I was thinking, in the middle of the night, when I was wide awake (as usual lately). I am not able to go to sleep and stay sleeping, even when I'm not constantly interrupted by my dear family. My sleep routine is way out of whack. This ain't good!
Other than the obvious sleeping pills, which I am trying to avoid for many reasons, here are a few other things I think I will try to get myself back in the sleep saddle:
1. No caffeine. I'm going to try this for a week and see if it helps. I can't do coffee anyway, but I love iced tea! Avoiding it was really hard when I was pregnant and it's going to be hard now, but at least I can try. It's something I have control over.
2. Go to the doctor. If they recommend sleeping pills, that's one thing, but there might be other problems to look into that might be causing me to sleep badly.
3. Exercise and stretch. I'm trying hard to do this, even a little bit. It's so tricky when I'm a total zombie to get up the energy, but I think it will help with sleep if I don't do it too late in the evening.
4. Don't check email, Facebook, or anything else online after 7-8pm. Email, especially work email, can really disturb my mind, and Facebook is just plain distracting and meaningless. I could do with a lot less of all that distraction.
5. Cut back on the spicy foods, especially late. I often wake up with my stomach hurting.
6. Take Arli to the doctor about her bad sleeping lately. Maybe they have some suggestions.
7. On the weekends, take a nap when she naps. Or at least rest. I need naps! Naps are good! Dishes and chores really do wait for me. They are loyal friends.
8. Cut down on the stupid TV watching! Pick a show or two to watch and just stick to those. Seriously, a ton of stupid crap goes in my head and I just don't need it there. I need some peaceful thoughts not a bunch of drivel. I could even try a total media blackout once a week and see if that gets me some better sleep. I bet it does.
9. Talk to therapist more about stress reduction. That could be helpful, huh?
10. I could, if I was really brave, try to do some sort of meditation practice again. Kind of a no-brainer how that would help, but it's just a matter of motivation, which is rare when I'm perpetually exhausted!
I'm just making this all up with my infinite (?) wisdom and logic, but it seems to me that I could probably take better care of myself. I'm gonna check into that.
Good list! Taking care of yourself is so important. I had insomnia this weekend at my parents house and it SUCKS! I feel your pain. I was meaning to give you our pediatrician info in case you want to see her about Arli/sleeping. I think she is a good problem solver. She is good at making a plan even if she doesn't have the answers.
ReplyDelete