Yianna’s Yeses: Quality Sleep Edition

Five things I'm doing this week to optimise my sleep. Everything from the sleep supplement that makes me sleep like a baby, to my evening rituals to prepare my body for a good nights rest.

If you follow me on Instagram or TikTok, you may know that I am currently travelling in Europe for the next three months. I am incredibly fortunate to be able to work remotely and build my businesses whilst abroad, however I must admit that my usual, high-quality sleep was compromised in the lead up to my trip and for the first few weeks.

Getting my business and myself ready for a big trip, meant that there was a lot of late nights, early mornings and disturbances to my routine whilst I’ve been away. For me, it is all worth it, however, after a few weeks of living it up, I was ready to relax and prioritise my sleep as it is such an important cornerstone of health. There are so many health implications that come from poor sleep, for example, on days we are sleep deprived, we are more likely to make unhealthier food choices. This is one of the many reasons prioritising sleep is so important to me.

With that said, these are all the measures I’ve taken to improve my sleep and ensure that I am having quality rest whilst I am away. You can also do this at home too if you’d like to optimise your sleep too. So with that said, let’s get into it!

1. Sleep Like A Baby with IMBIBE Calm/Sleep

   If you’re subscribed to my Substack, chances are you’ve heard or know that supplementing with magnesium before bed can help your body relax and be primed for a good nights sleep. What you may not know, is that there are multiple forms of magnesium. So which is the best form to take for sleep? Various studies suggest that magnesium glycinate is the best type to take for sleep, which is why I will always take magnesium glycinate when I’m aiming to improve my sleep specifically.

   I have been taking IMBIBE’s Calm/ Sleep for the last 6 months, as it combines magnesium glycinate, with magnesium citrate (which promotes regular bowel movements), L-Theanine and Ashwaganda root. Ashwaganda and L-Theanine are often used to help naturally reduce stress and anxiety. In fact, L-Theanine can increase your level of dopamine, serotonin and GABA, which can promote relaxation and decrease anxiety levels. L-Theanine is present in matcha, which is why you may feel calm and relaxed after drinking a cup of matcha, despite it containing caffeine.

   

   I mix 2/3 of a teaspoon of IMBIBE’s Calm/Sleep with a glass of water and drink this 30 minutes before I go to bed. I personally notice a huge difference in the quality of my sleep when I take this powder before bed and my sleep score from my Oura ring confirms this. My sleep is deeper, I wake up less frequently throughout the night and I feel more rested.

   If you would like to try IMBIBE’s Calm/Sleep , I have a discount code YIANNA15 where you can access 15% off.

2. An Evening Self-Care Ritual: Elevating Legs Up Wall

   If you’re sitting down at a desk all day, standing on your feet or walking around a city, your legs can accumulate fluid throughout the day. This is why every single night, regardless of where I am, I will elevate my legs against the wall in order to drain all the fluid that has accumulated throughout my day to the lymph nodes that are located near my groin area. I will do this for 20 minutes before I go to bed and love to spend this time meditating, reading or if I’m honest, at some times, scrolling through my phone. The tension from my legs that have built up throughout the day instantly eases and my body feels lighter and ready for bed.

3. Strengthen Your Mind, Body and Soul with Open Meditation

   Something that has allowed me to quickly switch from being out socialising or working, and winding down to sleep, has been having a soundtrack that immediately calms me and I associate with sleep. I discovered the Open meditation app and have been using it every night before bed to prepare myself for sleep. Meditation is one of those things that even though we may feel good after doing it, it can feel challenging to schedule in time to meditate. If you want to focus on improving your quality of sleep specifically, Open has a whole category of meditations designed for improving sleep and calming your mind before bed.

   What I love the most about Open is that the app is dynamic and isn’t limited to meditations only. You can opt in for visualisations when you want to direct your energy towards manifesting your dream life and also has a Move section where you can do power, pilates and yoga exercises. I find that depending on my mood and where I am at emotionally, what I need on a given day changes. Some days I need a more active form of meditation, such as a visualisation or a state of mind audio track to challenge me and provide me with perspective, whereas other days I need to just breathe through situations. After each meditation, you are awarded with a quote that always moves me.

   

   If you want to try the Open app, you can use the discount code BEOPEN30 to try Open meditations and visualisations for free for 30 days.

4. Peace and Quiet with Custom Ear Plugs from Melbourne Audiology Centre

   It is almost inevitable to be woken up by some noise disturbance in the middle of the night when travelling, from a crying baby, rubbish truck, late night partiers or even a snoring partner. Before I moved to Italy to study five years ago, I had custom noise cancelling ear plugs made at Melbourne Audiology Centre (MAC). These were a lifesaver, as I wasn’t accustomed to apartment living and these blocked out all of the nose in the building. Now when I’m travelling, I will bring these earplugs with me, particularly when flying, as regardless of who is sitting in your cabin, you are able to cancel out the noise. In fact, I was sitting in front of a crying baby on flight over and didn’t even realise because these plugs worked so well.

   I prefer to wear custom plugs as impressions are taken which means they are moulded to the inside of your ear. This means they are super comfortable and don’t fall out, unlike AirPods. The other reason why I prefer noise cancelling plugs to AirPods is that they don’t have bluetooth, which means I am not exposing myself to radiation for a prolonged period of time too. These ear plugs have filters so you are still able to hear a bit of noise (for safety reasons). If you want to see what the ear plugs look like and how to insert them, you can watch here.

5. Keep Your Skin Hydrated with Silk Eye Masks

   If you’re like me and need to sleep in a pitch black environment, this eye mask will become your best friend! I prefer to wear a silk eye mask as the skin around our eyes is more delicate, meaning you want a softer fibre on your skin. The silk fibres of the silk mask can also minimise the loss of moisture overnight, which can help keep your skin hydrated and plump and minimise fine lines. I will regularly wash my eye mask too to prevent any breakouts. If you are in need of a good eye mask, you can purchase the one I use here.

Now that’s all for this week!

As always, I’m wishing you nothing but health, happiness and 8+ hours of uninterrupted quality sleep!

Love,

Yianna X