Let’s talk about Sleep!

I recently had the unfortunate opportunity to learn the hard way that poor sleep can have very detrimental effect your mood, your cognitive functioning, and overall health. One doctor I spoke with even said that prolonged lack of sleep can have a traumatic effect on our body! At that point it had been two or three days with only a couple hours of sleep per night and I had no doubt that what he was saying was absolutely true! No matter what I did for those nights, I just couldn’t convince my brain to turn off and let me sleep. I’m pretty sure this has happened to you too! Where you lay there and wonder how you could have been so exhausted just hours before, falling asleep on the couch, only to find yourself thinking about all of the things that didn‘t get done that day or that need to get done the next. I had tried everything that I could think of to get to sleep that week and nothing was working.

This led me to wonder happens when we sleep and why is it so important? So I did what everyone does when their curious about these types of things, I went to the library. Haha! No, I’m just kidding. Even though I would have absolutely loved to do that (rooms with books make me so happy!). I didn’t have to as now I can just ask google, or Siri, who can in turn ask Google?

It turns out that when we sleep, our body is restoring and strengthening (among other things). This is also when memories are moved from short term to long term.

So how much sleep do we need?

Adults need about 7-9 hours according to Canadian Government Health Guidelines and children need 9-11 hours for ages 5-13 and 8-10 for teenagers 14-17.

Do we really get “caught up” on sleep?

No! According to an article on www.sleepfoundation.or, we can’t allow ourselves to become sleep deprived and then just sleep a weekend away to make up for it. My husband and I used to fight over who was going to be the lucky one to get caught up on sleep on our weekends off but apparently the damage can’t be undone with binge sleeping.

So what do you do when you find yourself in a situation where you are starting to become “behind” on your sleep and are starting to feel the cognitive, emotional and physical effects?

Make yourself comfortable!

This may seem like an obvious one but how many of us spend money on iPads, computers, cars, and shoes but then never order luxurious bedding for ourselves?! I once decided that I was going to turn both of my sleeping spaces (my house and our camper) into the most comfortable spaces I could, as cozy as a five start hotel bed! I was hoping that it would help me conquer my sleep issues. I ordered a new mattress and bedding from Casper and spent some extra cash on pillows. That’s right! Pillows. It wasn’t a completely magical solution but I can tell you that almost a year later, I can’t wait to sink into bed at the end of a busy day and on most nights I feel snuggled and pampered when I crawl into bed.

Don’t watch the clock!

This is easier said than done but probably the worse thing that you can do when you can’t fall asleep is start to dwell on the fact that you can’t fall asleep. You might find that getting up for a few minutes to do a meditation or a journaling exercise may work wonders for you when your mind is racing.

Routine is key!

Make sure you have a good bedtime routine

I know you think that this sounds silly, but it works! You will train your body to know when it’s time to start preparing for sleep. You increase melatonin production when you adhere to a strict routine before bed that doesn’t include work, electronics, and so on. I call this my cozy time. Anyone who knows me well knows that I habitually go to bed around nine o’clock, or sooner if I can. This is not to say that you need to start going to bed when the kids do as I have a habit of doing, but a good amount of time to do a calm activity before you lay your head on the pillow will do wonders for your ability to drift into a sweet and peaceful sleep. However, it may not work the first time. You may have to make this a routine for a while before you start seeing the benefits. Have patience.

Experts will tell you that you shouldn’t do anything in your bed other than sleep. This means that you should leave your laptop/work out of this space and avoid watching tv there as well. Having said that, I can’t tell you not to do these things as that would make be a total hypocrite. But that is what the experts say!

Another obvious, yet often forgotten piece of advice is not to eat large meals before bed or consume caffeine (found in more than just coffee) later in the day. This may be something that you have to play around with. I find that if I don’t have anything to eat after supper then I lay awake with my tummy talking to me about how long it’s been since I’ve eaten and that we are surely to starve to death if we don’t get up and at least drink a glass of milk. A light snack an hour or two before bed seems to do the trick!

Get Moving!

Have you ever started an exercise routine and had the absolute best sleeps of your life? If you are suffering from insomnia then it can be extremely difficult to motivate yourself to start a fitness routine but even a little bit can help. When I’m completely drained of all of my energy, which happens often with three little people running around, then I find that yoga or walking can at least lift my mood and break the cycle of bad day → sleepless night → more bad days!

Say no to Stress!

I know, I know, we can’t avoid stress in our lives. But we can do more to limit our stress. This is something I struggle with but there are people that I know who are great at this. One of my friends tells me that when she feels as though she can’t do one single thing on her day off, then she doesn’t! How amazing is that? I often tell myself that and then end up trying to clean my entire house or cure everyone else’s stress. But I’m working on it and that’s why this Blog is called Finding Serenity!

I recently read about, and plan to start, a 28 day miracle month challenge that was included with the book She Means Business by Carrie Green. I was pleasantly surprised to find that part of her challenge was to take better care of yourself! On the list of things to check off and make sure you’ve done for the day is HAVE FUN! Now that’s my kind of challenge! Get her book on Amazon here.

Do you struggle with insomnia? What are some of the things that work for you to break that sleepless cycle? We’d all love to hear about them.

Until next time..

~ Katrina