Tag Archives: sleep

Mar13

Sleep Trouble: What’s Keeping You Awake At Night?

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Sleep Trouble: What’s Keeping You Awake At Night?

There’s been a growing trend in the wellness, health, and fitness industries towards helping people get a better night’s sleep. Given that around 45 percent of all individuals in the country are struggling to catch enough sleep every night, that can only be a good thing. Regular readers of my blog might remember my struggles with getting good sleep, and there’s every chance that almost half of you reading this will be experiencing something similar. And it’s a huge issue. You end up being less productive in the day, it affects your general health, and it can even result in conditions such as obesity, depression, and diabetes.

Scary, right? And it’s no surprise that many of us want to fix out sleep problems! The key to that is, of course, working out why you can’t get to sleep properly, which will give you the chance to address the issue. So, in today’s guide, we’re going to go through some of the most common factors that are lying behind many people’s sleep problems. Let’s take a closer look:

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Zzzzz

Physical Pain: First of all, do you have pain problems? If you have a bad back or suffer from regular headaches, for example, it can be affecting your sleep. Try taking a warm shower or bath before going to bed – it will relax your muscles and give you the chance of getting a better quality of sleep than you are having right now. See your doctor, too, and talk to them about some basic pain management tips. Your doc might recommend heat pads or even painkillers on a temporary basis. Long-term care might involve physiotherapy or you could try an activity like yoga. Namaste.

Mental Anguish: Other common causes of poor sleep are stress and anxiety. In an increasingly busy and stressful world, many of us battle against active brains that prevent us from getting some shut-eye. Most people will experience this at some point. The mind goes into overdrive, going through all of your problems in fine detail, and the more you think, the more your anxiety levels increase – meaning you slip into a vicious feedback loop. Yoga can help with this issue, as can mindfulness – the key to getting over your problem is to try and turn off your brain and prevent those intrusive thoughts from occurring in the first place.

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Admittedly not the best place to fall asleep!

Environmental Issues: There is a vast range of environmental issues that can prevent you from sleeping properly. Internal factors include bed bugs, which can keep you up at night and cause intense itching, according to the Pest Control of Alabama. There are also external factors such as noise pollution and noisy neighbors, too – could the outside world be keeping you up at night?

Think about installing double – or triple – glazed windows if you want to reduce the impact of the former. For the latter, you have to play it carefully,. Talk to your neighbors first and most will tone it down a little. However, you can also contact your local EHP practitioner to act on your behalf if they continue to cause you problems.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Mar7

Sore Throat When You Wake Up?

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Sore Throat When You Wake Up?

Do you wake up from a refreshing night’s sleep only to find that your morning has been ruined before it’s even got started as you feel that familiar pain when you swallow? Having a sore throat in the morning is a fairly common complaint and although it’s irritating, it is rarely a cause for concern. Of course, just because a sore throat isn’t going to kill you doesn’t mean that it can’t be really annoying when it happens, which is why you need to know what you are dealing with so that you can put your morning sore throats to bed once and for all. Here are some of the most common causes of sore throats upon waking:

Snoring: When you snore, your mouth is open and your throat can get quite dry because of all the air that you are taking in. If you wake up only to find that your throat is hoarse and dry, it could be that you are snoring and should try to record yourself sleeping for a few nights or ask your sleeping partner to listen out, if you have one. If you are snoring a lot, take a look at http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/easy-snoring-remedies#1 to sort the problem out and start waking up pain-free.

Dehydration: If you don’t drink enough fluids before you hit the hay or if your room is too dry, you could become dehydrated through the night. This, like snoring, can cause your throat to dry up and become sore.

Acid Reflux: If you wake up not only to a sore throat but also to an unpleasant sour taste in your mouth, there is a good chance that acid reflux could be the problem. Acid reflux is a condition in which the acid in your stomach partially comes back up through the esophagus. It can cause stomach pain, heartburn, and sore throats (and bad breath!!). You can deal with acid reflux by following the steps at https://chriskresser.com/get-rid-of-heartburn-and-gerd-forever-in-three-simple-steps/. If reflux continues to be a problem after this, see a doctor

A Swollen Uvula: The uvula is that small bit of skin that hangs down at the back of your mouth. It can become inflamed and swollen when you are sick with a virus or infection, or when there is too much bacteria in the area. Although you are likely to experience throat pain all day when you have a swollen uvula, it could be the case that some of the other factors mentioned in this post can increase your throat pain when you wake up in the morning. You can find out more about the uvula at https://safesymptoms.com/swollen-uvula/ .

Upper Respiratory Infection: If your upper airway is infected, your nose will begin to produce more mucus than before as a form of defense against the invading virus. Sometimes, this mucus trickles down to the back of your throat when you’re sleeping and it can inflame, irritate, and dry out the area – meaning that your throat will be pretty sore in the morning.

If you continue to experience a sore throat upon waking for a prolonged period of time, you should definitely have it checked out by a doctor. Chances are it’ll be nothing serious, but it’s always best to know. And waking up ache free at the start of your day will also be an added plus!

Featured Image By: Flickr

Mar2

Make Your Bedroom Stylish and Sleep-Friendly

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Make Your Bedroom Stylish and Sleep-Friendly

Hiiii everyone and welcome to a guest post by my favorite home decor guru, Chloe! Miss Chloe has been featured on my page quite a few times and it is always such a treat to have her. Take a look at her latest post, where she will help you create a perfectly styled and sleep worthy bedroom:

Make Your Bedroom Stylish and Sleep-Friendly:

The quality of your sleep can highly influence your energy levels, mood, and productivity during the day. In that respect, the way you decorate and organize your sleep chamber can be of immense importance when it comes to providing yourself with a good night of rest. If you’re experiencing trouble sleeping, make sure to take a good look at your bedroom. Its design may be the key for your perfect comfort.

1. Is there a lot of clutter?

There has been plenty of research on the negative influence of clutter on the human mind and this can be especially obvious in the bedroom. This is a place where you need to relax and drift off to a dream land and clutter can only cause problems. The first and easiest thing that you can do is to create a chore list so that you can keep your bedroom neat and tidy. That way, you will prevent mental pressure and stress caused by your own personal environment.

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Also, is there a cat?

2. Do you have enough space?

This step is linked to the clutter issue. Sometimes, it’s not enough to simply tidy up your bedroom. If you don’t have room for all of your stuff, the first thing that you should do is declutter. This means that apart from putting everything in its respective place, you should also get rid of things that you don’t need.

If you have clothes that you haven’t worn for more than six months, it’s probably wise to give them away. On the other hand, your problem might be related to the lack of storage. Make sure to utilize your wardrobe doors to the fullest. Wall cabinets can really come in handy in a bedroom as well as a chest of drawers. Chests of drawers are not only functional for clothing storage but housing decor like photographs, reed diffusers, and jewelry boxes. You can search Bespoke Furniture for storage inspiration to keep your bedroom clutter free and stylish with statement pieces.

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^ I would love a hanging rack like this!

3. Do you enjoy the color scheme?

You may not even be aware of just how much the choice of colors can influence your ability to relax and fall asleep. In general, you should introduce colors that feel pleasant to you into your bedroom. But, this doesn’t mean that you should go overboard with vibrant shades and intricate patterns.

A stylish and functional bedroom should feature soothing tones and hues. You should also keep things relatively minimal when color combos are concerned. The best way to achieve a nice, calming look is to opt for a soft wall shade, an equally soft, warm shade for furniture, and then spice things up just a little with slightly bolder colors for sheets, covers, and cushions.

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Pexels Image

4. Do you feel comfortable?

The appearance of your bedroom is not the only thing that has effect on your sleep. There are also some technical questions that need to be dealt with. For example, if your lighting is too bright and strong, you will struggle more to relax and drift off to sleep. This is especially true for those of you who like to read or check your smartphones in bed.

Make sure to use mood lighting and, if possible, install dimmer switches. Air quality is another essential factor ensuring you a proper sleep schedule. If dust bothers you or you suffer from seasonal allergies, you should install a quality air purifier for allergies in your bedroom. Not only will this improve your sleep but the quality of your lifestyle altogether, too.

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Pretty!

5. Is the decor pleasing?

The bedroom is the most intimate area of one’s home but that doesn’t mean that you should overload it with personal decor and other sentimental bits and pieces. On the contrary, it is said that you should avoid using photographs of your friends and family and go for soothing scenery paintings, instead. A scented candle, plants, warm rugs, and interesting curtains are perfectly fine, but anything more than that can actually disrupt your sleep schedule and prevent you from dozing off properly.

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Also pretty!

Remember, you don’t need too much stuff or color for your bedroom to be stylish and cozy. By keeping things relatively minimal yet sticking to your personal taste, you’ll be able to enjoy a good night of rest and wake up motivated for a new day, every day.

^^^ Thank you again for such a wonderful post, Chloe girl! How does your bedroom reflect your personality? What is a funny or weird item that you keep in your room? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: Unsplash

Feb15

Moving In 101

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Moving In 101

In terms of stress- moving into a new place is right up there with starting a new job. All the packing and unpacking, hammering nails, and setting up of bills, it’s enough to send anyone into a panic. Before chaos ensues, take a breath, and read these top tips for packing up your old place and setting up your new one:

Lists: As much as the mention of lists might cause some sighs and eye-rolls, they are an essential part of moving. Boring yes, but completely essential. Before you move out make a list of things that you need to do. This will probably include finding and hiring movers, decluttering your home, and the careful packing up of your belongings. Tick off your list as you go so you know what’s left to do. This will keep you organized and on schedule throughout the move.

Packing & Decluttering: It’s time to be ruthless. Be realistic about what you’re keeping, especially if you’re downsizing. Get the measurements of your new place and make sure that everything is going to fit. Once you’ve sorted through your belongings it’s time to pack. Try and pack your items in room by room boxes. This will make it so much easier on the other end. Pack the heaviest items first to avoid crushing any smaller items. Avoid packing heavy books or ornaments in cardboard boxes. Even with tape on the bottom, it’s best to opt for a sturdier book box (the plastic kind).

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Pixabay Image

Setting Up The Bills: This stresses a lot of people out, but it doesn’t need to! For most of us, it’s about finding the internet, phone, gas and electricity providers. There are lots of sites out there that compare different gas and electric providers for you, based on your postcode. For internet and phone providers, shop around and find a deal that suits you that’s within your budget. This can all be done before you move in. The previous tenants or homeowners might also be able to provide some good tips about which providers worked for them.

Moving In Date & Time: If your move in date is flexible, be sure to choose wisely. Choose a date when you don’t have work the next day, or request it off. Try moving in as early in the day as possible. This gives you time to at least set up your bed with linen and unpack some essential toiletries and kitchen utensils. This means that when you wake up the next day you won’t be met by lots of unorganized chaos.

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Unpacking party!

Sleep: Moving is stressful! There’s no way around it. By following these tips and tricks you should be able to at least minimize the stress. But it’s still so important to get a great night’s sleep the day before the move. This will allow you to feel your best for the physically demanding day ahead! Try not too talk to much about the move the night before. This could lead to a sleepless night of worrying. As long as everything is planned and organized beforehand, you should be worry free!

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Jan12

Want to Get More Z’s? Check Out These Top Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep

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Want to Get More Z’s? Check Out These Top Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep

If you have trouble making the trip to the land of nod each night, you are not alone. Millions of people suffer from insomnia and struggle with sleepless nights every year, and it can have a massive impact on their quality of life. Fortunately, there are many things that you can do to ensure that you and your family have no more sleepless nights. Just check out the following tips for a better night’s sleep, and you’ll be dreaming in no time:

Sleep at the Same Time Every Night: Possibly the best thing you can to improve the quality of your sleep is to set up a sleep schedule and stick to it. Work out a bedtime that will work for you and will give you between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night and aim to get to bed by that time each night. Of course, there will be times when you cannot meet your bedtime deadline but if you do your best to be in bed by the designated time, you will see a vast improvement in your sleep.

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Maybe not a 6:20 bedtime but you get the point!

Get Ready for Bed: Once you have a sleep schedule in place, it is important that you leave an hour or so before your bedtime to wind down. Turn off the TV and take a hot bath, read a book, meditate, or drink some chamomile tea and a blissful evening in bed will be yours for the taking.

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Read Up!

Dress Your Bed Correctly: It is important that you use the right bed sheets for the right season. For example, using Egyptian cotton sheets in the summer will ensure that you stay cool, as natural fibers are much more breathable than synthetics. On the other hand, you might want to use fleece or flannel sheets in the winter, which will retain heat and keep you warm. If you have the right temperature conditions in your bedroom, you will find it much easier to drift off and stay asleep.

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Flickr Image

Keep Technology Out of the Bedroom: Your bedroom should be your sanctuary. If you bring TV’s, smartphones, and other electronic gadgets into the bedroom, it weakens the association your brain has between bedroom and sleep and this can make it harder for you to fall into a sound slumber.

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I like that room!

Banish Light: If your bedroom window is letting in too much light, your body may not realize that it is time to sleep. The easiest way to remedy this particular problem would be to invest in some good blackout blinds or a nice pair of thick curtains.

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Flickr Image

If you try all of the above and you find that you are still unable to get a proper night’s sleep that leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day, you might want to visit your doctor, who will be able to rule out medical problems like sleep apnea or insomnia.

Featured Image By: Flickr

Jan3

Living Life To The Max? Your Lifestyle Could Be Compromising Your Health

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Trying to stay healthy can seem like a minefield littered with poor decisions. Some days it seems like you’re doing just fine and other days it seems like you’re ticking every box on the route to being unhealthy and miserable. In a world full of temptation, it can be easy to make bad choices and fail diets and exercise regimes. Don’t beat yourself up; it isn’t easy to stay on the right path all the time, but it’s not too late to make a difference either. The most important thing to remember is never to give up – if you slip up, chalk it up to experience and keep on trying. Other than poor diet and exercise, unfortunately, there are lots of little things that contribute to poor health, some of which we don’t even consider. Here are just a few aspects of our lifestyles which could be making us unhealthy:

Drinking Too Much: The odd glass of wine or G&T now and then isn’t going to hurt, but when it gets to be more than that, we can be putting our bodies under severe strain. Not only are we taking in excess calories, but it can also lead to liver damage, heart problems, and depression. Quitting or severely cutting down will aid digestion, improve sleep, and make your heart healthier so you’ll see massive improvements quickly.

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Cheers! In moderation! 😉

Smoking: As far as bad habits go, smoking is pretty high up the list of unhealthy choices. Risks of cancers and heart disease rise astronomically when you start smoking but it doesn’t have to be that way. Quitting smoking, although tricky for a couple of days, will make your health improve rapidly and cigarettes soon stop being appealing. If you smoke, you’ll be amazed by how much your sense of smell and taste improve when you quit, as well as your own smell (and bank balance).

CBD products are a good replacement for another kind of smoking and can aid in improving sleep and pain relief. If you have trouble sleeping, read up online for reviews or “best of” posts like a list of the best CBD oils for sleep to help you select the right product.

Partying Too Hard: When we’re young, we live for the weekend. Going to the club and parties are great for socializing, having a good time, and creating memories, but could also be doing untold damage to your health. Aside from the problems with drinking, smoking, and lack of sleep, we expose ourselves to the dangers of drugs and unsafe sex, as well. If you’re concerned about the impact of your party lifestyle on your health, make sure that you visit one of the STD testing clinics near you for a check up and peace of mind.

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Partayyy! Also in moderation. 😉

Eating Out: It’s nice to treat ourselves now and then, but eating at restaurants or ordering in too often could be a really unhealthy option. Even if you try to order healthier sounding meals from the menu, it’s usually the case that a lot of salt and sugars are used to make the food taste good. Even salads are usually covered in calorie-rich dressing. Try to cook most of your meals yourself so that you know you’re getting all of the vitamins and minerals you need, but also so you can keep a closer eye on what goes into your food. Your body and wallet will thank you.

Snacking: If it’s not in a meal, then the calories don’t count, right? Well, not exactly. When you allow yourself to snack regularly, you lose touch with your body’s own way of telling you that it’s hungry, which can lead to chronic overeating, which can lead to diabetes and heart disease. On top of all of this, snacking on junk food is obviously flooding your body with unhealthy stuff such as fats and salts, that you just really don’t need. Break the habit by only eating at meal times and allowing yourself to feel hunger – it can take some getting used to, but it’s worth it. If snacking is a habit for you, your body might also not be getting the vitamins and minerals it needs. It is important to talk to your doctor who might recommend Magnesium Supplements, multivitamins, and tips on changing your diet.

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Get behind me, Satan.

Staying Inside: We need fresh air and the sunshine to make us happy, to ensure we’re balanced, and to get the vitamin D that we will go on really poorly without. If your lifestyle is conducive to staying inside basically all the time, it’s super important to find opportunities to go outside, exercise, and enjoy the sun.

Sun Worshiping: A bit of sunshine is really important, but exposing yourself to the sun’s rays too much can lead to much greater issues down the line. Frequent sunburn or tanning can lead to skin cancer, which can be fatal. Too much sun will also affect the elasticity of the skin, meaning we seem to age faster with wrinkles, sun blotches, and general discoloration. If you’re concerned about your exposure to the sun, it’s important that you visit a dermatologist to discuss it.

Reliance on Caffeine: If you’re always tired enough to need caffeine, it’s time to get to the root of the problem, instead of relying on coffee to keep you going. Caffeine is fine in small doses, but when you flood your system with it, you could be risking high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and even worsening anxiety disorders. If you think you drink too much caffeine, try to replace it with water – hydration is great for making us feel more awake. It could also be worth reconsidering your sleeping regime if you’re experiencing excessive tiredness.

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Pexels Image

Working Woes: Considering most of us are at our desks (or the equivalent) for at least eight hours a day, it’s not surprising that a lot of our physical complaints can be the result of poor posture, carpal tunnel, or generally just sitting down for too long. If your work consists of sitting at a desk for long periods of time, ensure that your furniture is as ergonomically sound as possible. Not only will you see an improvement in your general well being, but your efficiency at work will also improve with better comfort.

Skipping Sleep: We’re all guilty of staying up too late or getting up too early, but not having enough shut-eye can cause heart problems and mental health issues which is just not worth the risk. We should all be aiming for around eight hours of sleep a night, although some need more and some less. If getting up in the morning is a huge struggle and you’re finding yourself too tired to function during the day, it could be worth considering stepping up your sleep. Make sure you take the time to wind down before bed and avoid electronics for a few hours too. More sleep makes everything feel better.

Nov8

Not-So-Obvious Things Which Could Happen To You When You Have Sleepless Nights

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Not-So-Obvious Things Which Could Happen To You When You Have Sleepless Nights

It’s easy to end up experiencing sleepless nights, especially when you are a mom. You are up half the night with the kids so it’s hard to get some decent shut-eye. It means the next day you are walking around like a zombie! But if you encounter sleepless nights on a regular basis, it could be causing more damage than you think. Here are some not-so-obvious things that could happen to you when you have sleepless nights.

It Can Affect Your Thinking and Learning Skills: Unfortunately, a lack of sleep can affect your brain in many ways. We all know it’s easy to be forgetful if you have had a sleepless night. But you might not realize it affects your attention and your alertness. Therefore, you are more likely to make silly errors when driving on the road. In fact, a lot of people get into accidents as they were tired when behind the wheel. Also, having regular sleepless nights can affect your concentration skills. You might struggle to listen to others and think of solutions. It can jeopardize your work if you are not thinking effectively. Try and get enough sleep so you can ensure that you can think and learn every day!

It Can Lead to Skin Aging: We all try to ensure that our skin stays in good condition. After all, we want to prevent wrinkles for as long as possible. But when we have regular sleepless nights, it can lead to skin aging. When we have a sleepless night, our body releases more of the stress hormone, cortisol. It breaks down skin collagen which keeps our skin smooth. Therefore, you may notice a wrinkle on your face. As well as this, sleepless nights can give us dark circles under our eyes. You can get eye creams which you can use to hide your lack of sleep. Or some people even go for dermal fillers under the eyes which can help to improve the tired and drawn out look! To ensure you avoid eye bags and aging skin, head to bed earlier at night!

It Can Lead to Depression: It’s easy to start your morning feeling down in the dumps after a sleepless, restless night. But you might not realize that a lack of sleep can contribute to depression. In fact, research has found that the sleep disorder insomnia is linked with depression. Therefore, your moodiness from lack of sleep may turn into something more serious if you don’t do something about it quickly. Try and figure out why you can’t sleep and solve the problem to protect your mental health!

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Yawnnn

It Can Cause Hallucinations: People can start experiencing hallucinations if they are sleep deprived. It might be something as simple as seeing something flicker in their vision. Or they might see something which doesn’t exist!  As this article says, this indicates the brain isn’t working properly as you are exhausted. Therefore, you need to head to bed before you become clueless over what is real!

You are also more prone to catching the flu if you are not getting enough sleep. So get snuggled up, catch some Zzz’s,  and avoid human contact till you have had some decent shut eye!

Featured Image By: flickr

Oct5

Monday Update: Lazy Weekend Edition

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Monday Update: Lazy Weekend Edition

Helloooo everyone and Happy Monday!! Thanks to a fantastically lazy weekend, I’m feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to go! My week days are always so crazy now so this weekend I finally got to do exactly what I wanted…nothing! There were lots of things that made my weekend great, like not having to drive, catching up on leisure reading, and lots and lots of sleep! Take a listen to the Bruno Mars theme song to my weekend and then let’s discuss:

During the week I’m constantly on the run in the Little Red Love Machine, driving siblings, driving to school, driving to boyfriend, meeting clients, and running errands. So needless to say, one of the best parts of this weekend was that I didn’t have to get behind the wheel of my car one time! It. Was. AWESOME!! My parents handled all of the driving this weekend and I handled the laying in my bed doing nothing this weekend. 😉

But seriously, you never really realize how nice it is to have someone else drive you until your tucked away in the backseat of one of your parent’s cars. For example, we went to see the new Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro movie, The Intern, and the movie theater was less than five minutes away but even the smallest amount of chauffeuring was great! The movie was so cute and funny, too – I just love Anne Hathaway and her and De Niro made a great pair. The Intern was kind of like a more lighthearted version of The Devil Wears Prada and I really enjoyed it.

My favorite part of the weekend, however, was finally catching up on my pleasure reading! During the past few weeks I’ve been so exhausted before bed that I could barely finish two or three chapters in my book, Night Film, before falling asleep. Usually I’m a ridiculously fast reader – I can finish a five hundred page book in three days flat easily, so the whole “reading barely one hundred pages in one week” thing killed me!

Lucky for me, this weekend I had no school work to worry about so I was a free woman! I got to spend my afternoons snuggled under my blankets for hours on end and was able to complete over one hundred pages each sitting, which is definitely more like it! Reading is one of my favorite past times so the fact that I got to have entire afternoons dedicated to relaxing and flipping through the pages of a book that I love so much made my lazy days perfect. (If you haven’t read Night Film, give it a try! It’s wonderful…so wonderful that one of my tattoos is a quote from the book!)

Last but not least, I got to sleep, sleep, sleep this weekend! If there’s one thing that I love, it’s not having to set an alarm in the morning. These past two days, I got to sleep in to my hearts desire without the incessant buzzing of my phone and iPod to wake me up. On Saturday I slept until 11:15 and it was absolutely amazing! I woke up around seven and nine that morning and it was so nice to be able to look at the time and realize that I could continue sleeping for as much as I wanted. By the time I woke up on Saturday, I decided that it was too late to bother with makeup so I’ve spent both of my weekend days au natural! I definitely could get used to this homebody thing!

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So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Lazy Weekend Edition! Now that I’m well rested, I’m ready to take on another crazy week! How was everyone’s weekend? Was it lazy like mine or jam packed with cool stuff? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun24

Funky Time Jams: Bedtime Music Edition

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Funky Time Jams: Bedtime Music Edition

Whatupppp everyone and happy Hump Day! This Funky Time Jams post is brought to you by my hangover and my deep passion for Bedtime Music. If there’s one thing that I love, it’s falling asleep to some soothing tunes. I have a plethora of go to artists in my vast collection that I play when it’s time to hit the hay for the night and they never fail to send me off to dream land peacefully. The trick to good bedtime music is that it literally has to be “just right”. So here’s my Lil Red Rules to bedtime music before we discuss some tried and true favorites:

  • 1) The music can’t be too upbeat because you don’t want to get hyped up instead of worn out.
  • 2) The vocalist needs to have a voice that soothes you, obviously.
  • 3) Songs with piano playing is always a good thing!
  • 4) The songs need to take you to your pre-sleep happy place.

Alright, here we go!

Enya – Orinoco Flow: Freaking OBVIOUSLY. Out of all of my bedtime music artists, Enya is the one that I play most frequently. I just love her – even though I never understand what she’s singing about half of the time. All I know is that Enya soothes a Lil Red like no other. Her music is pure poetry and it takes me to places in my mind that are good for the soul…shopping in Paris, shopping in London, shopping anywhere. It’s a magical thing. Enya has saved me from many a sleepless night and for that, I salute you.

Coldplay – Speed Of Sound: Of course Coldplay had to be included on this list. I had a difficult time selecting which Coldplay song to feature on here, but then I thought back to yesterday when “Speed Of Sound” came on my iPod when I had it on shuffle and just how much I enjoyed it. I seriously forgot how much I love this song. I’m a really big Coldplay fan – they were my first concert when I was in fifth grade or so. (Richard Ashcroft from The Verve was the opener and they performed “Bittersweet Symphony” together and it was life changing!) My brother chose to take me over his stupid girlfriend at the time and it’s always been one of my favorite memories. I also figure skated to “Talk” during competitions. Coldplay holds a very special, sentimental place in my heart and their music makes me happy – which is why they’re a great band to play before bed!

Cat Power – I Found a Reason: Oh dear lord I love this song – specifically because it’s featured in one of my all time favorite movies, V For Vendetta. Cat Power’s voice is so hauntingly beautiful. Her music is the kind that you would expect to hear in one of those jewelry boxes that I feel like every little girl has when they’re growing up…You know, the kind where you open up the lid and music starts playing and the ballerina or whatever starts spinning around. Those jewelry boxes.

Wolf Parade – Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts: I know I said to avoid upbeat music before bed, but Wolf Parade is my exception. Spencer Krug’s voice is simply intoxicating and it legitimately puts me under a spell every time I hear it. Maybe that’s why I can listen to them while I’m laying in bed at night and feel sleepy, because I’m under a weird Indie rock love spell. “Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts” is a fucking brilliant track, and if you’ve never heard of Wolf Parade then this is a perfect song to introduce you to them with. Make sure you pay close attention to the lyrics because they’re fantastic. The video I’m posting is great too because it includes their hit “I’ll Believe In Anything” as well which is one of my all time favorite songs in the history of ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69dg-xxUDvo

Say Hi To Your Mom – Let’s Talk About Spaceships: If you want some really good Indie bedtime music, then Say Hi To Your Mom is one of your best bets. I love this guy too much and I’m actually really excited because I’ve wanted to see him in concert for years and he’s finally coming to Cleveland in October!! HURRAY! “Let’s Talk About Spaceships” was one of the first songs I ever heard by Say Hi To Your Mom and the only reason I even discovered this artist is because years ago when my brother and I were browsing through Best Buy we saw his CD’s and thought his name was absolutely hysterical. I had to investigate his music as soon as I got home and I fell in love. This track opens with one of my favorite lyrics of “And what’s that saying again? They’re only words and words can’t kill me.” I’ve never considered this song one of my favorites but honestly I think it’s safe to say that it’s one of my favorites. I’ve loved it since I was fourteen and I still love it seven years later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bs5LFlbVn8

Sufjan Stevens – Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!): Once again, if you’re looking for some really good Indie bedtime music, Sufjan Stevens is also a good way to go. “Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!” is probably one of my favorite Sufjan songs for reasons I can’t tell you, because I have no clue why. In the words of Matthew Mcconaughey in those stupid Lincoln commercials, “I just like it”. One of the reasons why I like to play some Sufjan before bed is because all of his songs are quite long, so you can easily lose yourself in the ten minute tracks and before you know it you’re asleep. INDUSTRY! INDUSTRY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfwjS_d_TK0

U2 – Sleep Like a Baby Tonight: Okay, 1) Did you honestly think that I would pass up an opportunity to post music by my favorite band in the whole wide world? and 2) The answer for posting this song is all in the name of it. The end. Wait…no, not the end! Because now I have to discuss just how disappointed I am that U2 isn’t coming to Ohio on their Innocence + Experience Tour! So Bono, if you’re reading this: I love you! AND COME TO OHIO!

So there you have it, the Funky Time Jams: Bedtime Music Edition! If you’re having trouble sleeping, definitely give some of these songs and artists a try and let me know how they work out! Who’s your go to bedtime music artist? What songs succeed in making you sleepy? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah