Quantum Happiness Series- Stop monkeying around and sleep
“When you have insomnia, you’re never really asleep and never really awake.”
--Edward Norton/ Fight Club.
While most of us understand the value of a
good night’s sleep, actually sleeping is sometimes easier said than done. When
we need sleep the most is often when it becomes most elusive.
Medications can be habit forming, have side
effects, and should be used sparingly if at all. Supplements such as valerian root and melatonin
are generally safe and effective but can lose potency when used repeatedly.
Manage monkey mind
The term monkey mind refers to the brain’s
tendency to jump from one subject to another while trying to sleep. During the
day we are bombarded with personal and professional responsibilities, but in
the dark, quiet night our inner dialogue finds its voice.
In my case, insomnia is a double-edged sword.
I’ve done some of my best thinking while lying in bed at 3:00 a.m. I’ve had great ideas, solved problems, and
composed posts, all while wishing I could sleep. I’ve learned to appreciate
these early morning meetings with myself. If I’m working on something intense,
I have come to expect that 3:00 a.m. wakeup call by my internal dialogue.
There are times, however, that being awake so
early affects the rest of my day. For those occurrences, I keep a bottle of melatonin
near the bed and take it if I wake before 4 a.m. The indications are to take it
before bedtime. But going to sleep is not my problem, staying asleep is, and
the effects only last about 3 hours; hence, the 4 a.m. cutoff.
Falling asleep
If you have trouble falling asleep, it is
important to establish a bedtime ritual that includes:
- Turning off any electronics at least 30 minutes prior to sleep.
- Making sure the room is quiet and dark.
- Checking the thermostat. Remember, cooler rooms are more conducive to sleep, with optimal temperature being between 65- and 70-degrees Fahrenheit.
Just journal
Since thoughts and feelings have a way of
surfacing in the dark, journaling is a great way to discover and deal with
internal dialogue before bed. If journaling doesn’t appeal to you, simply make
a list of what’s on your mind. There’s something about capturing thoughts on
paper that allows our mind to let them go and rest.
Keeping pencil and paper beside the bed allows
you to make notes when you remember things during the night. For example, if
you wake up and realize that you have a meeting in the morning, it is easy to
toss and turn worrying that you will forget it again, but by making a note of
it, you can release that worry and go back to sleep.
Effect of alcohol
It took me years to discover that alcohol
after dinner aggravates my insomnia. In fact, alcohol interferes with the body’s ability to regulate
sleep a.k.a. homeostasis. Although the immediate effect of alcohol is to cause
drowsiness, after two or three hours, the effect is reversed, triggering monkey
mind and enhancing wakefulness.
So, if I’m planning to have cocktails, I prefer them in the afternoon long before dinner. But if I’m in a social situation later in the evening and have a cocktail, I know that I must eat something substantial before bed to counteract the alcohol’s effect and promote sleep.
Engagement exercise
1:
Evaluate your sleeping environment and identify sources of light, noise, and
other distractions that may wake you and/or keep you from sleeping.
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Engagement exercise
2:
Evaluate your evening ritual and determine if you are engaging in activities
before bed that may not be conducive to sleep, such as screen time, exercise,
alcohol, or reading news. If so, what might you do to avoid such behaviors?
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Engagement exercise
3:
Revisit your “Today and To-Do” list to sort out all the things that happened
during the current day and all the things that need to be done or scheduled the
next day.
Today: To-Do:
Super Sleep Series (Part One)
Sources and resources:
Video: Tim Ferris at Google- How to Cage the Monkey Mind
Video: Dr. Oz- How to Fall
Asleep Faster
Video: Soothing Relaxation-
Fall Asleep Fast- Relaxing Sleep Music
Book: Don’t Feed the Monkey Mind by Jennifer Shannon LMFT
Book: Quieting the Monkey Mind: How to Meditate with Music by Dudley
Evenson and Dean Evenson M.S.
Website: WebMD.com- Sleep Deprivation and Memory Loss
Website: Health.Harvard.edu- The Goldilocks Effect of Sleep
Website: HuffPost.com- 7 Tips to Achieve Better Sleep
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featured photo by Dmitry Ganin on Unsplash