Self-Care

 Right, this is the Badge from the Wellness section that I have chosen to do for the 1st Birthday quarterly challenge.  You have to pick four of the things on the list and do them regularly over a four-month period.  These are the four that I have chosen.

Clause 2 - Sleep - work out the optimum amount of nightly sleep and aim to get it at least 5 times a week.  For me this has to be eight hours at least.  On a school day I wake up at 6:45am, ideally, I need to be asleep by 10:45.  During weekends and holidays I might wake up a little later, so the bedtime is movable.

Clause 3 - Bedtime - experiment with your bedtime routine - scents, white noise, temperature, lighting, screentime etc.  I hate white noise, so I'm not experimenting with that.  I already have lowered lighting and I need to have a window open at least a crack otherwise I wake up with a headache and it pisses off my eczema.  Scents don't really work, although I have a lavender body cream that I like but doesn't help me sleep.  

What has been working recently is keeping my feet warm.  Apparently, I am now an old person who needs to wear bed socks, but I know I'm dropping off faster because I don't have cold feet!  Or is that part of the Sleep Clause?

Clause 4 - Diet - make a positive change to your diet for three months.  Diet changes have been ongoing for years now. Firstly, with having to cut out gluten and dairy, and then having to lose weight for health reasons.  I'm still going to count this as I do need to watch what I eat and it's a constant battle to keep the weight down.  Especially at this time of year when it's nicer to be curled up inside with a hot chocolate - with soya milk, obviously...

Clause 5 - Screen Time - make an effort to limit your screen time or time spent on social media.  Thanks to the Craft Badge I am doing a lot more cross stitch and other handicrafts now rather than being on screens.  Although the craft has taken away from the reading.