Not Sleeping ? Let me see if I can help

Insomnia

“Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep.”

What an absolute scourge it is and I have been there and I think I can relate to all parts of this definition i.e. falling asleep, staying asleep, waking too early and not being able to go back to sleep.

We all experience bouts of not being able to sleep which reflects what is going on in our lives at any given time.

When I was at my worst, I was only getting 2 hours sleep a night and I was exhausted.  No matter what I did, I couldn’t get a night’s sleep.  And the scary thing was, my body was getting used to not sleeping so that some days I actually felt OK on 2 hours sleep.  But let’s face it, it’s not good.  Your body needs it’s rest to regenerate.

I remember when I was at my worst, I had to ask my husband to drive me to work. I would also go for long walks and exercise a lot thinking I would ware myself out, but no it didn’t help.  I was told that it was “all in my mind”, it definitely wasn’t ! My body adapted to that rhythm and took it as the norm.  I eventually had to go and get help to get my body rhythm back to normal.

So, what can you do to help yourself ?

There are a number of things you can do to help yourself

• Light can suppress the production of melatonin in the body which increases naturally in the evening time to help you relax before sleep.  Lack of melatonin will make it difficult to fall asleep, so when you are watching TV or looking at your devices, wear tinted glasses which block the blue light.
• OR, it is advised to come off all devices 1 hour before bed so that your mind can have time to switch off and calm down.
• Try some Yoga Nidra.  It is a relaxing technique which allows each part of the body to “let go” bit by bit.  Youtube will have videos on how to do this.  Try it before bed.
• Do not look at the news before bed as it will replay in your mind and cause you to be restless.
• Don’t decide that bedtime is the best time to have a big discussion with someone. This will have your mind going through every bit of the conversation leaving you restless.
• Stimulants, after 3pm don’t have any tea, coffee, chocolate.  If I had any of those, I would still be awake at the same time the next day !
• Try not to eat 3 hours before bed time because your body could be digesting and not allowing you to relax.
• Chamomile/Sleep Tea.  I have a cuppa every evening.  And who says you can only have one teabag in the cup ???  At bad times I have put up to 3 teabags in the one cup to make a lovely strong brew.  And sometimes when if I wake up in the night, I will go and make some sleep tea.
• Get a big tub of Epsom Salts and enjoy a fist full in a relaxing bath in the evening times.  Between the heat of the bath and the muscle relaxing Magnesium in the Epsom Salts, you will be ready for bed in no time.
• They say your bed should be used for sleep and sex, so no TV in your bedroom and no reading.  I don’t have a TV in my room but I have to say, reading really does help me to drift off, so its up to you !
• During my worst time, a friend of mine recommended meditation to calm the mind.  There are many types of meditation (I will do a blog on this another time !!) but at the time, I used the free version of Headspace and found I got some relief.  I signed up for a few years after that.  I would meditate almost every day now.
• Did you know that between 10pm and 12am is when your body does a lot of its regeneration so it is best to get to bed at 10pm, if you can.  I sometimes find I am gone to bed before my children !!!  You do feel a lot better the next day.
• I always wear an eye mask to ensure all light is blocked out.  Any kind of light affects my sleep.
• No devices in the room or if you have to have them in your room, make sure they are switched off.  Electromagnetic fields can have an impact on your sleep.
• Try a herbal remedy !  There are plenty of herbal remedies out there like Nytol, or my favourite Melissa Dream.  They might be worth a try.
• One last thing, did you know that REFLEXOLOGY can really help with sleep !!!

Anyone else got any hints or tips for getting a good night’s sleep ???