How To Fall Asleep On Christmas Eve? Tips For You

It’s one of the best times of the year when people are excited about Christmas. Our ability to fall asleep on Christmas Eve will be affected, which is the only drawback. Christmas Eve can become so exciting, especially for kids, that it’s impossible to fall asleep until you’ve been told for the zillionth time that the big red guy won’t come if you don’t get some rest. How to fall asleep on Christmas eve?

By using a few tricks that will put you and your children to bed and send Santa on his way, you can get over holiday jitters or excitement and have a restful night of sleep.

Keep reading, this post introduces some useful tips to help you sleep well on Christmas Eve.

Table of Contents

Why Can’t You Sleep On Christmas Eve?

Based on individual Christmas experiences, everyone can experience Christmas differently. Many people frequently experience holiday anxiety and feel enormous pressure to ensure that Christmas goes as smoothly as possible. When it comes to sleeping, this may present a problem. Children and adults alike are affected by this.

Christmas Sleep Issues For Adults

Adults often have trouble sleeping during the holidays. A lot of pressure can be put on people in certain cultures to have the ideal Christmas, one that is full of wonderful memories, delectable food, and thoughtful gifts, but this expectation rarely matches the reality for the majority of people. Adults may have a hard time sleeping due to:

Past holiday-related trauma or negative memories
The self-imposed pressure to make Christmas a positive holiday
Pressure to do things differently than their parents
Nervousness about impressing family members and making the holiday special
Overwhelmed with many tasks
Excited or amped up about the holiday festivities
Overly exhausted but can’t sleep due to holiday excitement
Feeling overwhelmed with happiness and having a hard time unwinding

Talking To Your Kids

It’s important to comprehend the cause of your child’s difficulty sleeping before attempting to put them to bed. Spend some time getting to know them before bed so you can assist them in developing healthy sleep habits. This will be useful during the busier or more stressful Christmas season. Assist them in processing their feelings and giving names to the things that are keeping them up at night. They may be experiencing:

Holiday excitement and have a hard time calming down
Pressure to act a certain way in front of extended family
Social anxiety regarding Christmas parties
Mixed emotions about Christmas after a family divorce, separation, or disconnect
Anxiety feeding off of someone else’s holiday jitters

How To Fall Asleep On Christmas Eve?

In our Sleep Better Study, 54% of women and 45% of men reported that it was more difficult for them to fall asleep after a stressful day. And what day of the year is more stressful than Christmas Eve? With the exception of a fortunate, organized few who have everything prepared, the majority of us are scurrying around like crazy people trying to finish up loose ends before the big day. To help, we’ve compiled our best tips for getting to sleep on Christmas Eve:

1. Avoid Caffeine

The half-life of caffeine is between six and eight hours. It stays in your system for exactly that long. Caffeine awakens your brain, increases adrenaline, and inhibits chemicals that make you fall asleep when you drink coffee. Caffeine stimulates all the nerves in your frontal lobes. Additionally, caffeine can make you more likely to get a headache and raise your heart rate, which can wake you up or make it difficult to sleep. Without using any substances that increase adrenaline, there’s no denying that we’re all a little excited for Christmas. Avoiding caffeine is one of the best ways to guarantee a peaceful night’s sleep on Christmas Eve, especially given the likely early start the following day.

2. Practice Mindfulness

You can prioritize what matters most to your family for Christmas by practicing mindfulness. It can help you stay grounded. By simply observing them without passing judgment, you can practice mindfulness and allow your thoughts to drift. The practice of mindfulness meditation can help you calm down and fall asleep if you experience any excitement or anxiety around Christmas.

3. Have A Sleep Mantra Ready

When falling asleep seems to be beyond your reach, use a sleep mantra. Continue saying your mantra to yourself in a low, soft voice, either out loud or in your head. You may feel more at ease, your energy may be better directed, and your thoughts may be distracted by doing this. Examples of sleep mantras that can help you out during Christmas Eve include:

Everything will get done
Everything is going to work out
Christmas won’t be perfect, but it will be filled with fun moments
Christmas means spending time with family
Christmas can be stressful but I will get through it
I have tons of help and support to make Christmas great
I’m as prepared as I can be tonight
I will allow myself to rest tonight
Even if I’m awake, I’m still resting

4. Stay Busy In The Day

Make sure your day is well-planned so that the pressure of productivity doesn’t put you to sleep for hours on end. In order to focus on pre-chopping vegetables for the big day, gifts should ideally already be wrapped. Making a checklist of what needs to be purchased, wrapped, prepared, and decorated is the best way to ensure a productive day. Regardless of how excited you are for Christmas, all the energy that might have kept you up at night will be gone, allowing you to sleep like a baby.

5. Limit Exposure To Light

Science is coming, so get ready! The tiny pineal gland in your brain awakens and begins to produce the hormone melatonin when your body decides that it is time for sleep. You naturally become less alert and are prepared to nod off to sleep as soon as this floods your bloodstream. Melatonin levels will be high for about 12 hours after this typically happens around 9 pm. But melatonin production is being fought by our contemporary lifestyles. The pineal gland needs darkness to activate, so staring at a television, smart tablet, or phone has the negative effect of postponing the production of melatonin. This disrupts sleep and is a surefire way to make Christmas Eve difficult for you to fall asleep.

6. Use A White Noise Machine To Reduce Household Noise.

In your home on Christmas Eve, there might be a lot of things that need to get done. (wink wink) It might take you all night to get your kid to sleep if you’re waiting on him or her! The sounds of noise inside the house might keep them awake.

Use your white noise machine to mask those background noises so your child can sleep better.

It would be a good idea to purchase one right away if you haven’t already. The Marpac Dohm, which is the model most frequently found in medical and therapeutic offices, is my favorite. Both Amazon and Bed, Bath & Beyond stores sell them.

They should only be used while sleeping. Use them as close as possible to the location of the noise, such as the door, window, or another opening where the child is being awakened. Use them off the child’s bed, not directly on it. Use it at the lowest volume necessary to drown out the noise. It doesn’t need to be set to a loud volume. You don’t want to leave it on constantly. Keep it connected to sleep and only use it when necessary. Studies have shown that they are safe to use in conjunction with these procedures. However, if they are too loud, used continuously, or on baby beds or strollers, they may be linked to hearing loss.

Practicing Good Sleep Hygiene Before Christmas Eve

It may take some practice to get the hang of preparing both you and your child for a restful night’s sleep. Before Christmas, if at all possible, try to establish good sleep habits. So you’ll have a reliable routine to fall back on if you or your child starts to get restless. This may make it a little bit simpler to relax.

Ambient Lighting

Try to limit screen time or turn down lights and screens at least an hour before bed. Thus, your circadian rhythm won’t be disturbed by bright lights. You can consider:

Set the dimmer switch to low if you have lights on it.
Candles can help you set a relaxing mood in the den. Make sure you don’t leave burning candles unattended.
So that your family can admire the beauty of the Christmas tree, turn on the lights. To allow the room to be filled with the light from the tree, you might prefer to turn off all other lights.

Aromatherapy

Its effects on the mind and emotions are just one of the many advantages of aromatherapy. Lavender and other scents that encourage relaxation and sleep can help you make the most of this helpful relaxation tool. Before using aromatherapy near a child, a pregnant or nursing mother, or your pets, make sure to speak with a doctor. You can consider:

slipping a lavender sachet inside a pillowcase.
If you like incense, pick pine or cedarwood to create a relaxing atmosphere. By lighting frankincense and myrrh incense, you can add a festive atmosphere.
In your bedroom or other parts of the house, diffuse your favorite scent.
utilizing lavender lotion or taking a warm bath with it.

Calming Music Playlist

Make a Christmas playlist of your favorite songs and carols.

Final Words

There are many things you can do to make sure that your family can go to bed on Christmas Eve without it being too difficult.

It’s a wonderful time of year, so don’t ruin the evening by pushing aside your excitement, but you also don’t want to be exhausted on Christmas Day. Relax and good night!