Sleep Techniques

A while back a friend of mine mentioned having trouble falling asleep at night, and as someone who has struggled with a restless mind since childhood, trouble sleeping is my expertise! Over the years I have tested MANY different techniques in order to speed up the “falling sleep” process. As a kid, it took me approximately 1-2 hours to fall asleep at night after I went to bed and occasionally still does given what is going on in my life currently and what is going on in my head. Since then I have been aware of my troubles with sleeping and have tested all sorts of recommended sleep techniques; from counting sheep, to meditation, I have tried it all, and these are my favorite methods….

***Disclaimer, I am obviously not a doctor or licensed physician. If trouble sleeping is more severe I recommend seeing an actual doctor lol.

Melatonin.

It’s not something that keeps me asleep all night, but it is something that helps me fall asleep. I try to imagine it giving me at least a placebo effect and convince my brain “oh you took melatonin 20 minutes ago, you should probably be getting really tired by now” lol.

No phone before bed.

I know this is an obvious one everyone says, and I still struggle with this myself, but it really does make a huge difference. I have read articles about it being the “blue light” specifically that causes insomnia, so I have blue light blocking glasses and turn my phone on night mode to prevent that if I MUST check my phone. Some days it is the only time to catch up on texts/emails/social media etc. But to be honest, this is just re-stimulating the brain and starts reawakening thoughts and anxieties and pointless brain activity that will then affect sleep all the same as blue light. So best to avoid it altogether.

Television.

I’d recommend something boring you’ve seen a million times before or just something you have no interest in whatsoever, and something with dark mood lighting. I stay away from shows that are really bright that the TV will flash white a lot. I also turn the TV lighting down, and set it on a sleep timer to auto shut off in two hours. This is the ONLY THING that SIGNIFICANTLY improved sleep for me. Which is ironic I know. This was a technique I picked up from my Aunt and cousin, and it is a full proof method for them as well. Most people would not recommend this like they would not recommend a phone, but my number one issue when it comes to sleep is brain activity. My thoughts are going a million miles an hour all day everyday, so things that don’t fully occupy my attention need to be shared. For example, if I am trying to watch TV I also need to be doing something else because I will just wander off in daydream if I’m not multitasking with something else. So the same happens to me with sleep. If you turn out all the lights and I’m laying in bed and suddenly there no noise, no lights, and just me and my thoughts.... I will not be sleeping lol. So the TV really helps give my brain something to focus on while I’m also (this is a weird one but)....

Telling a story.

I literally just tell myself stories as I’m going to bed. It can be about anything, maybe something that inspired you that day. Perhaps you witnessed a first date. Imagine how that date went, what they talked about, where they went afterwards. Or maybe you loved the pastry shop you stopped at on the way home from work. What is that baker’s life like? Is it her own shop? What does a typical day look like? What happens to her when she leaves the shop? Maybe this is too much brain activity to most, but this is the kind of thing I think about on the daily lol. I just love stories and dreaming up different lives. Essentially the same as escaping into a good book or movie!

***Update: Or a storytelling Podcast!

Imagine a new location.

Sometimes I imagine I’m somewhere that relaxes me and makes me happy— somewhere far away from where I actually am. Perhaps I’m on vacation in the French countryside or maybe I’m out at my grandparents farm— I have no work, school, or commitments of any kind. Just basically pretend I’m in a calm, happy environment with nothing going on for my brain to focus on and stress about.

Nature sounds.

Not music. If a song comes on that I know or like I’ll start singing in my head or get excited and want to dance. But with nature sounds I kind of couple that with the story telling too! My go to sounds were a babbling brook, a beach, or when I was away from New York I turned on the NYC sounds because honestly I always felt very safe in my apartment. So sometimes if I wasn’t in New York I would listen to NYC sounds, but if I was in NYC I would listen to nature sounds, lol!! By far my weirdest favorite was a “pirate ship” sound, but I LOVED that one. I’d pretend I was below deck on a pirate ship where it was dark and the ship would be slowly rocking back and forth, floorboards creaking, and seagulls flying around outside. And being on a Pirate ship I was obviously out in the middle of the ocean, so there was nothing I could possibly do or stress about, complete tranquility(:

NyQuil.

But only if it was an emergency that I fell asleep on certain nights because of early morning drives or presentations, etc. It always knocked me out a little more efficiently than Melatonin. BUT only for emergencies because I don’t know if this is something you can get addicted to... However, I believe I’ve found while researching that it’s a safer alternative to Benadryl or even ZzzQuil as those can both be considered addictive.

Have a fan going.

Not for noise, in fact a ceiling fan that clicks drives me crazy. I can’t stand rhythmic noises as I’m falling asleep. But having a fan blow air on my face at night helps because I get insanely hot when I’m sleeping, but it’s not an option for me to NOT be under a blanket. So as long as a fan or cool air is keeping my face/head cool, then the rest of my body feels fine. 

Go to bed 7-8 hours before you want to wake up.

If you oversleep it’s just as shitty feeling as not getting enough sleep. So if you’re going to bed at 8:00pm and don’t want to get out of bed at 4:00am, then stay up a little later. However, if you’re like me and don’t fall asleep immediately then yes get in bed to wind down however you choose and then aim to fall asleep 8 hours before you want to get up. 

Movement in the day.

I can’t say this one with full confidence as I have been working out every weekday and it hasn’t made any difference for me. But some people swear by it. And I can understand if you’re just sitting at a computer all day every day how your body can maybe crave that activity at night and make it difficult to fall asleep. So maybe something simple like yoga or breathing exercises might help right before you crawl into bed.

I hope you find some helpful tools here you may find applicable to your own life, and happy dreaming (:

Xx kristin