BATHE BEFORE BED

A bath before bed is a perfect way to ease away tensions at the end of a busy day and prepare yourself for a good night’s rest. Not only does the warm water ease tired muscles, when you step out the drop in temperature that you experience tricks your body into thinking it’s night-time and so sends a signal to your brain to release sleepy hormones. Add relaxing blends of essential oils to this and those ‘time for bed’ signals can be reinforced

Here are our tips for a few simple things that can do to make sure you emerge your evening soak feeling gorgeous, relaxed and ready for a beautiful night's sleep...    

PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB 

The bathroom is the usually only room in the house where you can lock the door and guarantee yourself some well-earned peace and quiet on your own. Before you run your bath, make sure the rest of the household know it's your 'Do not Disturb' time - interruptions allowed only if the house is on fire. Nothing else. Take everything you might need in there with you, then lock that door and enjoy a little time to drift. Don't break your own rule by sneaking your phone or tablet in there and checking up on pinterest posts (we know how tempting this can be!). This is about you, on your own, unplugged and allowed to float for a while.

LOWER THE LIGHTS

Light levels are one of the biggest signals our body uses to figure out whether it's time to be awake or asleep. Nudge yourself towards sleep by lowering the lights in the bathroom before getting in to your bath. Bathroom lighting can often be harsh and inflexible we know. If this is the case for you then get creative. Candles and tea-lights set the scene well, but you could also consider using battery operated fairy-lights or night-lights to keep the lighting down low (and make a mental note to self to build in a 'relax' option to your bathroom lighting when you next do a refit)

TAP IN TO THE POWER OF AROMATHERAPY

We've mentioned before that our sense of smell is linked to our sense of sleep. Both are controlled by the oldest part of our brain - the part that controls all our essential bodily functions to keep us alive. That's why when it comes to sleep, surrounding yourself with soothing natural essential oils can be so powerful. Essential oils enter and travel round our body in two ways - through our respiratory system when we inhale their aromas, and also through absorption through the skin where they then enter our blood system.

An aromatherapy oil bath is powerful because it taps in to both of these simultaneously. Make sure the products you choose use good quality natural essential oils. Poor quality oils and artificial fragrances will have no therapeutic effect. So read the labels before you buy and invest in brands that prioritise quality of ingredients.

Top Kiss the Moon Tip: All our night-time bath and shower oils are 100% natural which means you can apply them directly to your skin as well as drop them in to your bathwater. To get maximum therapeutic benefit, massage some of the oil directly on to shoulders, neck and décolleté then add some to your bath before stepping in. You'll then get all the power of the aroma as you soak. Plus your skin will be extra silky smooth and well moisturised when you step out

DRAW THEN POUR

Forget what you were told about pouring it in to running water to disperse it. That's great for bubble baths but is a bit of a waste for oils . The biggest release of essential oil aromas is when the bath oil first hits the water. So it's best to draw your bath first, then turn off the taps and pour your oil in to still water. Give it a quick swirl with your hand if you like then get straight in. No point letting those precious aromas escape.

Kiss the Moon Tip: Spritz our After Dark Pillow Mist on to your bath robe or towel and leave on the radiator while you soak so you can wrap yourself in something warm and beautifully scented when you step out of the water