So you have lost your sleeping routine for one reason or another. So, how do you manage the sleeping issues especially that sleep is vital to our health and wellness? As someone who has struggled with sleep for the longest time, I have decided to be intentional and strategic with sleep. It is a fight to get the routine back but it is not impossible. I find that everything in my health and wellness must work well together for my benefit. For instance, stress will definitely affect my sleep, while bad eating habits and dehydration also affects my sleep. Additionally, insomnia can increase during time-periods when trauma triggers happen. In this blog post we will explore different things I have done to gain my sleep routine back.
Why Do We Lose Sleep To Begin With?
Good sleep is vital to our health and wellness. Stress has been the key factor for me where I lose sleep. The moment I feel like I have a handle on my stress something unexpected throws me off my game. There are some trauma triggers that I still have to manage. The first step is to identify what can be causing you a mental and an emotional state of being. Due to lack of sleeping I fell into bad night time habits. One of those bad habits was going to sleep late, and sometimes watching movies till morning hours. Once I lost my routine, it felt impossible to get it back on track. If you aren’t getting proper nutrition not only that your health overall will decline, but so is your sleep. Eating a balanced meal and staying hydrated gives the body what it needs to function correctly.
I love to sleep. Do you? Isn’t it great? It really is the best of both worlds. You get to be alive and unconscious.
Rita Rudner, American Comedian
Evening Routines That Can Help
I am not sure about you, but we are busy. We are parents to three children who still live at home. We have a few businesses that we manage, and a ranch. Not only that the stress can literally come from any of those areas that I mentioned, but the to do list along can be overwhelming. I used to be unintentional with my evening routine, but quickly regretted my lack of planning and strategy. In order for me to achieve a good night’s rest, I had to really thing about what can help me and also promote self-love and self-care at the same time.
Having A Calendar and Time Blocking
In order to manage a busy lifestyle, a calendar is a must. I use google workspace and it does make a different having tasks to complete for the day, and time blocking each area in the calendar. January 2020 I fell, and I went from a very organized, and motivated person to absolutely losing control. I had to take it easy to heal a mild-brain injury and constant heads, and back spasms made it impossible to get through tasks. Before long I found myself playing catch-up and the only way I could get ahead was adopting an electronic calendar system. In the evening time after dinner, I have blocked time for when the children go to bed, nighttime chores, my self-care time. Please give yourself time. It takes a while to get used to a new routine.
Either run the day or the day runs you.
John Rohn
Planning Meals That Are Easy to Digest
Meal planning goes along the same lines with a balanced nutrition. If you are someone like me who has a hard time sleeping meal planning can help a huge difference. I would recommend not eating hard to digest meals like steaks, spicy, sugary foods among others. One of the biggest mistake I made was thinking that drinking a glass of wine at night helps me sleep, however studies have shown that in fact alcohol interrupts natural sleep cycles.
Warm showers and Teas
I normally took morning showers, however taking evening showers helps my body relax and gets my blood flowing. Additionally, I love pineapple tea at night to help me relax and sleep. You can see a general pineapple tea recipe here, but you are welcome to experiment with it. Additionally, I practice shutting my brain down. I try not to have decision making conversations, and slowly get in the mindset that it is time for bed. I am excited however as we are installing a tub in my bathroom, where I will be able to take bath and use all kinds of bath salts to help me further. So, if you have a bathtub, definitely take advantage of it and get some self-care in before bed.
There must be quiet a few things that a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.
Sylia Plath
Slowly Start Going To Bed Early
It is unrealistic to think that insomnia will be fixed in one night. It will take time to get used to a new routine. One of the most important thing is to give yourself grace. I recommend starting small. Start going to bed 10 to 15 minutes early every night and waking up 10 to 15 minutes early every morning. Give yourself some flexibility to sleep in on the weekends as your body needs, then go back to that routine during the week. Overtime, you will train your body to get used to waking up early. This is harder than said. There will be temptation. The key here is to pick up where you can and keep going.
Day Time Routines That Can Help
There are some things you can do during the day to help you get your sleep back. In addition to eating well, hydrating, stress management, these tools are helping me get my sleep back and keep it.
Avoid Taking Naps During The Day
One of the things that are hard with changing a sleeping routine is the mid-day, early afternoon, and early evening crash. I cannot tell you how many times I was so tired and I pulled the car over and took a 15 minutes nap because I just couldn’t drive. I think those types of naps are acceptable. However, if no one is in danger of a literal crash, it is safe to do your best to avoid napping. Sometimes napping helps get through the day, but it doesn’t fully help us get back our sleeping routine back.
Conflict Management~ Manage Your Conflicts During The Day
There is nothing more difficult than sleeping next to your wife or husband after a disagreement. Some people use bed time as a time to hash out their issues, however I have found this to be mistake. I know most say do not go to bed angry. How about don’t make it to you sleep time angry. What happens when you are talking before bed and no one reaches an agreement and the disagreement gets worst. I know a few people who sleep like a baby after an agreement. In fact I have met one person. Care to guess who that is? It is best to take sometimes and discuss issues preferably the next day when everyone had the time to cool off and sleep on it. Still tell each other you love each other, but avoid discussing hard issues, disagreements, and making decisions before bed.
Make Your Bedroom A Sanctuary
This area is still work in progress for me. If I was to think what makes a bedroom a sanctuary is a room that is free of clutter. There is nothing like getting into a bed that is made, clean, and smelling good. A clean bed almost guarantees relaxation, and a healthier sleep. Additionally, it is important to make sure that bedroom furniture are well proportioned with the room size. We live in an old farm house built in the late 50’s. It is a challenge to find adequate storage, so decluttering, and smart storage is a must. We are in the process of doing just that. The less is more in this case, but it is not as easily done. However, having a goal, and a vision for the space helps the pursuit. How about you? What type of bedroom do find soothing to promote sleep? I will be sure to share when my bedroom is where I want to it to be. Simple, yet clean, and elegant.
Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines
Robert H. Schuller
In Conclusion
There is no conclusion on this. This is a work in progress for me too. As I write this post, I am realizing that I have a long way to go to master sleep issues. However, the key is to keep these tips in mind even when I fail. I must remember to pick myself up and keep going. What tools and tricks that have helped you get your sleep back? What other tips do you have for people who may be dealing with trauma triggers?
