I had a bit of insomnia last night. This was a problem for me in the past, but hasn’t been for quite some time. The main thing that helped with my insomnia was sleep yoga. I’ll post an article on this later today. I also did nightly meditation. If you aren’t into either of these two things, here are 5 tips from The Sleep Foundation:
- Turn down the thermostat. Cool temperatures help our body produce more melatonin. The recommended temperature is between 65-67 degrees.
- Get rid of your phone and other computer technology. The blue light from these devices keeps your body from producing melatonin.
- Avoid looking at clocks. This just reminds you of the length of time you’ve been trying to sleep, adding further stress, and preventing sleep.
- Try “biphasic sleep” . If you have a pattern of waking in the middle of the night for a few hours, embrace it instead of getting frustrated by it. Biphasic sleep simply means sleeping in 2 separate “shifts.” If you wake up in the middle of the night, tossing and turning, get out of bed for about an hour. Read a book, do some stretches or sleep yoga, or maybe meditate. Then try to go back to sleep.
- Play a word game. Pick a letter of the alphabet and think of as many words that begin with that letter as you can, then move onto another letter. This helps to focus your mind, instead of the runaway thoughts keeping you awake. I also find saying prayers or even counting backwards helps focus the mind as well.
