. . . a sleep problem that is!I was that kid who never wanted to sleep for fear of missing out on something and now I'm cursed with a kid who feels similarly. Karma is real!
I still kind of wish that sleep wasn't a necessity, but I've accepted reality and have attempted to ease my way into sleep every night with an episode of Friends. I'm an addict, but we can talk about that some other time. My reasoning for thinking this was okay was that it helped me to quiet that never-ending list in my mind and I had seen so many episodes that it didn't really matter if I fell asleep. I wouldn't be missing anything!
There was an issue though. I've been trying to wake up earlier since January of this year and it was just not working! Every morning I felt exhausted and kept turning to my caffeinated beverage of choice which then caused me to crash mid-day and the cycle just continued. I always felt like I had next to no energy and I knew something had to change.
In late April it was brought to my attention that May is Better Sleep Month, so I committed to make the following 3 changes to my poor sleep habits.
1 | Turn off the TV and invest in some quality earplugs.
Eliminating the sounds of both the TV and my husband's snoring helped me have a much deeper sleep than I have had in such a long time! The first morning after making this change I noticed a huge change. I actually felt like I had slept!When I say "quality earplugs" I mean spend just a tiny bit more to get some earplugs that are comfortable and will actually stay in your ears! The first kind I bought were the cheapest I could find and they were terrible. I spent a couple of dollars more on an earplug that was shaped a little differently and it has been mostly smooth sailing since!
2 | Read a book for 30 minutes before going to sleep.
The light of the TV had been messing up my brain for quite some time, so while I was exhausted I had such a hard time falling asleep. I have improved my nightly routine by starting it earlier so that I have 30 minutes every night to read. I usually try to read a book that I know I will be okay putting down at the end of 30 minutes so that I don't accidentally stay up all night!3 | Dedicate some writing time in my nightly routine.
Do you remember the scene in I Don't Know How She Does It where Sara Jessica Parker is in bed and there is this long list that she has to go through in her head before she can sleep? (If you don't click that link!) That's me every. single. night. It's stressful, so every night I sit down, write my list and end my writing with 3 things that were awesome about the day. It helps calm my anxious mind.Now I recognize that my bad habits are not necessarily your bad habits. Luckily, Casper, the sleep startup that designed the perfect mattress, sheets, and pillow, has some additional suggestions for improving your sleep.
What changes are you going to make to improve your sleep?Do you have some additional tips?
