Last night, I stayed up way too late. Finally getting to bed at 1am, I was not a happy camper waking up this morning, tired and cranky.
I completed yesterday’s blog and related tasks after 10pm. So I was staring at a computer screen for several hours up until my bedtime. Upon completion, I had a burst of energy, excited to have completed another day of blogging. Ideally, I would have wound down quietly and gone to bed. But instead, I decided that I needed to wind up by way of watching some YouTube videos. After a few quick tries of lying down to sleep, I got antsy, got up, had a midnight snack, and turned on my cell phone.
Of course, a racing mind, computer screens, and sleep do not mix. Yet, there can be many reasons, some obvious, some not, why one has sleep challenges. I have had sleep struggles for years. I was a deep sleeper in junior high school. But in high school I became a light sleeper. Every little noise wakes me up, or keeps me up.
Even though it is unclear many times why I am unable to sleep, or stay asleep, there are healthy habits that I can implement that provide a greater likelihood of getting a restful sleep.
Here are some that work for me. What are some of yours?
Regular sleep and wake up times. This helps the body to get into a natural rhythm.
Allow three hours or more of no eating prior to bedtime. The digestion process takes energy.
A whole food plant-based diet and limiting/avoiding processed foods.
Supplements. Everyone has specific and unique nutrition needs that may not be achieved solely through the food that we eat.
Stop (left-brain) thinking at least an hour before bedtime. Do (right-brain) creativity tasks to wind down and to get out of the thinking mind. Some examples may include listening to instrumental music, deep breathing exercises, meditation, drawing, journaling, light stretching. I also enjoy doing these things first thing in the morning, as a way to connect with my unconscious mind, which was active while sleeping.
Take breaks during the day, and get outside.
Exercise. Optimally, this would include a mix of cardio, strength training, and stretching. Focusing attention on the breath while exercising helps too. Sometimes I forget to breathe when holding a yoga pose, for example.
If I’m having trouble staying asleep at night, I see if there is a pattern regarding the time that I wake up. For a long time, I would always wake up around 1am. Traditional Chinese Medicine utilizes a Chinese Body Clock. One concept of this clock is that each organ of the body has an optimal two hour window each day to perform their specific tasks. For me, I wake up at 1am. 1am-3am on the Chinese Body Clock represents the Liver. The emotion that the Liver represents is Anger. Thus, by resolving my anger issues, sleeping through the night may be achieved.
How are your sleep habits?
What is one small step you can take towards a better night’s sleep?
Hey Marc . . . this information is great. I didn’t know about the Chinese body clock, how interesting. I am really going to pay attention to that time during the night I wake up now. Thanks!
Thanks Debra! Yes, the Chinese body clock information really helped me gain a better understanding of the mind-body connection in healing. Be well.
Maybe this seems counter-intuitive, bur I like to use technology to help with this. The two main “things” I use are my WHOOP device, and an app, Rise.
Rise is a paid app that helps track your sleep and then helps predict your daily cycles so you can be more productive when your body lets you know. The amount of sleep you get predicts your work performance, your mood, your physical health, and so much else.
WHOOP is like one of those trackers that counts your steps, but WHOOP takes it to the nth level! It tracks your heart rate as well as your sleep performance, your exertion during the day, and even your heart rate variability (HRV is simply a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat).
Wow, Paul. Thanks for sharing details about this cool technology. I will definitely check them out. It’s time to WHOOP it up, lol.
Great post! I am going to try no food for 3 hours before bed, I am bad about having a snack and going to bed. I work midnights so my sleep schedule is pretty and it gets all messed up on the weekends when I try to go to bed earlier. Thanks for the advice!!
I give you a lot of credit for working nights. I volunteered to be my father’s night shift caregiver. That was short lived, lol. Thanks for sharing your comments.
I read the beginning of this and thought – “he was watching SNL til 1 am like I was last night! LOL. I used to take power naps during the day which helped with my energy level – but not when it came to falling asleep at night. I went to an ENT physician and was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. I had to get used to using a CPAP machine – but I sleep so much better now. I’m hoping not to be on the machine permanently but for the time being – it works really well. So, if your suggestions above don’t work for people, there might be something else to it.
Great point, Elisa. Wishing you well. No, I did not watch SNL live, but did catch a few sketches the following morning.