How I'm Improving My Sleep in 5 Steps

I did not sleep well last night. Even not sleeping well is kind of an understatement it was more like the worst night I've had in ages. I'm finding that as I am beginning to grow older and with the more responsibilities I have the less I am able to get decent sleep at night.

I'm not really sure what contributed to my insomnia last night. I feel like I really just could not get my mind to shut down long enough to get into a decent sleep. This is definitely a work in progress with me and one of the things that it helps me to remember is that sometimes insomnia is hormonal. For some reason it gives me comfort to know that it is not necessarily an extraneous circumstance that is keeping me up it is just that my body is not wanting to cooperate. I'm currently looking into some natural remedies to help combat insomnia. More on that later.

Here are some of the things that I find helpful:

1. Try to ensure your surroundings are restful. I believe since I am so high strung that it is hard for me to really relax if my surroundings are cluttered and messy. I made a goal for myself that every night I would not "finish my day" without the kitchen and the living room being picked up. They don't have to be perfect,  but it helps if the toys are picked up and the dinner dishes are put away and counters wiped down. The important thing is do whatever it takes to make YOU feel restful in your environment.

2. Take a nice relaxing shower or bath before bed. I know that I certainly cannot rest if I feel like I have the day's gunk on me. Dissolving a cup or two of epsom salts in your bath water will help with relaxation after a hard day and will also help to build up your magnesium stores in your body.

3. Avoid topics of conversation or TV shows that leave you feeling anxious or overstimulated. I like to read a book or novel that is interesting yet leaves me feeling calm at night. As much as I love Stephen King, he is not a writer I read before bed.

4. Have a nightly routine that you stick to so that your body knows it is time to unwind and get ready for a restful sleep. My nightly routine is very simple. Aside from physically getting dressed for bed I do the above-mentioned things but also get my ice water, check on the kids, lock down the house, etc. every night.

5. Make your bedroom/bed your sanctuary. Lastly, I try to remember that our bed is a place for my husband and I to be together. It is not a place to discuss finances or other heavy topics and have overly serious conversations that send your mind into overdrive.  You want your bed and your bedroom to be a place of rest and comfort. Try to make it as tranquil as you can. 

These tips have ensured that my rest is definitely better, although I still sometimes succumb to insomnia. Just like last night. But, I think that these things just happen sometimes and you have to try to roll with it and get through the day as best you can. Hopefully my hormones will settle down over the next few days and I can get some rest. I hope you are able to rest well also.

What are some ways that help you relax and wind down for the evening so that you get a good night's rest?

Lincoln Logs?

I'm defiinitely a Type A personality. I never really wanted to be a Type A kind of person, but sometimes there is just no denying it. Not that there is anything wrong with us Type As. Just that, for some reason, I had a hard time accepting that that was me, you know, the driven, task-focused, controlling, high strung, stressed out kind of person instead of the cool, laid back, easy going person that I always tried to present to the rest of the world?

So, lately I've been trying to calm down and accept myself and learn to actually make my personality WORK for me so that I can live a life of joy and peace and contentment. It is a real struggle every day to not be stressed out and so focused on doing what I think I "need" to be doing. For example, this morning it was really hard for me to get going even after my morning run. I drank a few cups of coffee and lingered around on facebook and handled a few small projects. After I woke up enough to actually focus on the tasks for the day, I decided that today would be the day to clean and organize the basement toy room, de-clutter, etc. I carried the tubs I'd recently purchased for the task downstairs, got my marker and the masking tape, got all the kids downstairs playing so I could work on this monumental task.

About five minutes into it, Jack started asking me to build him a house with the Lincoln Logs. I have was hesitant at first because the basement is a mess and it was going to be a real chore that I really wanted to tackle and to stop when I'd just started working on it was very difficult for me. I guess I just need to feel like I can relax at the end of the day by knowing that I've accomplished something.

Along with this "calming down" that I've been working on I've been learning during my devotions about mothering intentionally and really seeing my children for who they are and loving them where they are in their lives. When he started asking me to build his house, it was like the Lord spoke to me and said, "Cynthia, which is more important? Cleaning the basement or your children? You chose to be a stay-at-home mom to take care and be with your children, not to clean the basement." That really hit home for me because that is part of intentionally mothering our children. Giving up my plans to meet his need at the time which was for some special fun with Mommy. When I was able to step back and realize what my true purpose for my time at home is it became a joy to let the organizing go for a bit and focus on my son who is a continual delight to my heart.

I don't wish to change my personality type, but I desperately want to reign it in and really start relaxing and enjoying my life and my children while they are young. The cleaning and organizing sometimes just needs to wait! For what I "need" to be doing is being there for my kids and helping them to realize that they are more important to me than working so hard to complete a task. What really made the decision to stop and play with him even more of a blessing was later when he randomly came up to and said, "I love you, Mom!" Melted my heart!