Sleeping woes have been with me all my life. There seems to be an ebb and flow to it and I know some may argue stress or just getting older (silly hormones) but I can remember having issues with sleeping way back when in my younger years.Tossing and turning is a regularity in my bed and like I said, it comes and goes. I go through bad spells but then can sleep like a baby through multiple nights. I have never really fine-tuned the trigger but yes, stress is one. Going to bed not really at peace is another. I am sure hormones come into play these days. Excitement, jitters, and what I eat, drink, and do can all be factors. But this post isn't about the cause of insomnia but what to do when sleep eludes you.
Here are a few tricks that have helped me (and forget counting sheep...I get way too focused on the counting that it KEEPS me awake and alert trying to keep track of those cute little sheep hopping over that white fence in the middle of a lovely field of yellow flowers).
Change your sleeping position. Go to another room or flip upside down. Anything, just change it up. I would often just move my pillow to the foot of my bed as a kiddo, wrap the blankets around me differently, and before I knew it, I was asleep. Just don't ask me why it works. But it does in many cases.
Talk yourself into calmness and sleepless. I can't count myself to sleep but I can talk myself there. I get more into it the the harder time I am having sleeping. I start with my feet and move up. "My feet are getting very sleepy. My feet are getting very sleepy. My feet are getting very sleepy. My feet are falling asleep." "My calves are getting very sleepy. My calves are getting very sleepy. My calves are getting very sleepy. My calves are falling asleep." "My knees are getting very sleepy. My knees are getting very sleepy. My knees are getting sleepy. My knees are falling asleep." For those really tough nights when I get more detailed I may move from toes, feet, ankles, calves, knees. You get the point. Move up your body talking your body parts to sleep and quite often I never make it to my head. If I do, I try again more detailed.
Music. Yes, music has always lulled me to sleep and I blame my parents. They always put me to sleep with music. I remember being at a neighbor's house when my younger sister was being born trying to sleep with no music. Not a happy time! My older sister ended up getting a cassette player with Hello Dolly and I was snoozing in no time! Today it isn't Hello Dolly or a cassette player as my iPhone is perfectly capable. I have an app of relaxing tunes that you can schedule to stop after x-amount of time but often it repeats the rhythm too much and can drive me nuts if I am already frustrated with insomnia. I also have the Immaculate Heart Radio app and can stream their Sacred Music channel. I LOVE this but my only woe is that it keeps on playing until you tell it to stop. I have fallen asleep to it many times and hours later turn it off and go straight back to sleep. I just wish it had a timer. Hint, hint Immaculate Heart. BUT...they also have a rosary page on their site and app and recently I have loaded that up when sleep eludes me. The rhthymic prayers, soothing voice, and reflecting on the mysteries of my faith can calm my mind and sleep comes. I do feel guiltly at times for falling asleep and not actively saying the rosary but in all reality, I think God is okay with that. He knows my heart.
How do you lull yourself to sleep?
Daily Gratitude: I am thankful for the great night of sleep I had last night.
Daily Bible Verse: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. ~ Proverbs 6:10
