Sleep, wake, repeat. Read all about how our friends optimize their surroundings, unwind, and relax the mind for a good night—every night.

We sat down with Lilian Umurungi-Jung, the founder of Mumgry, handcrafted, ethically sourced, naturally nutritious nut butters, to talk about her nightly bedtime rituals.

 

Double, Queen, or King?  

Now and forever a King, however, I’ve experienced all 3 sizes for many years. 

Why is a good night’s sleep important to you?

I’ve always believed that sleep and food are a married couple.  It’s not fair for us to solely rely on food for energy and abuse our sleep levels.  Good food and good sleep equals a happy life. 

How many hours of sleep do you get a night—or at least dream of getting? 

4 to 6 hours, I’m not proud of it. On a vacation which hasn’t happened in a very long time I can clock a solid 8 hours and I’m dancing through the day.  It takes almost 2 hours to fall asleep.

Are you a dreamer? 

Yes! I do a lot of visualization exercises right before bed and when I wake up so when I’m sleeping my dreams are always a montage of things from my day and whatever fantasy comes to mind. Nothing ever makes sense. I once dreamt that I was at Drake’s house having tea on his basketball court while basketballs were flying around us but we weren’t dodging them we just sat with no expression. I likely saw him playing basketball on his instagram earlier in the day and then had tea before bed and pulled it all together once I hit REM.

What’s currently on your bedside table? 

Creative Visualization floats around my room. I read it before bed and anytime I need to, I picked up Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi so I’ll be reading that soon. We just finished our MUMGRY Food for Thought Series with Dr MJ (my cousin) and she recommended over 28 books by Black authors in celebration of Black History Month so I’m on the hunt for a few books I haven’t read yet.

Do you partake in any nightly routine before settling into bed? 

I drink the most water right before bed.  Wash my face, brush my teeth and then try to meditate while lying down for 2 hours.

Tell us about where the magic happens—and by magic, we mean sleep. How do you optimize your sleep environment?  

A good pillow, sheets and massive (medium weight) blanket tucked under my sides and raised up to my eyes. I try to achieve complete silence and darkness.  I love it when my room is so dark that when my eyes are open it feels like they are closed. I like my room so dark that I’m risking a toe stub if I wake up to go to the bathroom.  I like it so dark that my partner's touch is a sweet surprise.  Since my mind wanders so much at night I enjoy complete silence and stillness.  However, on a vacation I can fall asleep with only sheets, a blanket pulled up to my shoulders, moonlight and Sade playing softly.  It’s a whole different vibe when I’m in warm weather.

If you feel a restless night coming on, is there anything you do to help get you through the night without waking? 

Just do it. Have sex and sleep peacefully for the rest of the night and hopefully wake up to the smell of coffee, toast and MUMGRY.  It’s the only thing that works. If you are an equal contributor to the act of sex you will achieve good sleep afterwards.  There’s no special face mask, potion, drink, candle or food that will help you on a restless night. Sexercise is the only thing that works and if you don’t have a partner there are many other creative ways but I am not a sex therapist so I’ll stop here.

What kind of pillows do you use to keep your head in the clouds? 

Not the right ones. I’ve been looking for the perfect pillow for years.  My goal for 2022 is to acquire the best pillow, sheets and towels my body will ever experience. It’s the part of adulting that I’m most interested in improving for the rest of my life. Any recommendations?

Last but not least, what is your number one piece of can’t-sleep-without advice? 

I can’t sleep without a tall glass of water and an hour away from any devices.