Many of us do not suffer from sleep issues such as insomnia. To some extent, this may be due to our positive and unworried outlook on life, for much of our feeling of tiredness, when we must sleep, is psychological.
We expect to be tired the next day because we know we have not had as much sleep as we ‘should’. Yet, for most of us, it is not really the lack of sleep which is the problem but the worry about this lack of sleep.
Worry compounds itself really, for probably the main cause of insomnia is fretting about the difficulties of the day. Many ‘instant cures’ have been effected when people change their thoughts to create happiness and optimism – change the thought, change the pattern and change the brain’s wiring.
To do this, firstly change or remake your day as you rest in bed at night. Think back over the good things which have happened. Feel cheerful about these. Secondly, take the bad things one at a time, wiping them from your mind and remaking them, imagining them happening the way you would have preferred. By repeating this process, you will be rewiring the brain to shift to a pattern that is helpful to sleep.
Some other tangible and easy to implement techniques include:
→ Adopt a regular bedtime routine. Retire at the same time after the same set of non-stimulating evening activities – the brain loves routine!!!!
→ Exercise immediately before bedtime is not a good idea, nor is the intake of alcohol, coffee, tea, cola drinks and cigarettes.
→ It is preferable to turn to natural sleep inducers such as a glass of warm milk (with malt eg, horlicks), a slice of cheese or a piece of chicken. These foods are rich in an amino acid called L-tryptophan which exerts a sedative effect.
→ Herbal teas can also be useful in this context. The research indicates that Valencia, catnip, lady’s slipper, scullcap and hops (malt) are valuable in promoting sleep. Put a teaspoon of any of these herbs into a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes and drink while hot. You will gain an added general tonic effect without the troublesome side effects of chemical sedatives. Should no herbs be available, try hot grapefruit juice.
→ Though naps taken during the day (no longer than 30 minutes) are generally beneficial, one taken after the evening meal is likely to make sleeping at night more of a problem. Interestingly, research shows this problem may however be more imaginary than real. This is because we find it difficult to estimate how we have spent the night. People who complain about sleeping little usually wildly underestimate the length of time they have slept. This has been proven dramatically in laboratory based sleep research. In these experiments, subjects claim they have been awake all night, yet monitoring devices reveal they may have slept anything from 4 to 8 hours.
→ Finally, use calming breathing to help you drift off to sleep- particularly when you have a lot on your mind!!!!!!!!
Dr. Rodski’s Better Sleep Seminar is also now available! Click here to get access.