As the UK approaches its longest day of the year, you may be finding yourself trying to get to sleep in (and waking up to) daylight. Due to the location Great Britain on planet Earth, 62% of our day is filled with sunlight.

 Summer sunshine certainly makes it difficult to take care of yourself and sleep right. With the Jubilee Weekend at our doorstep and British consumers planning on spending a whopping £823,000,000 on food and booze to celebrate, it sounds like we’re going to be needing some serious recovery time. But what about when there’s no chance of any extra shut-eye because the light’s pouring in through your bedroom window?

So here it is-  your holistic guide to a healthy, restful yet fun-filled Royal Weekend.

First off, if you had one too many toasts to Queenie and overdid the fizz, don’t be tempted to reach straight for the pills in the morning.  Side effects of popular painkillers (Ibuprofen can cause stomach bleeding and Aspirin is a blood thinner) can be intensified by the booze in your system, so it’s best to avoid the temptation of an easy fix.

If you wake up feeling less than joyful, here’s some super-duper-healthy and natural cures for a variety of hangover symptoms. Essentially a hangover is the effect of the alcohol  consumed inhibiting certain processes in your body, therefore some of the best cures are actually preventative measures. Number 1 being not to over-indulge in the first place, but lets forget about that for the moment.

The following taken before bed will make sure that your body functions in the way it needs to process any alcohol in your system through the night, allowing you to wake up feeling refreshed.

  • B-Complex Vitamin: helps get the cells active and increases energy production helping eliminate the alcohol faster
  • Milk Thistle: helps clear the liver.
  • Magnesium: it is believed that some of the hangover related symptoms are in part due to magnesium depletion.

Secondly, the principal cause of feeling horrible after drinking is dehydration. Up your water intake, as much as you can muster. Not only will it rehydrate you, but the inevitable rise in the amount of times you need to pee is also beneficial; flushing your system of toxins. Stock up on coconut water, it’s nature’s sports drink, containing minerals and electrolytes to help kickstart your system.

Hangover symptoms taken care of, how do you ensure you’re not being hauled out of your restful sleep at the crack of dawn? After all, drunk-sleep isn’t effective, you’re going to need extra sleep to allow your body to recover.

At the beginning of the year the Breathing Relief blog investigated stick on blinds to combat those early morning rays. However, now it’s time to pull out the big-guns. Yes, that means looking a bit foolish to your partner and donning a sleeping-mask.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, a dark bedroom contributes to better sleep. The early morning light throws your body’s natural Circadian Rhythm into complete disarray. Blocking it out means cheating your body into thinking it’s still dark outside and therefore, still time to sleep (which it is).

Here are some of the best sleep masks available:
Eco Tool’s Bamboo Sleep Mask made from sustainable materials, so good for the environment and even better for  your skin as the bamboo is breathable.

Available from Notonthehighstreet.com, this luxurious specimen is filled with lavender to soothe and promote sleep. It’s pricey, but from the link you can browse a variety of products to suit any budget.

And finally- the perfect product for this Jubilee themed post:

Happy Diamond Jubilee to all the Brits, enjoy your weekend, may it be the perfect mix of fun and freshness!