Hi friends! I hope you are continuing to stay safe, sane, and what we are going to talk about today, getting enough sleep! During these precarious times, we have been hearing a lot about changes in people's sleep patterns. Some people have expressed problems getting to sleep, while still other's have had trouble with waking up throughout the night (that's me!). Luckily for us, there is a solution which involves tea!
First, we can discuss caffeine intake. Many of us love our little caffeine boost in the morning when we wake up. As mentioned before, I am partial to our Roasted Yerba Mate, that contains mateine. This is a wonderful way to start the day and get chugging along. While it has been part of my normal morning routine for quite some time now, what I have noticed since being quarantined is I tend to drink this tea later into the afternoon. Working from a home office can present many distractions throughout the day and I have been drinking more of this tea in efforts to help me stay focused and on task. The problem is, I then also find myself up later at night, having trouble falling asleep, and finishing a lot more Netflix series in the limited span of time than is socially acceptable (Highly recommend "Ozark", "Gilmore Girls", and "How to Fix a Drug Scandal" to name just a few).
In efforts to remedy this I have made a few changes. I, of course, have tried to limit my caffeine intake to the morning hours. To help ween myself off of drinking my favorite tea into the afternoon, I switched to drinking some of tisane teas instead. Our tisane teas are not actually made from tea leaves, but instead contain dried fruits, herbs, and spices. For example, one of our most popular, Last Mango in Paris, contains mangoes, oranges, apples, as well as hibiscus, and rosehips. The benefit to switching to any of this type of our teas is they are caffeine free! I am still getting the hydration I need throughout the afternoon, as well, and getting to sleep at night has been less of an issue.
While this wasn't too much of a stretch from me, I know some people who are saying, "Whoa! You're taking away all my caffeine for the afternoon?" For those of you caffeine aficionados, don't worry. We've got you covered. Why not try switching to a "decaffeinated" tea for your afternoon tea delights? Most consumers don't realize that decaffeinated teas, are teas in which the caffeine has actually been removed, yet a small residual amount is left behind. If you would just like that little extra push for the afternoon, try one of our delicious decaf teas! Moreover, if check the headings on our website under "Teas", they are already organized into "Caffeine Free" and "Decaf"! Easy peasy!
Another great option we have at Good Life are a variety of teas that actually promote sleep or will help you get to sleep. Some of these include our "Sleep Better", "C of Tranquility", "Gentle Slumber", and "Chamomile". Each of these teas contain blends of different herbs such as Valerian root, chamomile, spearmint, and rooibos that are known for their calming and relaxing properties. Chamomile specifically has been known for these characteristics. This previous blog article delves into chamomile more so, and details why you should absolutely be adding it to your before bed regiment!
Lastly, lets expand upon that before bed regiment. We all probably have our little routine each night that we practice before bed. Maybe you brush your teeth, wash your face, say your prayers, read a book, etc, etc. Having this before bed ritual, and repeating it every night, has been shown to help you get to sleep faster as well maintain better sleep. Furthermore, adding preparation of one of our teas that promote this good sleep into your ritual every night can even more so help you to doze off. We have spoken of this before bed tea ritual before in another blog, here, and it really seemed to help some of you. Give this a try and catch those zzz's!
Let us know what works for you! Head over to the "Sleep Ease Teas" tab under our teas to start! Did you try a specific tea and find that it really worked for you? Did you try a decaf tea and found that the little caffeine in it was enough for you? Did you make a specific and calming ritual to making your tea? Keep us posted because we love hearing from you while we can't see you because of social distancing! Stay calm, Sleep well. - Kaytea
