Your bedroom is your sacred space, your sanctuary of letting go and unwinding. Your bedroom is a place of retreat to be you, to laugh, to cry, to exhale, to let go. Your bedroom is a place of rest, reflection, a cocoon to nurture your soul. Your bedroom is a place to disconnect from the outside world and allow yourself to heal. Your bedroom is place to surround yourself with no chemicals, no toxins. Your bedroom is a place to breathe.

Every night you should aim for 8 beautiful hours of sleep in your sacred bedroom sanctuary. In a week that is 56 hours and in a year that is around 3,000 hours of sleep. A good night's sleep helps restore the body and mind, reboots the immune system and converts our mind map information into memories. Harvard University School of Medicine links a lack of sleep (five hours or less) to a 15% decrease in life expectancy which is good reason to prioritise sleep and look into your sleep patterns.

'Prioritising good sleep is good self love' ~ Anon

Enter your organic sleep sanctuary and analyse what's going on that may affect your sleep. According to the Australasian Sleep Association’s National Sleep Research Project, blue light from screens, digital alarm clocks and charging mobile phones all disrupt the sleep hormone melatonin so keep these items away from your bedroom.

Having trouble unwinding? Make space for yourself. Turn off the technology. Light some candles. Run a bath. Put soft soothing music on. Gently massage your skin in the shower with organic coconut oil. Stretch your body gently to release built up body tension. Wear your favourite pyjamas. Allow yourself to relax and let go. It's your space, make yourself feel special, make your bedroom your sanctuary. Now fall into the depths of your bed.

Pure organic cotton breathable sheets, quilt covers and blankets are your best friend when it comes to surrounding your skin in non-toxic chemical free dyes and maintaining a comfortable stable body temperature. Use colour therapy to soothe the senses when you surrender to your sanctuary. Soft neutral and earth tones add harmony to your bedroom and deep rich colours absorb the light creating a deep sea of rest. Make your sleep as luxurious as possible with textural healing. When you sleep your eyes are wide shut so layer your bed with soft lush natural organic cotton textures that you can melt into creating a healthier environment for sleeping.

But still sometimes you may have difficulty slowing down, turning off and actually falling asleep. If this is you, it is time to ask yourself, are you consciously breathing? The breath, heart and mind are connected so whenever you change your breathing patterns, you change your heart rate and you calm the mind immediately.

'Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts' ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

A nice way to be conscious of a surrendered breath technique is practicing “legs up the wall”. 10 minutes of this completely relaxes, releases and unwinds your entire system. If this is hard to do Dr Weil (world-renowned leader and pioneer in the field of integrative medicine) suggests the 4-7-8 breathing exercise which acts as a natural tranquilliser for the nervous system. This simple but powerful breathing technique will help you to sleep.

Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there through the entire exercise. You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue.

• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
• Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
• Hold your breath for a count of seven.
• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
• This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

Through your breath invite sleep to come into your sacred space.