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Can't sleep? Here's what to do

Tired of being tired? So are we. Everyone and their nan seems to be talking about how little sleep they’re getting. Blame it on the change in seasons, your kids waking you up every hour, the positioning of the moon or simply our always-on culture: chasing those eight hours of sleep is getting harder and harder. We might not be experts, but we’ve all been swapping tips on the Island to help each other fall asleep and we thought we’d share them with you.

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Start Early

A good night’s sleep starts way before your head (finally) hits the pillow. Like most things, it’s all about the preparation.

First thing’s first: limit your caffeinated beverages and try avoid drinking them after 2pm. If you’re craving a hot drink to get you into the cosy mood, a team RI tip is to swap out your tea or coffee for a caffeine-free vanilla chai.

Next, we've all heard about the dreaded blue-light exposure making it harder to drift into dreamland, so try to put your phone away at least 30 minutes before bed.

Finally, start winding down early. Our Islanders’ favourite way to do this? A bath. Hand the kids to your partner, light those candles, pour in your RI bath salts and prepare to soak away your worries. You’ll be feeling positively sleepy in no time.

Dress for Dreaming

They say that new workout clothes can make working out even easier. Well, we say the same about sleep. Whether you’re more into a silky-smooth set or a soft jersey pairing, the perfect pair of PJs is *imperative* to a good night’s sleep. Dress for the sleep you want... or something like that. Let us set the scene: you’ve made your way out of your relaxing bath, covered yourself in your most delicious-smelling body butter, wiped off the remnants of your hydrating face mask, your kids are sleepily tucked away in bed and now you’re finally ready to slip into your comfiest pair of PJs – bliss.

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Pillow Talk

It’s time for the bedroom talk. Your bedroom should be where the magic happens (and by magic, we mean sleep), *not* where the work happens. If you can, try work or study somewhere else in your home so you can reserve your bedroom for top-tier relaxation only. This will make switching out of work mode and into sleep mode even easier. If you need a little bit more help, create your very own sleep sanctuary with our Islander’s top tips: set the mood with low lighting, and your favourite candle (we recommend RI’s Vanilla and Sandalwood candle) and curate a sleepy-time playlist (whether it’s filled with whale noises, soft rainfall or Stephen Fry narrating Harry Potter – no judgement). Bonus points for fresh sheets.

The Last Resort

Okay, you’re in bed and you’ve done *all* the preparation: your environment is positively Zen (thanks to RI's delicious home scent range), you couldn’t be more comfortable, you haven’t had a coffee since 2pm, your kids are actually sleeping through the night (shock) and your eyes haven’t been blasted by blue light in hours. BUT, you still can’t fall asleep - sigh. Here are a few tricks for coping with sleeplessness in the moment.

You're probably tired of hearing about mindfulness and deep breathing, but it really does work. We recommend trying the 4-7-8 technique which forces you to stop overthinking and start focusing on your breathing. How to do it? Inhale for four counts, hold for seven and exhale for eight. It's as easy as that. Try do four rounds at first, slowly building up to eight.