Sleep

YAY!!! Sleep! One of my favorite things in the world! So excited to talk about this!

Let me start by saying, like many of you, sleep and I have a very complicated relationship. We’re as on-again-off-again as a Hollywood couple. I need it, but I don’t WANT to need it. I love it, but I don’t WANT to love it. And the complicatedness probably comes from inconsistency.

Let’s look at the facts, shall we?

In 2013, Americans were averaging 6.8 hours of sleep a night, while experts are standing firm at their recommendation of 7 to 9 hours. And according to the articles I read, it’s not that we don’t KNOW what we need to do. We have the information, we just don’t DO it. (Cue Shia LaBeouf.)

I outlined the importance of getting enough sleep in the video on my Facebook page, so go check that out, if you haven’t already. But here are some super-practical things to try to improve your relationship with sleep.

1. Exercise. Exercise really is the magic pill for everything. You sleep better, you poop better, you build muscle, burn calories, the benefits are seemingly endless. But adding regular exercise to your daily routine is one of the first things doctors recommend when patients are having trouble sleeping. (And let’s be honest: We should be doing it anyway. Just sayin’.)

2. Protect the bedroom. Many of our bedrooms have become multi-functional rooms. We use them as living rooms, offices, dining rooms, etc. No working in bed. No hanging out with the kids in bed. No watching TV in bed (that’s right, I went there). No eating in bed. The bedroom is for BED. Period.

3. No caffeine after 3 PM. If you’re really having trouble sleeping, back it up to lunchtime (which is what I do). I have my last caffeinated drink with lunch.

4. Don’t overeat at dinner. You want to avoid any possibility of heartburn, indigestion or blood sugar spikes. Also a glass of wine may relax you, but too much alcohol, while it can make you feel sleepy, actually leads to poor QUALITY of sleep: restlessness, waking up during the night, etc.

5. Straighten up a little (but not too much!). Start the dishwasher. Pick up things that have been accidentally left around the house. You don’t want to wake up to a mess. Bad for morale.

6. Have a wind-down routine. (I’ll probably touch on this again later in the routine series.) We know this to be of great importance in the lives of small children, but the face is, we need them too.

• Decide in advance what time you’re going to bed. Don’t let your to-do list determine your bedtime. There will always be more things you can get done if you stay up a little later. Remind yourself that your productivity and focus will improve with more sleep and let some stuff wait till the next day.
• An hour before your determined bedtime, begin your routine. Turn down the bed, like they would at a fancy hotel. Smooth the sheets, fluff the pillows, make it inviting. Lavender is a naturally soothing scent. If you like it, light a candle in the room or sprinkle some essential oils on the sheets. Also straighten up the bedroom so when you come in to actually go to sleep, it will be a peaceful environment.
• Here’s the biggie: TURN OFF ALL SCREENS an hour before bedtime. Yes, I’m serious. Phone, Facebook, email, iPad, laptop, TV, all those things you’re looking at to ‘unwind’ are actually keeping you awake. The lights of the screen keep your brain stimulated at a high level.
• One of my coaching clients says her husband calls it ‘The Closing Ceremonies.’ Take a shower, take a bath, wash your face, exfoliate, brush your teeth, floss, apply that moisturizer or eye cream (whether or not it actually works).
• Put on actual pajamas, or comfy clothes dedicated solely to sleeping. If you also wear those clothes to work out, they don’t count. I have a separate stack of T-shirts that I ONLY sleep in and never wear any other time. If you’re one of those nightgown-type girls, even better. You don’t want your brain to get mixed signals from what you’re putting on. (Are we working out? Are we cleaning the house? Are we going to do yardwork? Or are we going to sleep?)
• Turn down the thermostat. Optimal sleeping temperature should be three to five degrees cooler than during your daytime activities.
• READ. I don’t care if it’s fiction, a self-help book, a magazine. It just has to be printed words on paper (NOT ON A SCREEN). Also nothing stressful. Don’t read anything work-related. No Stephen King novels. Your eyes following the words across the page is actually very soothing to your brain.
• Set your alarm. Experts recommend NOT using the alarm on your phone, because if you wake up in the middle of the night, you’ll be tempted to check Facebook or Instagram, which will wake you up more. And when you reach over to turn OFF the alarm on your phone, you immediately will be drawn into work mode before you even get out of bed. (This goes DIRECTLY against morning routines which will talk about later.)
  
  7. Consider white noise. I’ve been sleeping with a big box fan for most of my life. And when I travel, I use a fan app on my phone. It keeps me from being distracted by all
  
  those other noises that will inevitably make me think of things I need to do.

8. Rein in your brain. This is when it tries to go crazy and you start thinking of a zillion things you haven’t done or need to remember to do or worry about any number of things. Don’t try to NOT think about things. That only makes you obsess about them more. Instead, assign your brain a soothing task. Sing a song (in your head), silently recite a poem or Bible passages, start listing things you’re thankful for.

9. Be consistent. Most of us push it hard during the week and use the weekends to catch up on sleep. Very common. Big fan of sleeping in on weekends and taking long afternoon naps. However, sleep experts say that what is best for our bodies from a health perspective is to go to bed and wake up at the same time on weekends AND week days.

A word about sleep aids: Obviously, you want to go as natural and as temporary as possible. Melatonin is created naturally in the body and you can buy it in pill form in the vitamin section. There are special hot teas in the coffee section that are supposed to have a calming effect (maybe to sip on while you’re reading). Beware that over-the-counter sleep aids may make your feel groggy in the morning.

There are a bunch of prescription sleep meds on the market right now. The one I’m most familiar with is Ambien. I was first prescribed it when I was going struggling through the depression triggered by my divorce nine years ago and sleep was just not happening. I’ve been on and off ever since. It’s highly addictive (like most sleep aids) and has potentially dangerous side effects.

The best way to use sleep aids is to temporarily get back on routine and gradually wean off. But you know what? I’m also a big fan of ‘whatever it takes.’ So do what you want with that information.

A lot of these would be MASSIVE changes to our usual routines. I get it. But consider experimenting with a few this coming week as we continue to work out of a place of rest, instead of resting from work.

Head back to the Facebook page and let me know which ones you’re gonna try this week!