This is not my bedroom. If it were, I'd probably sleep better. |
There's been a lot of conversation within my relationship circles lately regarding sleep, or better yet, lack of sleep. I've been a horrible insomniac for most of my life but never really worried about it until I learned that it is a contributing factor in developing dementia. That scared the bejeezus out of me! And made me worry more that I wouldn't be able to sleep.
Everyone I know offered advice. I'm sharing some of their suggestions here, in case, like me, you have trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep.
- Establish a bedtime routine. Going to bed at roughly the same time every night and following a bedtime ritual helps you trick yourself into getting ready to sleep. (Kinda like you do for a baby.)
- Take all electronics (computer, smart phones, television, etc..) out of the bedroom. You're there to sleep; not work.
- Make the room dark.
- Read before bedtime.
- Listen to audiobooks so that you can keep the room dark and your eyes closed.
- If you can't sleep, get up and read or do something else relaxing instead of tossing and turning.
- Limit caffeine. (This is the toughie for me. but I have stopped drinking coffee after noon.)
- Take melatonin every day to reset your sleep cycle.
I still have some sleepless nights, but the insomnia is much less frequent now. I think the biggest change is actually that I take sleep more seriously now. I'd never considered how important it was to my health before, but now that I do, I'm making sure I get more sleep.
Good to know about the melatonin! A friend recommended that for Andy (who goes through periods of difficulty sleeping) and he was resistant, but maybe a second endorsement would make him more likely to try it. Now I just have to figure out where I can get it...
ReplyDeleteYou can get melatonin everywhere. It's at the grocery with the vitamin supplements. Hope it's as successful for him as it has been for me!
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