Day 10 of 365 - The Insomnia Diary, Part 1
I'm wide awake. My low back and hips are complaining and preventing me from finding a comfortable position in bed. My lower legs and feet are acting like they may cramp somewhere soon. All this usually does not happen until close to my regular wake up time. It's Sunday, so I did not set an alarm. But it must be time. I sit up, flip off my sleep mask and look at the clock. 3:35 a.m. Crap! I'm quite annoyed because last night was the first time I took melatonin before bed and I was hopeful for a longer sleep. I lie down again, try to prop pillows for more comfort and spend the next 90 minutes or so pondering what the sleeping glitch was until I finally get up.
Having a solid night of sleep is such a rare occurrence for me that it feels like a miracle when it does happen.
Aside from the insomnia of the early parenting years, I had some pretty decent years of sleep until the hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause. Since that time it seems like a crap shoot. Not that there aren't any factors that I can control. There are actually several, which those who study sleep habits and patterns have frequently shared.
So today I'm going to share about some of the things with which I've actually had success. Life being what it is, with it's recurring patterns and all, I have no doubt that I will be sharing more about insomnia in other posts, hence the title.
What I have had success with is the getting to sleep part. I used to have frequent difficulty with that but seldom do now. When I do, it's pretty easy to figure out the cause.
Here are some of my sleep hygiene practices. (Yes, it's an actual term referring to what you can do to promote better sleep.)
Limit caffeine intake. I stopped drinking coffee years ago, even decaf affected my sleep. I drink green tea only in the morning and herbal or decaffeinated teas the rest of the day.
Stop eating a few hours before bed. Keeping your body busy digesting is a big culprit.
Limit evening screen time or at least use available blue light filters. There are usually settings on your devices for this.
Make your bedroom a calm and restful place; no electronics in the bedroom, comfortable bed and bedding, window coverings that block out light, perhaps a fan for white noise, an essential oil diffuser for relaxing scents like lavender.
Use whatever props or devices you need while in bed to either block out stimuli or make your position more comfortable. I use a mouth guard (to prevent teeth grinding), ear plugs to block out ambient sounds since I like the window open for fresh air, an eye mask to block out more light, a lightweight bolster pillow at hand for putting under knees or behind back as needed, a contour pillow to support my neck comfortably.
Once I'm all settled into bed with all my gear in place I give myself Reiki. (More on that in a future post.) And, before I know it, I'm off to dreamland, usually for 5 or 6 hours. But so many health articles these days make a point of the negative impact on health and lifespan of inadequate sleep. So, I'm determined to get more sleep and adding in other strategies towards that.
From talking with my peers, I know I am not an anomaly in the sleep department. Insomnia is not uncommon in my age category. So, it seems very important to my health and vitality to keep working on it. Stay tuned for future posts and hopefully more successes!
Having a solid night of sleep is such a rare occurrence for me that it feels like a miracle when it does happen.
Aside from the insomnia of the early parenting years, I had some pretty decent years of sleep until the hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause. Since that time it seems like a crap shoot. Not that there aren't any factors that I can control. There are actually several, which those who study sleep habits and patterns have frequently shared.
So today I'm going to share about some of the things with which I've actually had success. Life being what it is, with it's recurring patterns and all, I have no doubt that I will be sharing more about insomnia in other posts, hence the title.
What I have had success with is the getting to sleep part. I used to have frequent difficulty with that but seldom do now. When I do, it's pretty easy to figure out the cause.
Here are some of my sleep hygiene practices. (Yes, it's an actual term referring to what you can do to promote better sleep.)
Limit caffeine intake. I stopped drinking coffee years ago, even decaf affected my sleep. I drink green tea only in the morning and herbal or decaffeinated teas the rest of the day.
Stop eating a few hours before bed. Keeping your body busy digesting is a big culprit.
Limit evening screen time or at least use available blue light filters. There are usually settings on your devices for this.
Make your bedroom a calm and restful place; no electronics in the bedroom, comfortable bed and bedding, window coverings that block out light, perhaps a fan for white noise, an essential oil diffuser for relaxing scents like lavender.
Use whatever props or devices you need while in bed to either block out stimuli or make your position more comfortable. I use a mouth guard (to prevent teeth grinding), ear plugs to block out ambient sounds since I like the window open for fresh air, an eye mask to block out more light, a lightweight bolster pillow at hand for putting under knees or behind back as needed, a contour pillow to support my neck comfortably.
Once I'm all settled into bed with all my gear in place I give myself Reiki. (More on that in a future post.) And, before I know it, I'm off to dreamland, usually for 5 or 6 hours. But so many health articles these days make a point of the negative impact on health and lifespan of inadequate sleep. So, I'm determined to get more sleep and adding in other strategies towards that.
From talking with my peers, I know I am not an anomaly in the sleep department. Insomnia is not uncommon in my age category. So, it seems very important to my health and vitality to keep working on it. Stay tuned for future posts and hopefully more successes!
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