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Worries About Coronavirus, Racism, Protests, Riots, Job Security, and Political Instability Can Keep You Up at Night…

These are crazy times we live in right now! It’s a wonder that anybody is getting any sleep at all. But sleep deprivation can lead to all kinds of physical and mental health problems, so it’s important to do everything we can to get a good night’s sleep so we are ready to face whatever the next day may bring!

Things We Tell Ourselves:

There is often a part of us that believes that it is insensitive to be able to sleep well. Don’t you care about the world? Can’t you see that things are not calm right now? Don’t you care?

There is often a part of us that believes worrying is protective: I can’t fall asleep right now; I need to think of all the ways I can keep myself safe from coronavirus.

Your wise self: If these parts of your brain are loud right now, as they are for many of us, try to get in touch with your wiser self as well. The wiser self is saying, “You need to get a good night’s sleep so you can be much better equipped to deal with whatever happens tomorrow!”

This sounds simple, but it can be quite challenging. Sometimes even when you implement all the ideas below, you still can’t sleep. If this is the case, therapy can be a tremendous help in clearing your mind so you can go to (and stay!) sleep. If you are curious about how therapy can help you, just call or email me for a free consultation. If I can’t help you, (or if you are not in California) I will be happy to hook you up with another therapist who will be a better fit.

If you have already Googled “sleep deprivation”, “sleep apnea”, “sleep music”, “sleep tips”, and haven’t yet found the thing that makes a difference, one or more of the ideas below is bound to help!

Here are 20 Ways to Help You Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Revisit even the ones you think you already know—there are some new twists on some old ideas here!

1.Schedule

Having a regular sleep schedule is one of the easiest things to overlook, and it’s especially easy right now when we are working from home, or not working at all. Time has gotten very weird lately. Is it 6pm or 9pm? Is it Wednesday or Thursday? Is it even May or June?

Going to sleep at about the same time and waking up at about the same time each day will train your body to begin to get ready for sleep. You may have to start by setting an alarm to wake up so that you are tired the next night at a reasonable hour—whatever “reasonable hour” means to you, just be consistent.

2.Light

Light is an often-overlooked aspect of sleep hygiene. Sure, you pull the shades or the curtains and you turn off the lights, but are there still all those little green lights showing from your laptop, your phone, your alarm system, your Alexa, and whatever else? You will be surprised when you see what a difference it makes to cover or remove those tiny lights. Try it and see!

Also, if you don’t already have room-darkening curtains or shades, they can be a very worthwhile investment. Sometimes the edges of your blinds leak light, and on a night with a full moon that can admit a lot of light into your room. Try covering the edges by hanging a scarf or a towel in front of them. If your window is open, it may blow the blinds away enough to admit some light as well, so play around with different ways to keep your bedroom dark!

If your room is dark enough at night, but light keeps waking you up in the morning, buy an inexpensive sleep mask and keep it next to your bed so you can easily put it on in the morning without even opening your eyes.

3.Alcohol and Stimulants

Sorry, folks. Both alcohol and stimulants before bed can disrupt your sleep. Again, during the coronavirus quarantine this may be particularly challenging—many people are drinking and smoking more than usual. Alcohol may help you fall asleep initially, but it can also wake you early or in the middle of the night.

Nicotine and caffeine are stimulants. Some people can’t have any caffeine even 10 hours before bed or it affects their sleep. Experiment to see what your window of tolerance is for caffeine. And beware of hidden sources of caffeine like chocolate and certain medications.

4.Food and Drink

Many people already know that it’s not a good idea to eat a big meal close to bedtime, but it’s easy to overlook this in real life. Pay attention to what you’ve been eating for dinner, and when. Try keeping track of what you eat and how you sleep each night for a week. You may find that certain foods are problematic for you, and then you can easily avoid them at dinnertime.

Limit your liquid intake 2 hours before bed. Make sure you hydrate in the morning hours so that you won’t be thirsty at night. You will probably be thirsty when you first try this, but if you resist for a few days, you can retrain yourself to be thirsty in the mornings instead.

Some people, like teachers, who are not always able to get away to the bathroom in the daytime when they need to, are used to drinking more fluids at night. This is one of the things that is easier to change now that we are sheltering in place!

5.Exercise

This is one thing that may be easier to change during the quarantine, as most people have more flexibility in the time they can exercise while they are working from home. If you have been having trouble sleeping, and have also been exercising after work, see if moving your exercise to before work or during a break in your workday makes a difference in your sleep.

6.Napping

If you are stuck at home all day in quarantine, napping can seem like a good idea. Until you lie awake all night trying to fall asleep again! If you must take a nap during the day, limit it to one 20-minute nap so that you are still tired at night. I am a big fan of the “nappucino” as described by Dan Pink in his terrific book When. The idea is to have a cup of coffee and then immediately lie down for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes the caffeine will kick in and you will wake up rested and ready to go!

7.Activities in the Bedroom

Only sex and sleep. I know, I know. These days we don’t even leave bed to work! But seriously, no Netflix in bed. Which leads me to the next tip:

8.Screens

No screens for at least an hour before bed. Read a book old-school style, chat with a friend, take a bath, journal (see tips #9 and #10), listen to music (people actually used to consider this an activity, not just background for life!), or listen to a podcast or audiobook.

This is a tough one for most people to implement, but if you are having trouble sleeping, it’s at least worth a try for a week, wouldn’t you say?

9.Journal

Writing down your thoughts before bed helps many people get their persistent thoughts out of their head so that they don’t lie down and spend the next two hours thinking about everything they did wrong that day, or everything they need to do tomorrow. Once it’s on paper, you can let it go until the morning.

10.Gratitude Practice

Some people like to keep a gratitude journal, but that can seem overwhelming to many of us. You can reap the benefits of gratitude by simply setting aside a few minutes to think about what you are grateful for. You don’t have to have a huge list, just one person or experience. The important thing is to immerse yourself in the feeling. If there is an experience you are grateful for, close your eyes and visualize that experience. Imagine not just the visual aspects, but also the sounds, the smells, and any other senses you can bring into your memory. Just let that feeling of gratitude wash over you.

11.Temperature

Studies show that the best environment for good sleep is a cool room, between 60 and 67 degrees. If you and your partner have different body temperatures, you may need to think about European-style bed linens—one comforter folded in half on your side of the bed, and a different one on theirs. Or just put an extra throw blanket on top of the “cold” partner at night.

If your bedroom is too warm, especially now that it’s summer, place a fan on the side of the “warmer” partner. Fans are also great for:

12.Noise

If there is ambient noise keeping you awake at night, you can counter that with “white noise”, like that produced by a fan.

There are also websites, apps, YouTube videos, and inexpensive sound machines that produce not only “white noise”, but also “pink noise” and “brown noise”, which all have different frequencies. Experiment to see which one you find most calming.

If you are able to sleep with earplugs, that can also be a solution.

13. More About Bedding

Make sure your body is adequately supported while you sleep. Do you have the right kind of pillow? You need a pillow that allows your head to be in a spine-neutral position. You may also sleep better with a pillow between your legs if you sleep on your side, or under your knees if you sleep on your back.

Is your mattress too old? Old mattresses can harbor mold or dust mite droppings that will trigger allergies and keep you from having a good night’s sleep. In a pinch you can get a protective cover that will keep the mold and droppings contained, but getting a new mattress might be your best option. The same is true of old pillows, and they are certainly much easier to replace, so start there!

Have you ever tried a weighted blanket? They can be extremely soothing! I keep a small one in my office, and my clients love wrapping up in it during therapy. It feels like a hug! This can be especially nice if you live alone and could use a hug when you are falling asleep.

14.Aromatherapy

Lavender, chamomile, marjoram and orange oil are all known to promote sleep. You can try different methods of exposing yourself to these scents at bedtime:

*Use a pillow or a sleep mask infused with lavender

*Dab some essential oil on your wrists or under your nose before sleep

*Use a diffuser to spread some essential oil in your bedroom

*Light a candle that is scented with essential oils

*Use lotion scented with essential oils

15.Acupressure

In acupressure, An Mian are points that are used for treating insomnia. There are An Mian behind the ear, between the eyebrows, on the wrist, above and behind the ankle and between the toes. You can read more about them here.

You can also purchase an acupressure mat like this one from Gaiam. It takes some getting used to—you start out lying on it for just a few minutes each day and work your way up to 20 minutes or so. I find it tremendously relaxing, but my husband refers to it as my “bed of nails”. Hm.

16. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)

ASMR is a sensation some people feel that is like a tingling on the scalp or back of the neck. It is triggered by certain audio or visual cues, like people doing ordinary repetitive tasks like brushing hair, folding towels, or whispering. Scientific studies show that ASMR reduces heart rate and increases relaxation and positive emotion. This is one of the reasons why we love cooking shows! Advertisers have known the power of ASMR for a while, but this commercial with Zoe Kravitz from last year’s Super Bowl shows you exactly how powerful it can be.  A good place to start, if you are interested, is YouTube’s top ASMR channel, GentleWhispering. Which has almost 2 million followers.

These last four tips more specifically address the stress that keeps you awake at night…

17.Body Scan

Body scan meditations guide you through your entire body from your toes to the crown of your head. You don’t aim to change anything, relax anything, or do anything in particular other than be aware of each body part one by one. This is my own personal go-to method when I have trouble falling asleep, and it works every time. Surprisingly, (at least I was surprised!) it takes intense concentration to feel something like the fourth toe on your left foot, without touching or wiggling it. By the time you have managed to focus on that one toe, you will have forgotten all about that thing that’s been bothering you all day. I start at my toes and rarely get past my hips before I am sound asleep! Here is a great body scan you can listen to for free.

18.Bi-lateral Sleep Music

There are all kinds of soothing sounds or music you can listen to in order to relax before you fall asleep, but these are a bit different. Bi-lateral music like this one of ocean sounds, or this one of guitar music, shift the sound from ear to ear, and many people find this even more relaxing. The theory is that it relaxes you by reconnecting the different hemispheres of your brain.

There are also recordings of binaural beats, which broadcast different sounds into each ear at the same time. The theory is that as your brain processes these different sounds it creates delta waves, the brain waves you experience in a state of deep sleep.

19.Mindfulness Meditation

This kind of meditation has you focus on your breathing. The point of the meditation is not to be able to focus on your breath the entire time, but rather to practice noticing when your mind has wandered, and bringing it back to the breath. The more your mind wanders, the more you notice and bring it back to the breath, the more practice you are getting!! If you practice mindful meditation, you will develop the skill of noticing when your mind is spinning out, and be better able to be present in the here and now. This skill is extremely useful when you are trying to fall asleep but all the stress of the day keeps zipping through your brain, keeping you awake.

Mindful meditation can be done any time of day, the point is to make it a regular practice so that it is easier to be mindful in those moments when you most need it.

Try this 20-minute meditation the first time, to get you started on the technique.

There are also some great meditation apps like Calm, Just Breathe, and Simply Being, which usually offer a free trial period to see if you like them. The Calm App is now free (during COVID-19) for Kaiser Permanente members, so check your membership to sign up.

20.Medical

Check with your doctor if you have any question that there might be some organic cause of your insomnia. Besides sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome, the most commonly known medical reasons for insomnia, there can be many other organic issues that have insomnia as a side effect. It is always a good idea to check with your medical doctor if you are having trouble falling or staying asleep for an extended period of time.

Click here to learn more about how I can help you with all kinds of anxiety.

Need Some Extra Support?

Therapy can be so helpful with sorting out all those things that keep you awake at night. If you’d like to know more about this, give me a call or shoot me an email and sign up for your FREE consultation. If I can’t help you with your specific issues, I will be happy to hook you up with someone who can. I want you to feel better and get those healthy Zzz’s!