Protect Your Sleep
It’s 2am and snowing outside the dark windows of my living room as I scrolled through cake decorating YouTube videos on my iPad & reached for my ‘Sleepy Time’ tea. What a joke. This tea hadn’t made me sleepy for months. I was up in the middle of the night yet again, because every time I tried to go to sleep the terrible images of my son laying on one of those metal “beds” in a prison cell came crashing into my mind. The cake decorating videos were an attempted distraction. I hoped that If I watch something completely mundane, maybe I’ll fall asleep without realizing it and be spared the terrible spinning mind that attacked me every single night. But the truth is, I was afraid I may never have a normal night’s sleep again – at least not as long as my son was facing a potentially long prison sentence.
Sleep seems to be one of the first things to go when you’re under stress. It can be incredibly difficult to stop your mind from racing long enough to get good rest.
Most of us understand that lack of sleep isn’t good for us, but the Columbia University Department of Neurology published an article outlining the grim facts about sleep deprivation and the level of trauma it can add to your already traumatic circumstances.
In addition to the issues commonly known (and sometimes joked about in our busy society) like drowsiness, inability to concentrate and impaired memory; there are many, more serious issues you may face with prolonged sleep deprivation. Mental health issues like increased risk for depression and mental illness, severe mood swings and even hallucinations. Then we have the physical health risks to consider like diminished ability to fight off infections, increased risk for stroke, heart disease and asthma. Never mind the obvious dangers surrounding drowsy driving.
In the “Whitehall II Study,” British researchers looked at how sleep patterns affected the mortality of more than 10,000 British civil servants over two decades. The results, published in 2007, showed that those who had cut their sleep from seven to five hours or fewer a night nearly doubled their risk of death from all causes.
Maintaining a healthy level of sleep is one of your best defenses against uncontrollable stress levels. Wouldn’t you know it, one of your best defenses against stress is one of the main things that also eludes you in times of great stress. Damn it! I knew I needed to find a way to regain control of my sleep, so I went on a mission to find the best strategies.
Here’s what I found.
Have a night-time ritual.
Well before bedtime, set the mood in your household. Turn off TV and other screens at least 30 minutes before you go to bed, studies have shown that the blue light from our screens inhibits our ability to sleep. This 30-minute window is perfect for some planned relaxation – either a warm shower or bath, skin-care regimen, etc. Another great pre-bedtime ritual is to meditate, pray, or have a similar structured wind-down period.
One of my all-time favorite night-time rituals is writing a short gratitude list each night. This is so powerful when done consistently, you may not need some of the other strategies in this list.
Keep a notepad & paper by your bed.
Write 3-5 unique things from that day that you’re grateful for. Here’s an example:
I had a delicious lunch today
The checker at the grocery store complimented my outfit
My boss said my work on my biggest project was really great
My friend Debbie invited me to the movies with her this weekend
Think about these things and the situation surrounding them as you fall asleep. Really concentrate on the memory, the feelings these good things brought to your day. This is called Active memory
BONUS: Read the gratitude list each morning before getting out of bed. (FOTA members receive additional advanced training around this very useful tool.)
After you’ve finished your gratitude list, and your active memory exercise, if you’re still not sleepy, read an interesting, uplifting book while in bed preparing for sleep. (no videos)
2. Go to sleep around the same time each night and get up around the same time each morning.
Everyone’s ideal sleep schedule seems to be a bit different. If you’re a night owl the thought of going to sleep by 10pm may be the worst thing you’ve heard all day. By contrast, morning people know they need to go to bed early in order to catch that sunrise! Whatever is most comfortable for you, it’s important to find a sleep schedule that works, and that is consistent. If you really enjoy sleeping in a bit later on the weekends, just keep your wake-up time within 60-90 minutes of your weekday schedule.
Remember this doesn’t have to be forever, but right now, while you’re battling quite possibly the most intense storm of your life, you need to take steps to guard sleep, and this is a super effective one.
3. Melatonin or other good, non-addictive supplements in small doses for a short time can jump start a health sleep cycle if other strategies aren’t helping enough.
Be very careful to never take it during the day, only at bedtime. And start with small doses, it’s better to increase if needed than to take too much right off the bat. If you need to use this strategy, set a date when you plan to stop using it. Within about a month (or two at the longest) your sleep should be regulated to the point that the first two strategies are enough to get you a good, restful night’s sleep.
Sleep well, my friends.
EndNotes
1. Columbia University Department of Neurology article on Sleep Deprivation