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“Sleep” is the word with the most entries in my gratitude journal.
Ever since I was a little girl, getting to sleep was not an easy thing for me. Now, as a lady-of-a-certain-age, waking up early in the morning has added to my sleep woes.
Taking “one of those little pills right before bed” is not for me. Lots of people handle their sleep problems with “a little pill.”
For many years, I was proud of the fact that I routinely got three to four hours of sleep. I had lots of other things to do besides sleep. “What a waste of time!” I thought. But after I retired, I really did not have “lots of other things to do.” When I read an article in the AARP magazine titled “Why Sleep is Precious for Staying Sharp,” it scared the be jeepers out of me. I realized I had harmed my health for many years.
I want to share with you some of my strategies for getting a “good night’s sleep.”
I took a class on the subject and read tons.
I learned about the causes of both acute insomnia and chronic insomnia, which I had had for years. The main reasons I could not get to sleep when I was a girl and a younger woman were because of significant stress and anxiety. I often sought relief by engaging my brain in various creative pursuits while I had my head on the pillow. Drinking alcohol before bed was another one of my efforts to handle stress and anxiety. It rarely worked. To add to my sleep deprivation, sometimes I would nod off, but would awake a short time later. The instructor stated adults need a good eight hours or more of sleep each night and that it is possible to “catch-up” on sleep time, but it would take three or four days of more sleep hours to do so.
Another source of information on sleep I consulted was various books, web sites, and articles, such as stories about sleep and the aging brain in Scientific American and Reuters. I looked at “Perfect Health,” by Deepak Chopra, M.D., and the section on what happens to the aging brain in “Being Mortal,” by Atul Gawande, M.D. My body type, or dosha, as defined by Ayurveda medicine in Chopra’s book, has a hard time turning off the mind at night.
I looked into possible health reasons
I had my blood checked to see if my thyroid disease had changed and if the medicine for it was sufficient. Although I have arthritis like most women my age, I have little pain. An aspirin, pain cream, and yoga work for me at night. Depression is another ailment I considered, but ruled out.
I looked at my routine
I no longer watch the nightly news or check my email before going to bed. Alas – I gave up my hot chocolate just before bedtime and now have it early in the evening because I learned dark chocolate can contribute to insomnia. When I go into my bedroom, I turn on a small table lamp only and the electric blanket. A darkened room with a warm bed to climb into really seems to help. Also, I have noticed that I sleep better when I have just changed my sheets, so I change them more often. Experts advise working out during the day, but not before bedtime. They also suggest being outside in the sun and “in the green” each day. (I have never had energy after dinner to work out and walk my dog each day.)
I have found these things helpful to get me back to sleep at 1:30 a.m.
I get out of bed instead of tossing and turning. Sometimes I knit if the piece I am working on is not too complicated. Most of the time I go to the bathroom. If I notice my fingers or a knee hurting from arthritis, I rub pain cream on the hurting area and take an aspirin. I grab the jojoba oil, mandarin essential oil, and lavender linen spray from the bathroom closet. I sit on my bed and pour a little oil in my hand and then sprinkle it with the mandarin oil before rubbing the mixture on the bottom of my feet, on my temples and the back of my neck. I put cozy socks on. Next, I spritz my pillow with the lavender spray. By then, I am a little chilly and I hop into my warm bed. If anything is bothering me, I tell myself I will write about it in my journal the next morning. Finally, I remind myself that if I sleep a little longer than normal not to get mad at myself. After all, I no longer have an 8 a.m. business meeting to get to – thank, God!
Copywrite – Elizabeth J. Wheeler, October 12,2016
5 Comments
October 14, 2016 at 10:14 pm
Elizabeth, I was surprised to learn that you prided yourself in getting by on only 3-4 hrs. of sleep. Unlike myself who is a late night person and not a morning person, I knew that you went to bed early and got up very early. But I assumed you probably got 8 hrs. of sleep per night. While I was still working “normal” daytime hours (after several years of working evening shifts), I often got only 5-6 hrs. of sleep, but I was also aware that I was groggy & not my most efficient at work. Now that I’ve been retired, my bedtime hour has become even later, like 4:00 AM, & sometimes 5:00 AM, probably when you have already been up for the day. I do spend time on the internet reading news articles & comments to news articles, & even though I had vowed to get to bed by at least 2:00 AM, I get lost in time. I then sleep until 11:00 AM or so, which retirement allows me to do, but I must say I don’t like it. It doesn’t give me enough daytime to get things done. I also have to admit that I’m addicted to the internet, which keeps me from getting things done around my house. Thank goodness I have my yoga class and animal intervention visits with Molly to get me away from the computer, thus preserving my sanity, esp. during this Presidential Campaign season, which has been going on far too long.
I checked out your link re: “dosha” and found myself rebelling whenever I read, you “should” do something. But “you should” is a topic in itself. I read the info. on Pitta & Vata, but nothing struck home with me. I read about Kapha last, & began to chuckle — so me. “The Kapha dosha is slow, and Kapha types tend to be slow eaters with slow digestion. They also speak slowly.” So thank you for providing that link; I often chastise myself for being so slow, but I realize I am normal, just different than many other people.
October 17, 2016 at 1:07 pm
Ever since you have known me, Ann, I have gone to bed early and believed in getting around 8 hours of sleep! My first yoga teacher introduced me to Ayurvada medicine and Chopra’s book – Perfect Health Like you, I understood much better why I do what I do. Thanks for writing!
October 16, 2016 at 3:33 pm
Hushing the “Monkey Mind” is so difficult. I will “think” that I’m exhausted enough to sleep when my head hits the pillow, but invariably something or somethought rouses me up again.
I have started singing the Gaitry Mantra nine times and then saying mentally my gratitudes for the day, ending with healing prayers for others, and that seems to help me finally drift off.
October 17, 2016 at 1:09 pm
Hi, Jan – So nice to hear from you. I don’t know what the Gaitry Mantra is. Mind sharing? I have used listing gratitudes alphabetically. It helps sometimes, but is always humbling!
October 17, 2016 at 11:33 pm
I heard an interesting interview today on NPR’s Here & Now program re: this podcast that was recorded to help people sleep. I guess one would need an IPOD, though, to get the stories.
http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/10/17/sleep-with-me-podcast
“Drew Ackerman is a storyteller whose tales are so dull, convoluted and meandering that they’re likely to put you to sleep. And that’s exactly the point.
Ackerman is the writer, producer and narrator of the wildly popular “Sleep With Me Podcast,” which promises “lulling, droning, boring” bedtime stories to “distract your racing mind.”