Self-care is the key to happiness and happiness comes when you sleep properly. Changing lifestyle and staying healthy can help you sleep better. However, sometimes you need some products to help you stay relaxed. A relaxing body wash or aromatic candles, sometimes your body needs your attention way too much. Pampering yourself is another way of getting rid of insomnia.
Our fourth sleep influencer is Sleepy Slumber, also known as Ms. Sleep.
Sleepy Slumber, who calls herself a struggling sleeper is trying to help people with their sleep issues. You’d find amazing product reviews on the Instagram page of Sleepy Slumber. We all are struggling to sleep and today we got a chance to ask Sleepy Slumber how to make it easier to sleep and stay healthy.
Let’s begin!
Hi,
Your Instagram bio is a perfect way of describing the importance of sleep in our lives. According to you, “sleep is the fundamental part of self-care”. But we’ve seen and we are seeing people getting troubled with insomnia. How do you think we can make it easier for those who are suffering from insomnia to achieve a good amount of sleep for good self-care?
I think understanding what the underlying issues that are causing insomnia are really important. Often sleep apnea is confused with “normal snoring” and affects people’s sleep. Speaking to a Dentist or GP can help in these areas and get people better sleep.
For myself, as someone who suffers from insomnia, it is a combination of things. I have asthma, anxiety and I did not have a good bedtime/sleep time ritual. I didn’t go to bed at the same time each night and each night I always struggled. I obviously needed medical intervention with my asthma, and I engaged in therapy for my anxiety. But I still needed to create a good routine at home, and for me, I found taking my asthma medicine, lighting candles, using a product I love the smell of, making a list of my worries and saying to my anxiety “I will deal with this tomorrow” worked a bit. It doesn’t always work, but I now get a lot more sleep than I used to!
Self-care has to be individual, the only person who can find out what works for you is you. And sometimes it can be as simple as making sure you get appropriate help for a sleep issue. I’m not a professional (in sleep), but I do know from personal experience that a good night’s sleep makes me feel amazing and gets me ready for the day ahead.
You promote sleep-inducing and relaxing products on Instagram. These products are some external ways of helping the body to relax and rest. Have you ever used these products yourself? Why do you think we should go for sleep-inducing products?
I review these products because I am an insomniac. Everything that is on my Instagram is tried by me personally for at least 3 days.
Smells are useful for associating yourself and tricking your brain into relaxing. Also, if you have a lovely smelling pillow spray, you are more likely to do long deep breaths. The deep breathing helps to relax you and it just might help you drop off to sleep. Then over time, your brain will realise what to do and go “oh, I know! It’s time for sleep!”.
In addition, lavender and magnesium when absorbed through the skin do help to relax the muscles, which if you’re very tense, how can you relax? As much as there are some good sleep-inducing tablets such as melatonin or diphenhydramine, for example, will lose their effectiveness over time, it’s not a good idea to rely on them for good night sleep. And finally, I love a sleep mask, through this process, I am completely a convert to wearing a sleep mask.
On regular intervals, you also suggest your followers seek medical help. But there are varieties of non-clinical insomnia out there, which are mostly non-chronic or periodic. In these cases, what are the parameters to decide whether it’s a serious thing and a person needs to meet a professional or not? In simple words, how do we decide whether we need a professional’s help to cure our insomnia or not?
That is a good question. I personally think that if you have access to a GP or Dentist then it doesn’t hurt to mention it. Especially when it comes to sleep apnea as that is a very sneaky disorder!
If you have a partner, they can be useful for noticing what you are doing that stops you from sleeping. For example, Mr Sleep right up to bedtime will be on his phone or on the computer, and that is awful for getting some sleep. He hadn’t put these things together to why he wasn’t sleeping well. He’s a clever man, but sometimes you need an outside perspective to notice what you can improve with regards to your sleep. This helps with issues with mental health too, some will trick you into thinking that you don’t deserve help, but a partner or a family member can help you to get help.
Since you’re helping so many people to sleep better, why don’t you share your sleep schedule with us? What do you do when you are unable to sleep or relax?
That is a brilliant idea! I love a candle, depending on my asthma either a pillow spray or a candle, sometimes both. I am a big fan of baths. I love to relax in the bath before bed with Epson or magnesium salts and reading a good book.
If I’m really struggling, a weighted blanket helps me to relax, and avoid watching the clock. Otherwise, all I do is spend my time counting how many hours of sleep I can possibly get.
And if I’m really struggling, melatonin or diphenhydramine to make sure I can drop off.
Of all the products you recommend to your followers, which one do you think is the best (especially for someone who is suffering from insomnia)? And what makes you think it’s the best product? Please share with us!
Anything with magnesium, I love BetterYou various products and Neom magnesium cream. I get a lot of tension in my shoulders and this works wonders! I can feel the tension melting away, absolutely love it!
For a long time, you were also suffering from insomnia and that’s how you came up with this idea of starting a blog and archiving all your experiences. Now, after getting good exposure and amazing responses from your followers, do you really think you’ve got what you wanted to get? And what about sleep – do you sleep well now? If yes, how have you managed to achieve these peaceful sleepy nights?
In all honesty, I didn’t think anyone would pay any attention to it. I started it when my insomnia was at its worst, and I tried a moon milk recipe at 4 am in the morning. And I thought this is rubbish and a waste of my time! Why hasn’t someone tried this and saved me the bother of trying something that doesn’t work? So I thought I’ll set that up for myself, and maybe some people will find that useful. It was a hobby really, and I have learnt so much about how to care for myself in this area. Some nights I still get caught out with insomnia, either because of my asthma, anxiety or quite frankly it’s a rubbish product!
And the last question is actually for a suggestion. What do you suggest to the new and emerging sleep influencers to keep in mind while helping people with their sleep issues? What are the key points they should follow to gain stable attention from their followers?
Oooh, blumming heck! Erm.. I think enjoy it, have fun and don’t follow what other people are doing. I think people like to follow and engage with people who are genuine and don’t put too much pressure on themselves about likes or followers. That is definitely going to cause you some sleepless nights.
Thank you!
Our Pillow Talk with Sleepy Slumber was super refreshing. If you feel you can also try some relaxing products to calm yourself down, check her Instagram page for some amazing and honest reviews.
Who knows what could help you sleep like a baby! Maybe a bath bomb or some aromatic candles. Why not try yourself.
Featured Photo from sleepyslumber
Written by Shahana Khatoon
This is a post by Shahana Khatoon, who is currently pursuing an MA in English. She loves to read, write and explore. She believes poetry can cure anything in this world, even sleep deprivation. If you want to know how and which poems can cure insomnia then you can talk to her and follow her on Instagram.