Are you in the one-half of Americans who do NOT get a good night’s sleep every night or even most nights? Do you get less than the recommended 7–9 hours per night?
According to polls, lack of sleep causes mistakes at work, inefficiency, car wrecks, sex deprivation and problems with intimate relationships (as if less sex weren’t a big enough problem in itself!)
When women don’t get enough sleep, everyone is sorry! And fatigue is especially dangerous in an age of super viruses because lack of sleep suppresses the immune system we need to fight illness.
Rest is good for you and you deserve to rest well. Give yourself permission to go to bed by putting away that To Do list and making sound sleep your priority.
Tips for Good Sleep
Eat supper early and allow yourself to unwind an hour or two before bed.
Develop a sleep ritual that signals to your body (and your mind) that it is time for sleep. It needn’t be fancy, just soothing, for example: wash face, brush teeth, brew cup of herbal Sleepy tea, turn down the bed, arrange pillows, set alarm, turn off overhead light, read, pray, set book aside, turn off light, sleep.
Create a restful haven. Remove piles of clutter and anything that makes you tense (him, too). Freshen bedding, try new or different pillows, flowers and plants. When you sit in bed reading or praying, everything you see should please and relax you.
Avoid bright or noisy clocks, radios, or other electronic devices. Cover shining displays or replace them. Set them away from the head of your bed. Definitely get that computer OUT of your bedroom!
Buy comfortable earplugs for the nightstand and for travel. Using a white noise-generator to mask sounds may also help.
Pass on the alcohol. Alcohol won’t keep you awake, but it will wake you up around 2 or 3 am and make it hard to fall back to sleep. If you have overindulged, some experts advise taking an antihistamine (one of the drowsy types like Benadryl) and one NSAID tablet.
Reading for pleasure is fine, but avoid hair-raising mysteries that keep you turning pages. Spiritual or soothing reading is best. Reading in dim light causes eyestrain and sleepiness, so use a low light setting.
Wear comfy loose socks and even silk long underwear when it’s cold. Turning over onto cold sheets WILL wake you up. Change your blankets and your thermostat setting with the seasons so you are neither too hot nor too cold.
Exercise every day — early in the day. Do your neck, shoulders, arms, hands, back, or hips hurt and sometimes waken you? Get serious about stretching during the day. Program a meeting reminder in your computer, like: “Stretch arms and hips.” When it pops up, do a favorite stretch for one minute while looking away from the computer. Set your reminder to snooze for an hour. When it pops up again, repeat.
If you do wake in the night, keep a change of nightclothes by the bed if you are having night sweats. If you don’t fall right back to sleep, don’t lie there tossing, turning and fretting. Instead, get up, fix a light snack (piece of fruit, some yogurt) and read in a dim light.
Progressive Relaxation
If that doesn’t knock you out, try some progressive relaxation. Lie on your back with a pillow beneath your knees; tense and then relax your toes, then ankles, then shins, knees, thighs. Continue up the front and back of your body, doing arms, shoulders, face, scalp. Breathe deeply. Nighty, night.
Are you in the one-half of Americans who do NOT get a good night’s sleep every night or even most nights? Do you get less than the recommended 7–9 hours per night?
