mask helps you fall asleep faster and helps you stay in a peaceful slumber. By blocking even the smallest amount of light from a charging phone, an alarm clock, or a bathroom night light, an eye mask will create complete darkness, thereby triggering your body’s melatonin production to help you fall asleep faster.
What’s more? All those amazing benefits to your skin that we mentioned about using silk bedsheets will apply with your silk eye mask as well! The skin around your eyes is the most delicate, and it’s usually the first to start showing wrinkles. Fall asleep with soft, anti-aging, moisture-saving, hypoallergenic silk to help prevent creases and wrinkles.
Final Thoughts
Bottom line here is—how you end the day is equally important as how you begin it. A consistent, enjoyable self-care bedtime ritual can become a game-changer in your life, especially if your goal is to improve your health and overall well-being.
The self-care bedtime ritual you create will be a uniquely personal one that works for you! Taking time for yourself doesn’t have to involve anything complicated. Sometimes a lit candle, a warm aromatic bath, or laying your head on the best silk pillowcase or eye mask against your skin is all you need at the end of the day.
A self-care bedtime ritual is important because it allows you some much needed ‘me time’ at the end of the day. Equally important, performing your self-care ritual will enable you to transition into a relaxed state—which is crucial for getting restorative sleep. A restful night’s sleep is key to feeling balanced, centered, and regenerated… so you can tackle the new day ahead and all the days to come!
All of Fait avec Coeur's silk products are OEKO-TEX®, BSCI, and ISO certified.
