March is National Sleep Awareness Month

This is the perfect time to share with you a night time ritual to help you and your Shih Tzu get a good nights sleep. I sleep in the bed. And I bet if you’re here reading this you do too. We tend to be fancy like that. It took us a while to get our sleep ritual right, so I hope one of these tips is the answer you were looking for.

Best tip ever, right here, #1…

1. Marpac Dohm-DS All-Natural Sound Machine: If you live in an apartment especially, then when hoomans walk by you know how excited we get. Even in a house if you have lots of people walking around. With this kickin’ I don’t feel the urge to bark and wake everyone up. It cancels all that foot traffic out and mom likes me a lot more. On the rare occasion I do bark in the middle of the night, it’s because we forgot to turn it on. Seriously, get it! Life changing.
2. Black out curtains FTW! Make sure there is no light peeking through the windows. When it’s totes black I tend to settle down because I can’t see anyways so I’m quiet. (I’ve noticed even on an airplane, mom blacks out my carrier, and I stop barking. Which is so great because people on the plane get mad at us.)
3. Diffuse lavender essential oil. We keep a diffuser on the night stand and the lavender helps to get us in sleep mode. It’s also been known to help with anxiety, insomnia, depression, and restlessness. So set the tone in your bedroom and breathe it in. I feel like I’m in a spa, it helps to add to the ambiance.
4. No digital devices! We don’t have a tv in the bedroom, but there’s still an iPhone and iPad to distract us. Give Instagram a break. Turn off Netflix (although if you haven’t seen Schitt’s Creek, you may want to peep it. But not at bedtime. So funny!) There have been times when I’m falling asleep, then check my phone and that wakes me up again and the next thing I know it’s 2am. Don’t do that. And if you must, def read #5.
5. Heard of blue light blocking glasses? If you must check your phone and keep your light on for a little while longer, try some blue light blocking glasses. They look funny, but mom notices the difference when she wears them. She gets sleepy really fast even while lights are still on.
6. Activity and walks during the day! Make sure us pups get some activity so we are a bit more calm at night. Long walk, or a good indoor play sesh will do.
7. Take all the toys out of the bedroom. If you’re anything like me, toys are my jam. Very toy motivated. I’ll squeak all night. And I’m very protective of my toys and growl when anyone gets close to me and my toys. So basically I’ve been grounded for life and toys are no longer allowed in the bed. Wah!

This is me in bed looking all cute and innocent. Do you sleep through the night or do you keep the hoomans up?