When it comes to looking your best, no amount of product is as important as good old-fashioned beauty sleep. I’m a lousy sleeper myself.
Always too much going on in my head. But I committed to becoming a better sleeper in 2013 and so I tested out two little helpers that are seriously helping my cause: Dream Water and a pillow from the Pillow Bar.
I was very suspicious of Dream Water. I was fearful of what was in it and how I would feel the morning after. I don’t need a hangover every day of the week.
But it turns out the stuff is made with lots of natural goodies like GABA, melatonin, and 5-HTP and does exactly as it promises. A few minutes after drinking it, I fall fast asleep and I feel pretty darn good the next morning, too.
You do have to figure out how much to take. If I consume the whole 2.5-ounce bottle, I’d probably end up like Sleeping Beauty. But one good gulp works perfectly, giving me three doses in one bottle.
Perfect! And they purposely kept the bottle under three ounces so that you can travel with the little guys in your carry-on. No more long-haul flights from hell.
Turns out that my mind was not the only thing that needed help in the sleep department. My body did too. Apparently, I have been sleeping on the wrong pillow. Who knew?
Pillows are not something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. I have one. It’s soft. I sleep on it. Done. But it turns out that what I didn’t know was hurting me.
Turns out that the “down” pillow I have is not actually down – it’s mostly feathers. Feathers are the ones that poke you and can sneak out of the casing. Down is from the chest of the bird and it is nothing but fluff.
The best pillow is made of nothing but down and should be customized depending on your size and what kind of sleeper you are. I’m a half and half. Half back sleeper and half side sleeper. So I’m now sleeping on Pillow Bar’s curved L-shaped “Dr. Mary Side Sleeper.” It took me little while to learn how to sleep on it.
But once I did, I slept much more soundly than I had in years. Its super soft case and hidden sachet of lavender didn’t hurt. But the most important part is that it supports my head and keeps my body aligned.
After experimenting with the pillow, I’ve discovered that I’m actually more of a back sleeper. So, I think one of their Peaceful Dreams pillows is in my future. Regardless, the pillow is so soft and filled just right for my build; so I don’t wake up feeling all crackly and crunchy.
The travel version is a beautiful thing too. I use it to sleep on the plane and for the hotel room. So many times I am lured in by yummy looking pillows at a hotel only to wake up with a neck ache from too much support or a shoulder ache from not enough. Or even just a lousy, wakeful night’s sleep without even knowing why.
Of course, I have to admit, I love the whole Pillow Bar story, too. It’s a woman-concepted, -owned, and -run company. Merrimac Dillon couldn’t find a high-quality, all down pillow.
So she sourced the down, the fabric, and the lavender, and invented a machine that would suck the down into the case instead of shove it. Viola! The perfect pillow was born.
And to make it extra special, you can have your initials or a message embroidered on the pillow. Mine reads, “It’s never too late to become what you were meant to be.” It’s a good thing to think about instead of all those racing thoughts when I’m trying to get myself to go to sleep.
Now, if I could just get myself to go to bed at a reasonable hour…