Sleep.
Blissful or evasive?
What will one not give to get six hours of peaceful sleep? Ask those who go through bouts of insomnia.
I am sleeping well, of late. Touch wood.
This is a BIG deal; after months of staying up through the night staring at the ceiling, anxious to sleep at least for a little while, counting backwards through 1000, meditating, visualizing pleasant images, avoiding stimulating conversations and screen time before bedtime, and finally frustrated if I would be able to carry on with my day the next day! Hell, no. It wasn’t possible. I would feel groggy by 11 with an urge to nap through the working day.
5 Simple Changes That Helped Me sleep Better At Night
I have made small changes and I can’t identify exactly as to what contributed to better sleep. But, I would like to believe everything in some measure has made a huge difference. So, if you are struggling to get quality sleep, maybe this would help:
- Organic bedding: I was a huge fan of handloom bed sheets that looked great in pictures, but did not feel good to the skin. So I got rid of them and replaced them with organic bedsheets that felt good. I will talk about this more in detail later.
- Comfortable pillows and a firm mattress.
- A clean, clutter-free bedroom. This is truly a minimalist bedroom now ripped down to the basics – a table lamp, mosquito repellant, and a family picture by the bedside table. No clutter to distract the mind. And that means, no clock, no wall art.
- Shower before bedtime.
- Fresh air: there is nothing like a bedroom that smells good and fresh.
What is organic bedding?
Organic food has slowly but surely found its rightful place in our kitchen pantries from sulphurless sugar and organic jaggery to millets and atta replacing their mass-produced counterparts. But, organic bedding? I was intrigued when I first heard the term. The organic bedsheet you see in the images is sponsored by a brand Amouve. Turns out that the clothing, blankets and bed sheets we use are often treated with chemicals, formaldehyde, in particular, which is responsible for health effects such as itching, irritation, sinuses etc. Thanks to our insatiable desire for clothing, it is no secret that cotton is the most used abused crop in the country.
Where to Buy GOTS Certified Organic Bedding in India?
Organic bedding uses organic cotton grown under environmentally friendly conditions in compliance with GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard).
This means that the entire supply chain from sourcing cotton seeds until the finished product is sold to the customer adheres to fair practices. In simple words, natural herbicides like neem are instead of toxic pesticides, women and young children do not work under inhumane conditions for a measly hourly wage which is the norm in this industry, and cotton is grown using non-GMO seeds.
Image courtesy:
All images shot by me at home.
