How to get a better night's sleep...

[shutterbug]

How to get a better night's sleep.

Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Getting your body used to a schedule can help regulate your sleep cycle.

Avoid sleeping in on weekends to keep your schedule consistent and make it easier to wake up on Mondays.

Relax before bed. Set aside some time before bed to do things that relax you. A warm bath, reading, listening to soft music, or meditation can help you unwind from the day and get ready for sleep.

Make a to-do-tomorrow list if it bothers you to leave work undone at the end of the day.

Use natural or artificial light to help you. Avoid bright lights before going to sleep. Wake up with the sun if possible. Spend some time in natural sunlight (not necessarily direct) during waking hours. If you can’t wake up with the sun, turn bright lights on when you get up.

Get active early. Try to exercise or do some type of physical activity for 20-30 minutes each day. But don’t do it too close to bedtime. Three to six hours before going to bed is ideal.

Do something. Don’t lie in bed awake. This can make you anxious and worsen insomnia. Read or do another quiet activity until you feel tired.

Keep temperatures constant. If the temperature in your bedroom is too hot or too cold, it could disrupt your sleep.

Keep your room dark. Put up heavier blinds or use a sleep mask.

White noise such as radio static or the noise from a fan helps some people sleep, especially if they are bothered by noises (such as traffic outside) that they can’t control. Earplugs may also be helpful.

Things that can keep you awake

Excessive fluids or heavy spicy meals too close to bedtime can interfere with sleep

Caffeine. Try to stop your caffeine intake (including chocolate, colas and some teas) by noon or earlier.

Alcohol may seem like a sleep aid because it slows you down and can make it easier to fall asleep. But alcohol affects the depth and restfulness of your sleep by disrupting normal sleep patterns. It can also affect your breathing and heart rate.

Nicotine in cigarettes is a stimulant. It can keep you up or cause you to wake up too early because of withdrawal.

Over-the-counter decongestants can keep you awake or make your sleep less restful.

Herbal energy boosters can keep you up. Read labels carefully and discuss them with your doctor before using herbal remedies.

Shift workers: Getting good sleep when others are awake

Keep your sleep and wake times as constant as possible. Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep for every 16-17 hours of wakefulness. Know when you need to go to sleep. Even if you come home when the day is just beginning for others, resist the urge to stay up.

Create a sleep area that is comfortable, dark and secluded. Be sure your family knows to be quiet when you’re sleeping. White noise such as a fan or radio static might be especially helpful for you.

Create a wind-down routine or a pre-sleep schedule and stick to it. You may need to be creative with regard to mealtimes and exercise times. Your before-bed schedule might include a hot bath, which raises your body temperature and makes sleep easier.

Shift workers: At work

Drink caffeinated products only during the first half of your shift.

Take short breaks. Get up and move around. Get some sort of physical exercise such as walking around the workplace or climbing some stairs.

Space your boring work throughout the day. Doing it all at the same time, especially right before it’s time to go home, may make you nod off.

Get enough to eat. Have three regular meals at regular times. Eat healthy snacks.

If you work closely with others, talk to them if it doesn’t distract from the work at hand. Ask them to watch you for signs of drowsiness, and do the same for them.

Make your work space as well-lit as possible.

Be careful operating heavy equipment if you feel drowsy or blink or yawn frequently.

Use public transportation or a carpool to minimize drowsy driving for you and your co-workers.

How to relax

Find a relaxation routinethat works for you by researching books or web sites, or by talking to your doctor.

Some people find it helpful to tense and relax each muscle group, one by one, from toes to head. As you relax the muscles, feel their heaviness. Choose an image of restfulness that you can relate to and keep your mind on that image. When worries come to mind, push them out by repeating a phrase in your mind like, “Not now, I’m resting/sleeping.�

Some people find the sound of the human voice soothing. Listening to relaxation tapes or books-on-tape helps some people fall asleep. Be sure the book is not too exciting or action-oriented and does not engage your mind and keep you up. Familiar tapes often work best.

[MootPoint]

Great post, Shutterbug!

I'm an insomniac. All of that post is correct from what I've learned.

Caffeine. Try to stop your caffeine intake (including chocolate, colas and some teas) by noon or earlier.

I just try to forget THAT one exists . I'm up till 2 am because of the AA and NA coffee .

Alcohol may seem like a sleep aid because it slows you down and can make it easier to fall asleep. But alcohol affects the depth and restfulness of your sleep by disrupting normal sleep patterns. It can also affect your breathing and heart rate.

I used to drink to "sleep". When I quit, I learned what I quoted. Another thing alcohol does to your sleep...... it can, and frequently does, cause sleep apnea. Which, along with disrupting your sleep, can be very dangerous.

[sweeks]

I like to play the same CD every night when I go to bed (Enya lol) I call it my sleepy time music. Drives my husband nuts to hear it every single day but as soon as it comes on I'm out like a light. Thankfully they don't play it much on the radio. lol :sleeping:

[reikihelps]

Awesome post, Mootpoint.

Here's another tidbit that helps....I love to have a special blanket that actually evokes a restfulness in me. Mine is made of two pieces of polartec...mmmmm.
And sometimes smells help me. I find cinnamon and clove to be especially relaxing.
thanks for the post.
Reikihelps

[shutterbug]

Reiki,

Do you burn cinnamin and clove insense or oils or something? I really love the smell of clove and would like to know what you use?

I also wanted to mention that the information I posted above in this thread is not my work or words. I found the info on a site somewhere and posted it here. I had attributed it to the site where I found it, but it seems that site solicits donations so the address was taken out of my post. I just didn't want to take credit for someone elses work when all I did was copy and paste it into this forum.

But something I occasionally do is listen to a relaxation tape my aunt gave me years ago when I was first diagnosed with depression and was telling her about my sleeping troubles. It is a self-hypnosis type of 10-minute thing that helps me to shut my mind down. Sometimes I have to listen to it several times before I fall asleep and other times I'm asleep before I knew what hit me. It's very relaxing with the sounds of the forest and the water and the birds and things and the man's voice talking is a very soothing one that tells you to picture things like the color in a leaf as it drifts slowly down a stream and out of sight. I wish I could think of the name of it because it really does work. I keep a tape player next to my bed with that tape in it. Sometimes my problem is that I would rather stay up than to go to sleep so I don't use it as often as I should.

Sometimes reading a boring book can also put me to sleep.

I'm also bad about the caffine thing too.

[shutterbug]

Sweeks, thanks for the post. It helped me remember about the CD that my sister uses to put her twins to bed. It's a lullaby type orchestration that is beautiful! I am going to have to get a copy of that too. She told me just last week that even when the boys are already asleep she often turns it on for herself because she has gotten so use to hearing it through the baby monitor that it now helps HER go to sleep. LOL.

[reikihelps]

Shutterbug,

I burn essential oils. They can be found at health food stores and even at arts and craft places. Lots of good scents.....
You can get a little diffuser...looks like a vase and you place a tea light in it to burn. Mix the oils w/ water and that's all there is to it.