Tips for a Better Night Sleep, part 2
Ironically, one of the things that most keeps people awake at night is worrying about being able to get to sleep in time and get enough sleep that night. I can’t tell you how many times even I myself have fallen prey to this irrationally self-destructive mind set. What then are we to do? First we have to fully accept the realization that all the worry we are going through is not really helping us but is more than likely making our situation worse, depriving ourselves of rest. It’s also beneficial to realize that we are likely not going to cure cancer or solve world hunger laying in our bed thinking about it. We have to learn the difference between good contemplative problem solving and wasteful worry. We need to understand that we will be better off facing our problems for real in the morning with a well-rested brain.
Some people have told me that they benefit from a vigorous work out in the late evening. They tell me that the exhaustion they have from exercise helps them get to sleep faster. Others have told me that exercise late in the evening fills their body with adrenalin and endorphins that keep them from getting to sleep. I suspect that these both may be true and that different people have different experiences. Don’t be afraid to experiment a bit with your personal sleep regiment. Perhaps you may want to try working out before bed for one week and doing something very relaxing like a long hot bath another week. Compare and contrast which, if any, changes seem to help or hinder your sleep.
Don’t be afraid to try a sleep mask or earplugs if light or noise keep you up. Light and noise might even be a factor you have over looked because they are so normal and uncontrollable. Some people fear that these masks and plugs make them look silly. Hopefully your partner won’t give you too hard of a time. Other people worry that they will not be able to hear their alarm clock or a fire alarm. Generally these sleep aids don’t limit perception that completely. Try them out on a weekend when it’s not critical that the alarm wake you
Tossing and turning will keep you up all night long if you let it. When we are uncomfortable, it’s natural to flop around seeking for a better feeling position. When you find yourself unable to get comfortable, make drastic changes sooner than later. Don’t waste an hour fluffing your pillow when you could have gotten another one from the closet. If you feel too hot or too cold, change what you’re wearing or adjust your home’s climate controls early on. When you run out of options for improving your situation, stop. If you are going to end up uncomfortable in any position, resign yourself to being uncomfortable and try to shut out the physical experience in favor of the mental. It is possible to sleep in physical discomfort. Throughout history, people have slept on dirt floors, sitting in chairs and even in rain filled battlefield trenches. Remind yourself that the creature comforts are nice, but you can make the best of even the worst mattress and pillow. Settle in for the long haul and lay still.
What we consume before we go to bed is important. Be mindful not to eat and drink things that are going to necessitate going to the bathroom or which will give you heartburn. Choose only foods that sit well with you and won’t upset your stomach. By all means, avoid sugar and caffeine. Foods that are known to contain the chemical tryptophan have long been thought to induce drowsiness. More recent studies seem to dispute this. Rather, large heavy meals rich in carbohydrates are the true source of Thanksgiving drowsiness. Though a rich heavy meal may induce drowsiness, it’s not a healthy prescription for a bit of sleep. Warm milk is another home remedy that has pretty much been debunked. Perhaps it does still have value as placebo. If you really believe that turkey sandwich and glass of milk will help you get some Zs, they just might.
Stretching a bit when first lying in bed can help a great deal. I’m not talking about the kind of stretching we do before a work out, but more of the stretching you see a cat do where they extend their arms and legs and arch their backs. This stretching relaxes the body as a whole as well as loosening us up so that our sleeping position will feel more comfortable
Last but not least, yawn. Yawning has a surprisingly beneficial effect on the human body in terms of preparing for sleep. It’s natural for many people to attempt to cut their yawns short. If you need help getting to sleep, let your yawns last for as long as comes naturally. There is a strange psychological and somatic aspect of yawning which people say is “contagious”. Watching other people yawn has been proven in the research to induce yawning. Even thinking about yarning or visualizing others yawning can make you yawn. Even faking a yawn can often produce a real yawn.
Tips for a Better Night Sleep, part 1
One of the most common problems the average person experiences in life is a lack of sleep. Fortunately, recent studies indicate that more Americans have been getting much more adequate sleep over the past couple of years. Recent studies say that the current average is 48 hours a week. Hopefully this trend or better rest will continue.
The factor that most keeps people awake at night when lying in bed is that they are simply not “sleepy yet”. Not feeling ready to fall asleep at night is generally a good sign of being adequately rested. This is the biggest problem when an abnormality in a person’s schedule makes a person “have to go to sleep” at a time when they simply aren’t tired enough to do so. It’s very hard to go to sleep at 8 pm to wake up at 4 am when your body is accustomed to going to bed at 11 pm to wake at 7 am. There is a good chance you will simply sit in bed waiting to sleep until 11 pm anyhow and getting only 5 hours of sleep. Over the counter sleep aids are a great way to prepare for nights when our lives demand that we sleep when our bodies are not really ready. As always, it’s best to fully understand the medication warnings and consult with a doctor if you have any concerns or complicating factors.
The next greatest challenge to getting to sleep is active thought. Some people will say it’s anxiety and worry. They are not completely wrong; I am simply identifying a more basic root cause. Many people who lay awake at night do so because they are ruminating about something. Our brain does not do well in drifting off to sleep when we are engaging it in directed active cognitive processing. Not all thoughts that prevent sleep are negative thoughts. Enjoyable, happy thoughts can keep you awake as well. It’s not the specific content of the thoughts; it’s the active use of the brain that keeps it awake. People lay in bed worrying about money and relationships. People stay awake at night trying to figure a way out of this problem or that. People also stay awake at night musing over fun and interesting events of the day. They ponder how they should best spend vacation time or a bonus. Some even consider the odds of their favorite sports team taking home a championship this season. In addition to active thought keeping the mind in an alert state, many thoughts induce emotions that perpetuate additional dwelling on our interpersonal experience, which is not conducive to sleep. Emotional experiences trigger the release of endorphins that can energize or agitate us and prohibit us from drifting off to sleep. The secret to a good night sleep is letting the mind and it’s thoughts drift out of conscious control. Remember back in school when your teacher was talking, but you were staring off into space daydreaming? That very way of letting you mind drift off in what every way the subconscious chooses to take it is one of the best ways to begin getting to sleep sooner and getting more before the alarm clock goes off.
(More tips to follow in my next article.)