Sleep … Your Friend or Your Elusive Enemy?
So many people have said how elusive sleep is to them; at times I have been in this category myself. Especially if I am over excited, stressed or don’t feel well. It seems like my mind will go on forever and since I don’t have an automatic shut off (wouldn’t that be nice!), I will often lay there for hours thinking about all the things I haven’t gotten accomplished.
I started researching sleep and what people like you and I can do about it, short of going to a sleep clinic or getting a prescription for it. Here are several suggestions that I’ve personally tried that actually worked quite well for me and for some of my friends. Now mind you, nothing seems to work all of the time. We have found that alternating several “good” ideas that help you attain that blissful state of restful sleep, works the best. And rotating the ideas, keeps you from losing the effect of trying just one over and over again. I’ll start out with my old fashioned tried and true ones and go from there.
There is the old standby ...
1. A glass of warm milk, or decaffeinated herbal tea, or even hot chocolate, but I like to couple that with a good book. However not one that is too heavy into intrigue or mystery because then I don’t want to put it down. Something else I have discovered, don’t read self-help or intense “learning” books right before bed because your brain doesn’t turn off. And the result you are looking for is to calm your brain not get it working.
2. A warm bath, but not a hot one. A hot bath stimulates you while a warm one relaxes you. If you have some essential oils to add to your bath all the better. My favorites are Lavender or Jasmine. A few candles, especially in a corresponding scent add to the ambiance as well. Sometimes I put on soft music, Pachebel Cannon is one of my favorite relaxing pieces, I also enjoy Enya. Just be ready to fall right into bed immediately after, don’t answer emails, get on the phone or start doing things around the house. That ruins your relaxed state.
3. A little massage to relax your neck, shoulder or back muscles and even your feet, is a big help as well. If you don’t have a spouse or significant other to help you out with this one, Hometics makes a wonderful line of home massage items. You can get them at bed and bath stores for your neck and your back and even for your feet. Try using these for 10 or 15 minutes before you go to bed. They help relieve the tension we often don’t even realize we have built up during the day.
4. Sore and achy feet can ruin a good night’s sleep. If you have that problem, try a foot massage. You will be amazed at what it will do to help you relax. Don’t have a foot massager? No problem. Just get yourself a tennis ball or even one of those little balls your dog probably has for a toy. (Just make sure he isn’t chewing on it!) and roll your foot around on the ball. Put some pressure on it until you can feel the tendons and muscles in your foot relaxing, it may hurt when you first try it, but don’t stop. You will be surprised at how much better you feel when you relive the pressure and tightness in your feet. Because this helps stretch the muscles and tendons it helps keep your feet feeling much better and keeps them more flexible. This is great if you are on your feet all day. (I carry a tennis ball whenever I travel, and use it every night, what a difference!)
Now that I’ve shared a few of the ideas that work for me, I’d like to invite you to share your great ideas too. So please email me at livingbeautifully@sbcglobal.net put “Sleep Ideas” in the subject line and let me know what they are so we can share them.
Have a Beautiful Day, Until Later …
Heart Hugs,
Susan Marie