03/09/2025
🌿 Wellbeing Lifestyle Shift
Why this easy bedside set up is helping you down-regulate?
We spend most of our day in an up-regulated state, responding to external stimuli, our bodies producing cortisol and adrenaline which activate our sympathetic nervous system or 'fight or flight' response.
In a down-regulated state; we feel calm, find it easier to fall asleep, have lower blood pressure, regulate our breathing and so many more beautiful aligned human feelings that come when we switch to our parasympathetic nervous system.
This little lifestyle switch is an easy but powerful way to book-end your day and start to minimise your stimuli and therefore the time spent in an up-regulated state.
📱 Get an analogue clock and leave your phone out of the bedroom.
- I used my phone as a clock for middle of the night toddler wake-ups. Switching to a clock with a light means I don't see any notifications or blue lights at 2am! You're also not tempted to check it before bed or first thing in the morning.
📚 Use a note book to download your day or list anything you're likely to be worrying about for tomorrow.
❤️ Use an essential oil hand cream as the last thing you do before going to sleep. The aroma will help calm your nervous system and this simple ritual done nightly will signify to your body it's time to rest.
Lifestyle switches can come with anxiety as you get used to new habits especially where you forego something or feel pulled towards tech. You may want to ease your way into:
📺 An evening with precisely zero TV. Get lost in the art of conversation, take a bath or read a book.
🌳 Getting outside after dinner - even if just sitting in the garden. We tend to retreat indoors and avoid that end of day natural de-stressor.
☕ Avoid caffeine after midday. Try decaff, herbal teas or hot water and ginger or lemon for a seasonal boost.
💻 Plan people-facing meetings at the start and end of the day with the majority of screen time, messaging and email-time in the middle of your day. This way your emails don't dictate the order of your day.
The main aim in this modern world is to spend less time with upregulating stimuli as often as possible. It's as simple as that.
