“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for the National Sleep Foundation. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”
A dreaded word…INSOMNIA! I, for one, have been battling Insomnia since Hayley was born 7 years ago. While I do have bouts of sleeping well, there are many periods of my life that insomnia rears its ugly head. Lately, I have been sleeping poor and one of the main reasons is I just do not get enough sleep. It is my fault and I know it! However, there are also many times when I have enough hours to sleep but end up only getting an hour or two of wink eye. Can you relate?!
Do not worry as you are not alone with our constant struggles with Insomnia. In the United States, approximately 70 million people are affected by one or more symptoms of insomnia. Of these, an estimated 23.5 million people, roughly 10 percent of the adult population, experience symptoms consistent with the diagnosis of insomnia. You can see that you are not alone in your quest to sleep more!
For me, my nights can be very long. I have all intentions of checking my email, powering down my devices including the television, setting the temperature right, and then faling asleep on a soft pillow. 8 hours pass by and I realize that I only really slept 2-3 hours of good sleep. I know this because I wear a FitBit to bed and it tells me how much sleep I am actually getting. I can repeat this for the next week or two until my body regulates itself. It is a vicious cycle to break. I, for one, know how hard Insomnia is on our bodies!
Now there is help for all of us out there. There is a website that supports people like you and I who suffer from Insomnia. Beyondtired.org is an informative resource that highlights stories of insomnia sufferers to help inspire and support those dealing with the condition. When I opened this site, I saw that it follows four individuals (Zac, Jessica, Jana, and Julie), all from different backgrounds and leading busy lives, working towards getting more sleep and dealing with battling Insomnia. I really can resonate with a lot of their stories.
For me, I can relate to Jessica’s story a lot. As a mom of three small kids myself, my problem also lies in the fact that I sometimes fall asleep just to be awoken many times a night. This is usually not due to my kids, but rather my brain not stopping. Once I am up, I try my hardest to fall back to sleep but usually it is no avail.
With the help of BeyondTired.org and some of my personal tips below, I have found that my sleeping hours have improved over the last few weeks and I am grateful for that.
Some of My Sleep Tips:
1. No caffeine after noon! I follow this rule to a T. For me, I find it takes a full 12 hours for caffeine to exit my body so I always make sure I have my last cup before noon.
2. Close everything down an hour early. That means if your bedtime is 11, make sure all TV, computer, and phone use is done by 10. It takes an hour for me to switch my body off.
3. Make sure your room temperature is to your liking. It is usually better to sleep in a slightly cooler room, rather than one that is hot. Cooler temperatures usually bring about better sleep.
4. Get some good pillows and sheets. For me, silk sheets are the way to go. I love to feel comfortable when I go to sleep, so it pays to invest in some good bedding, which will inevitably help you sleep better.
5. Do not worry about sleep! This might sound counterintuitive but if you worry about sleep, it will make falling asleep that much harder. Try to spread some oils around your room and just stay calm. Hopefully, this will allow you to drift off into peaceful sleep.
Hopefully with the help of BeyondTired.Org, you can get more hours of sleep each night! BeyondTired.Org showed me that I am not alone in this Insomnia Battle. It also gave me some great knowledge with their plethora of articles such as ‘What Foods You Should Eat Before Bed if You Suffer with Insomnia’ and ‘What It is Like When You Can’t Sleep!’ Also, it gives me some great activities to try, so give BeyondTired.Org a bookmark today! Happy Sleeping!!