Sleep, for many of us it is a four letter word yet everyday in the news you see it is the new “superfood” of life. I do not know about you but that frustrates the heck out of me. I love me a new superfood but sleep has usually been a struggle for me.

Since moving to Portugal I have revisted some habits that back in the states were very helpful. We are all built differently and what works for one does not always work for others but I am hoping these tips help you start to fall in love with sleep again.

This is my nightly routine and so far ( fingers crossed ) it has been very helpful and I am sleeping much better.

1- Insight Timer– This is a free app you can find on your phone. There are meditations, breathing exercises, yoga exercises, soothing music, inspirational quotes and sleep stories. If you purchase the pro version ( it is so affordable ) you will also have access to amazing courses that cover a great depth of topics. I use it every single night and it truly helps me “chill out”

2- I take magnessium every night. Lately there has been so much chit chat in the news about magnessium. There are a lot of different type of magnessium out there. You can read more about the different types here. I currently use Magnesium glycinate. I take two caplets about and hour before bed. I believe it has helped me with muscle leg cramps and just adds a bit of ” ahhhhhh ” to my night.

3-In addition to the magnessium I also take an herbal sleep supplement every night about 1 hour before bed. I have a few different brands that I alternate between but my favorite at the moment is from Natural Factors. These herbs are not going to knock you out like a sleeping pill would but they truly relax me just enough to drift off. I do wake up but I generally can get back to sleep ok on my own.

4- Lastly I have now adoped a turn the light off 2 hours before bed. As most of you know I am an early to bed and early to rise kinda gal. I usually head into my room around 7pm and binge a few of my favorite TV shows. I turn the lights off and just settle my mind and body into night night mode. Thankfully here in Portugal we have some kick ass blackout electric shutters. One push and your room thinks it is midnight no matter what time it is.