Do you have insomnia? Do you ever wonder how you’ll ever sleep again? What can you do to fight insomnia?
You look at the clock on your bedside table… its 11:05. You toss and turn. Your pillow is too hot so you flip it over. Your blankets are irritating you tonight and there’s a small lump in the mattress that has never bothered you until now.
The clock now reads 12:20. You toss and turn some more. You risk your marriage by nudging your husband and telling him you can’t sleep. Why should he be sound asleep while you’re suffering (and at the mercy of his deep breathing, or worse yet, snoring)?
The alarm clock now reads 1:17. So begins the game of, “If I fall asleep now I’ll get five hours of sleep.” On and on it goes until the alarm clock goes off and you groan, “How will I ever get through the day?”
Check out these 20 tips to conquer insomnia! It's time to sleep again! #insomnia #tips Click To TweetHOW TO BEAT INSOMNIA
We’ve all suffered from insomnia at one time or another. Whether it’s one random night or a series of sleepless nights, insomnia is dreadful. Here are some strategies that I’ve found to be very effective in my times of sleeplessness.
DEEP BREATHS
Concentrate on breathing. Take a deep breath in, let a deep breathe out. Every time your mind wanders, draw it back to your breath… in and out.
A WARM BATH
Draw a nice warm bath. Slip into it and try to think about nothing. Concentrate on breathing slowly and deeply.
USE A WEIGHTED BLANKET
Weighted blankets are a wonderful sleep aid. When my insomnia was at its worst, much of my restlessness was due to anxiety. I invested in a weighted blanket and have never regretted this decision. It’s advise that you choose a blanket that is 10% of your body weight, but I went lighter than that. I love my blanket and I attribute my best sleeps to using a weighted blanket
CHAMOMILE TEA
If you don’t mind the taste, try sipping a cup of chamomile tea with honey in it.
ESTABLISH A ROUTINE
Routines work for children… they can work for you too!!! Do the same routine every evening before bed. Make a list of the things you need to do the next day. Have a cup of decaffeinated tea. Set out your clothes. Take a warm bath. Read a book. Turn off your light and go to sleep. Doing the same thing every night can help train your mind to recognize that it’s bedtime… time to sleep.
EAT SLEEP-INDUCING FOODS
We’ve all heard of tryptophan… this notorious amino acid is known for being in turkey (hence the post turkey-eating nap). It’s also present in other high protein foods. According to WHFoods (2010) the following foods contain tryptophan; “red meat, dairy products, nuts, seeds, bananas, soybeans and soy products, tuna, shellfish, and turkey”(para. 30). Calcium helps with the absorption of tryptophan so combine that turkey sandwich with a glass of milk!
EXERCISE
A few hours before bed, do some gentle exercises. In particular, exercise outdoors can help you get a restful night’s sleep. A walk, bike ride or yoga can help later in the evening when you’re trying to drift off to sleep.
RELAXATION YOGA
I have a great yoga DVD entitled AM/PM Yoga for Beginners. There is an actual segment that’s 25 minutes in length entitled Good Night’s Sleep. It has consistently worked for me on those sleepless nights.
GUIDED RELAXATION
I know I’ve blogged about this before but the Kelly Howell Guided Relaxation CD does wonders for me! I fall asleep within minutes of starting the guided relaxation exercises.
SOOTHING MUSIC
Listen to some soothing music. There are lots of good CDs with great relaxing tunes on them. I am a huge fan of Deva Premal… her voice flows like honey. Some of her music can be found on YouTube. My favourite is the Gayatri mantra… absolutely beautiful.
BINAURAL BEATS
A few years ago I discovered a wonderful app – Sleepstream 2. I downloaded this app for my iPhone and I listen to the “deep sleep” binaural beats with an overlay of white noise. This app even has a guided meditation to help you sleep, too. I highly recommend it!
COVER YOUR CLOCK
Break the habit of looking at the time and cover your clock. By not having the glaring reminder of time (or lack thereof) you may be able to ease some of the pressure to fall asleep quickly.
DARKEN YOUR ROOM
Make your room a dark cave. Draw your blinds (room darkening shades are the best). Make sure any illuminated electronics are covered or dimmed. Also, avoid having a night light in the room.
READ A BOOK BEFORE BED
This is not the time to read an edge-of-your-seat thriller or mystery. Drag out the dullest of books and begin to read. You may be surprised at how quickly your eyes will begin to droop.
MAKE A LIST OR WRITE IN A JOURNAL
Sometimes our restlessness is due to the amount of information we’re storing in our brain. Making a list of things you don’t want to forget or journaling about the day’s events can help free up your mind to focus on relaxation.
REPEAT A MANTRA OR MEDITATIVE WORD
Find a word or two to repeat over and over again. Focus your mind on saying/repeating the word(s). My personal favourite is… peace.
POWER DOWN
Resist the temptation to check your e-mail, surf the web or watch television. Your brain needs to slow down. Don’t stimulate it with new images or ideas!
COOL DOWN YOUR BODY
A cool room helps promote a restful sleep. Make sure you have enough blankets for warmth but keep the air temperature cool.
USE LAVENDER
Diffuse a few drops of lavender (or add to your bath water or pillow). “In pillows, lavender seeds and flowers aid sleep and relaxation. An infusion of three flower heads added to a cup of boiling water soothes and relaxes at bedtime” (Wikipedia, 2010).
DON’T FORCE YOURSELF TO SLEEP
Get up and go to a different area of the house. Sit in a chair. Meditate. Relax. Return to bed about twenty minutes later.
Hopefully these tips help you in your quest to fall asleep. Is there anything you do that makes sleep come easier? Feel free to share your thoughts, tips and/or suggestions.
Good night. Sleep tight.
References
WH Foods (2010). Tryptophan. Retrieved November 30, 2010 from, http://www.whfoods.com
Wikipedia. (2010). Lavender. Retrieved November 30, 2010 from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavender
Many great suggestions as always. I’ve used a number of these with some success (routine, mantra/meditation, breathing, baths). I’m a huge fan of lavender myself – I got an aromatherapy mist from a hotel years ago that I still use.
I found listening to a soundscape I’ve created, as opposed to music with lyrics which I can find distracting, helps a lot. I have an app on my ipod called irelax which allows you to layer different sounds. I have a night time one for when I have trouble sleeping (street noises with rain and a gentle accoustic guitar melody) and another for when I need to focus in my windowless lab (birds chirping, trees rustling in the wind, a happy little piano melody).
I also make sure the last thing I do on the computer is look at cute pictures of kitties or penguins or some other adorable animal. I find it’s a simple to start gearing down my busy mind. It always puts a smile on my face and I’m it helps that I have two real kitties to curl up with at bedtime too :D