Some weeks were good and some were bad, until I began experimenting with my routine. I used to have trouble falling asleep then I would wake up various times throughout the night. It became an obsession, which was a huge mistake. I let it bother, worry and make me angry. It was a waste of my time getting all upset at my sleeping patterns.  I researched the topic and found out what not to do before bed time: 

1. No alcohol 

2. No caffeine 8 hours before bed 

3. No food two hours before bed – that’s what works for me. Experiment and figure out what fits best for you. 

4. No TV while I am trying to sleep 

5. Don’t exercise two hours before bed 

Then I researched what was good to do before bed: 

1. Slow down the body before bed. I began sitting in a quiet room – breathing and letting go of my worries. When a thought would pop in my head I brought myself back to the present moment. This was a huge help because it felt like a sleep trigger. My body knew it was time to slow down. I was able to reduce my jaw clenching while I slept. Clearing out the mind before getting into bed helped allow the mind to get a more restful night’s sleep instead of having to deal with all the thoughts running all around. 

2. Try to go to bed at the same time. I’m not overly strict with this rule because it doesn’t fit me. I usually go to bed between 10 pm and 11 pm. If I’m not tired I don’t force myself to sleep. 

3. Wake up at the same time each morning, even if it’s the weekend. I don’t set the alarm on the weekend, but because I work Monday through Friday and wake up at 6:30 each morning, I can only sleep in until 7:30 or 8 am anyway. 

I created rules that fit my personality. Experiment and figure out what works best for you. The biggest change, which was not in any of my research, was expectations. When I learned to let go of when I expected to fall asleep and how many hours it took to allow me to function adequately, I finally started resting well. 

I stopped going to bed with expectations of falling asleep and enjoyed putting my feet under the covers, resting my head on the pillow, and finding a comfortable position. Because I relaxed before bed I was able to slow down my mind and stop letting it ramble all around, worrying about silly things. I would constantly tell myself that those problems were for tomorrow and I would enjoy this quiet time.  When I would wake up in the middle of the night, my mind would begin to pick up speed and cause me to fully wake. Sometimes it was just waking up or a noise like a dog barking. I would get so angry that I woke up, tossing and turning, until I couldn’t stay in bed any longer. The rest of my day was terrible because I was so upset that I didn’t get a good night’s sleep. I expected a bad day so therefore I got one. 

Then I understood that I needed to apply my going to sleep rule, “No Expectations,” to the times that I woke up in the middle of the night. I stopped getting angry and told myself, “It’s okay if I never fall back asleep because I’ll still enjoy this soft bed, quiet room and my breathing.” It worked! I didn’t mind waking up and if I never fell back asleep I just dealt with it. I stopped complaining or worrying about not sleeping. I just watched my mind and body on one, two, four, or six hours of sleep. I knew that I would go to bed early the next night and if I couldn’t do it the next night I would do it the night after, no matter what; even if it meant canceling plans with friends.

My mind stopped trying to control my sleep and let my body do its thing, enjoying the time of rest no matter if awake or asleep.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 12th, 2006 at 9:37 pm and is filed under sleep.