We Take Self-Care Seriously
Treating ourselves with love and compassion is a vital step in optimising lifelong health. From yoga and meditation to essential oils and sleep supplements, we want to make it easier for you to squeeze in a self-care moment – even on the most hectic of days.
SLEEP HYGIENE: Healthy habits for deeper sleep
Healthy sleep habits—called “sleep hygiene”—can ease you into a night of restful slumber. Follow this simple bedtime routine to help you doze off faster and rest all night long.
Start to shift into shut-eye mode
Two hours before bedtime, disconnect from computers, tablets and other electronic devices; they emit blue light, which can interfere with circadian rhythms and disrupt sleep. Dim the lights and avoid heavy, spicy foods; they can cause reflux and indigestion, making it harder to doze off.
Prep for bed
Spend the hour before bedtime in soothing activities like reading, knitting, doing yoga or listening to calming music. Avoid stressful conversations or exercise, which can stimulate the body and make sleep more elusive. Establish a simple ritual, like writing in a journal with a cup of chamomile tea, to signal your body that it’s time for bed.
Stabilise your schedule
Establishing a regular bed time helps regulate your body’s clock so you can fall asleep faster—and stay asleep. Set a bedtime and stick to it, even on weekends and days off.
Make your bedroom a cave
Think cool, quiet and dark: total darkness affects pigments in the retina that impact the body’s sleep/wake cycles. Use light-blocking shades, unplug electronics that emit LEDs and wear an eye mask. Lower the temperature between 18 to 22 degrees. Keep it quiet; if neighbourhood noises or a snoring partner are interrupting your sleep, use ear plugs or invest in a white noise machine. And try a NOW® Peaceful Sleep Oil Blend™, an essential oil diffuser, with a blend of soothing, sleep enhancing oils like lavender, chamomile, ylang ylang and sandlewood.
Take a sleep promoting supplement
To relax your body and mind, and ensure restful shut-eye, try a formula that includes a combination of snooze supportive compounds. A great choice: NOW® True Calm™ combines amino acids and other nutrients that support the production and function of calming neurotransmitters in the brain.
Relocate
If you can’t fall sleep, or you wake up during the night, don’t toss and turn in bed; you want to strengthen your brain’s association between bed and sleep. Relocate to another room and do something relaxing; avoid electronics or catching up on work, and read a book, listen to music or meditate or until you feel drowsy.
Make Meditation Your Daily Ritual
"Every conscious breath you take is a form of meditation."
Meditation allows you to relax, which causes blood vessels to open up and influences blood pressure. Meditators fall asleep sooner and stay asleep longer with less daytime fatigue than those that don't. Meditation promotes healthy stress responses by influencing the production of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. 
Mental benefits: Enhances concentration, improves sleep, promotes healthy cognitive ageing.
Physical benefits: Maintains healthy blood pressure, promotes normal cholesterol levels, assists in pain management.
Emotional benefits: Improves emotional health, kindness, relief from stress.
Establish a daily ritual meditation
1. Set up
Establishing the same setup allows your body to recognise the cues for your meditation.
2. Schedule
Scheduling for the same time everyday creates a pattern and allows the mind to associate that timeframe to going within. You can choose to meditate at sunrise or sunset when the surrounding nature is meditating, or you can choose to meditate after taking a nice warm bath or before getting into bed each night.
3. No distractions
Before meditating, turn off your mobile phone and avoid all other electronics that can cause a distraction. Write down distractions prior so they don't occupy your mind, like what to cook for dinner or a work deadline getting close.
4. Scents/aroma
Consider using an essential oil diffuser or roll-on. This allows your body to recognise a familiar and pleasurable scent associated with meditation to more quickly find focus.
5. Get comfortable
Find your favourite meditation cushion/bolster, or a chair with feet on the floor. Sit up straight. Your hips should be higher than your knees. This allows your pelvis to tip forward and a straight spine, allowing you to sit comfortably longer.
6. Mindset
Begin with creating love and kindness for yourself. Chant aloud or internally.
"May I feel protected and safe"
"May I feel content and pleased"
"May my physical body provide me with strength"
"May my life unfold smoothly with ease"
Repeat again. This time, stop after each phrase and take a deep breath in and out. Close your eyes as you take the breath and feel how that wish feels in your body. Repeat again, but now send your wishes to others. Maybe a loved one or someone you are struggling with.
