*The following is part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge 2011*
Wow! It's the last day of the month! I can't believe it flew by so quickly. I've amazed myself by being able to stick to the daily challenge of posting every day...including Sundays which wasn't part of the challenge. I hope I can continue posting like this. It's become such a part of my normal routine that I can see it continuing. I've met a lot of nice people and found some great blogs through this challenge. I hope to continue to do so. I'm not getting rid of my Surprise Me! button just yet. With a thousand or so blogs to check out there was just no way to get to the them all in 30 days so I'd like to continue on until I get through them. It's been great. It's been fun. It's been educational. It's been a growth experience. I hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as I have
Today's post isn't just about my experience with the challenge. I have one last A to Z post that is important to me. Today's post is brought to you by the letter Z as in getting some ZZZZ's. That's sleep if you were wondering. It's one of the most important parts of a healthy life. It's something I struggle with from time to time but have recently found my groove and it's helped me feel so much better and more productive. I battle with insomnia from time to time. As a matter of fact, insomnia was what led me back to reading like a maniac a few years ago. Growing up, I hated reading because I was slow at it. As a young adult who couldn't afford cable, books were amazing. Then I got to busy (and I got cable) to read. Then I went back to college and all I could read were technical books. Not exactly mind blowing. Then one night after about a week of not being able to sleep I grabbed a book my son had thinking it would put me to sleep...it didn't I sat up until 3 in the morning reading the thing. Thus the bookworm in me was reborn.
That's not what this post is about though. I wanted to share what I've found to work for me in getting some sleep; not only sleep, real rest.
No caffeine. I gave up caffeinated beverages. Now you don't have to do this completely. I did it for Lent and it really seemed to make a big difference in my overall well-being so I've stuck with it. You can just cut back on the caffeine; say by the afternoon you have your last caffeinated beverage for the day. You're body will hate this at first but if you push through you're body will physically rest better. I don't know the science behind it. I just know it works for m.
No bills in the bedroom. I live in a small house with 3 teenage boys. There is very little space so my room acts as a multipurpose room most of the time. I have a craft area, a book area, and worst of all, I have a desk in my room. I used to use it to pay bills and look at the household budget. I'm not sure how I feel about feng shui but having my desk next to my headboard I found myself pondering bills and finances every night before I went to bed. Of course I would. It was the last thing I looked at before crawling in bed. I moved my bill payment center into an area in the kitchen and now when I go to bed at night, I don't even think about the electric company or the insurance payments.
- Turn the TV off. I used to fall asleep with the TV on. I thought it was the only way for me to fall asleep. WRONG! One night I fell asleep watching A League of Their Own at some point I was dreaming I was up to bat, I dug my feet into the dirt, choked up on the bat, and swung hard. Well, I woke up in severe pain. I'd twisted in my sleep and pulled a muscle in my neck. I spent the next couple weeks in that lovely whiplash collar. I now turn the TV off. My mind rests much better. I don't injure myself in my sleep either.
- Don't read your favorite book. If I'm reading a great book, I used to take it to bed and read. Unfortunately, that would only keep me up wanting to go further, find out what happened. Now I only give myself a limited amount of time in the evening to read a book. Instead, I play Mahjong on my phone. I'm sure I need to let this one go to but it empties my mind out and I can rest without those other worlds I get lost in invading my mind.
- Finally, (sorry I'm rambling on today) let go of those things that anger you or worry you in during the day. Easier said than done I know but try. I pour them out unto the pages of a journal but not directly before bed. An hour or so before hand maybe. I don't always do it all at once. Sometimes while cooking supper I have my journal out and scribble a few lines about what's bothering me. During the evening I'll jot down a few more. Getting them out in small burst throughout the day helps me put them away before it's time to lay my head down and rest. Amazingly, it also seems to help me keep my "perky on" during the day. Getting it out in some fashion helps. Kind of like taking out the trash mentally.
There's a few more things that help but these are the main things. I just wanted to share this because after battling with sleep for several years, I've finally found my groove and I'm loving it. I still don't get to bed before 11 pm but those hours between 11 and 5:30 are spent in blissful rest. I'm still working on it and one of these days I will achieve 8 full hours. Even this morning, I grabbed a few extra hours of sleep. Naps are great too if you can work them in.
Whatever you try I wish you some good restful nights in the future. Insomnia is a mixed bag. It wears the body and brain down but I've had some very creative things come out of it as well. With everything in life, it takes balance. Thanks for following along during the Challenge. I hope you'll stick around after. I'm working on some great ideas for posts in the future. Digging through books to find some great reviews and learning to write poetry. Oh and I'm always opinionated in my own way...and last but not least, I'll continue to tell the tales of my accident prone self.
Have a great weekend everyone!
