Once upon a time, about a year ago, I figured out that if I got eight hours of sleep I felt great! I then proceeded to ignore my good advice for the next twelve months and get about 6 or 7 hours a night because I am a fool. But in that post I said, oh so blithely, “Once I make it to bed, I can sleep pretty well.”
Well, not anymore. Not only am I not going to bed in a timely manner, once I’m in bed I’m having a really hard time falling asleep, and then I’m waking up every few hours. In the summer I can always count on Toby telling me dawn is coming, but I’m up way more than his “alarm”–at 2:00, 3:30, 4:30, you get the picture.
So tell me: Do you have apps for sleep that help? I tried a guided yoga nidra meditation but just as I would fall asleep in a long pause, the voice would start up again and wake me up. I also tried the Calm app with nature sounds last night but once it timed out, I was still up in the wee hours.
Maybe I need to listen to this next?
–Black out drapes.
–Ear plugs.
–A cool room so I can use blankets (quasi swaddling).
–No screens 1 hour before bed time (there are studies that screens mess with circadian rythms and sleep hormones. e.g., http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/light-from-laptops-tvs-electronics-and-energy-efficient-lightbulbs-may-harm-health)
–A bed-time ritual (for me it’s shutting off screens, closing drapes, face washing, getting my H20 glass, picking out an outfit for work, collecting the animals, shutting out lights, and generally preparing myself mentally for rest)
–Limit cocktails during the week. My research study of one test subject proves conclusively that I wake up in the middle of the night if I have a couple of drinks after 7:00 pm.