Beware of sneaky stimulants. While most of us are aware of the caffeine products we should avoid before going to sleep, quite often we overlook some of the less obvious items that can affect our sleep without even realizing it.
For instance, there is the obvious coffee or soda, but did you know that chocolate, cake, ice cream and certain cookies have enough sugar in them to affect your sleep as well? There are even some fruits that have enough natural sugar in them that can also keep you awake.
If you are having a harder time falling asleep than usual - review what you have been eating before going to bed lately. If you have been on an ice cream or cookie kick for the last few weeks before bed and have been having trouble sleeping for the same amount of time, there could be your simple connection.
Drinking Alcohol - So you are going through a particularly rough time and might enjoy a few drinks when you come home at night. But then you don't sleep very well. So the next day you are even crankier and enjoy another few drinks when you get home to try to make yourself feel better. But then you don't sleep very well again. It seems like a vicious circle but the truth is - it could be the alcohol itself that is causing your sleep deprivation.
It has been discovered that while alcohol might help you fall asleep initially, it appears to disrupt the second half of your sleep cycle. So you will wake during the night with all sorts of weird dreams or you toss and turn and have a hard time getting back to sleep again.
Think about trying a different soothing ritual before bedtime if it is that "calming" effect you seek. Switch to a decaffeinated herbal tea and a couple of sugarfree cookies. When you consume them before bed think of that as your way of unwinding at the end of a hectic day. You will see an amazing difference in not only your quantity but quality of sleep.
Exercise. You have probably heard this before but exercising even a couple of hours before bedtime can sometimes affect your falling asleep. Your blood is pumping, the energy is flowing - is it any wonder your body might have a hard time slowing itself down? You should even beware of certain kinds of yoga. While some practices are great for winding down, some might have the opposite affect.
O.K. - now that we have gotten some of the possible physical causes out of the way let's work on the mental.
Do not label yourself as having any kind of sleeping problem. You would be amazed at how what could be just a temporary problem could last a lot longer by how you think or label it. Do not think or say things like "I just can't sleep, I have insomnia, I suffer from insomnia, I constantly wake up, I never get enough sleep, I am always tired etc." By putting these kinds of thoughts and statements out there you are just attracting more of it. Do not give the situation more attention or worry than it deserves. It is simply temporary - do not make it a fact by bringing more attention to the problem.
Not falling asleep because you are worried about not falling asleep. We have all been there. You only have a few hours to sleep and when you can't fall asleep you become worried about how much time you have left to sleep and on and on it goes.
While it is true that the average person usually requires 7 to 8 hours of sleep at night it is by no means true for everyone. For instance, Donald Trump only sleeps 4 hours a night and that is more than enough for him. Another fact to consider is that you don't need to have a full 8 hours of sleep every night. I have had nights when I only had 2 or 3 hours of sleep the night before and ran around the next day with more energy than usual. The trick is to not mentally brainwash yourself into thinking that "you are going to have to be tired" the next day simply because you didn't get your full 8 hours.
Your body changes every day. So does your energy levels. Some days you may need more sleep - some days you might need less. It's like when you are hungry. Some days you can be hungry all day long - some days you barely think about food. Just go with the flow. Don't psyche yourself out mentally by thinking "Oh I only got 3 hours of sleep last night so it means I'll be dragging my tail all day" Who says? Don't give it any thought and just focus on doing your thing.
Calming the Panic Thoughts. One of the trickier problems to deal with. You either can't fall asleep because a problem is on your mind or you wake up in the middle of the night in a panic when a thought occurs to you. The first question to ask yourself is there anything you can do about it at that exact moment. Usually there isn't much you can do about any problem at 3:00 in the morning. If this is the case - tell yourself you will find a way to deal with it tomorrow or better yet, hand it over to the Universe to handle. Say to yourself "While I am doing my job of getting some sleep, Universe is doing its job of finding me an easy solution to this problem. I can't wait till tomorrow to see what it comes up with." You will be surprised how often a solution will present itself the next day. Just leave yourself open to the possibility.
Find at least one good thought to soothe yourself with in the middle of the night and focus on that thought when panic tries to set in. The Law of Attraction is all about taking control over your thoughts. The more you practice it, the better you get. You really do have control over what you think about. So if a panic thought tries to let itself in at the middle of the night - counteract it. Think about even one good thing you experienced the day before or plan on experiencing. Did you stick to your diet that day, get a compliment from your boss, get a call from that person you have a crush on? Did you meditate, take your vitamins, do you have something coming up that you are looking forward to? When a panic thought tries to worm it's way in, deliberately and consciously replace it with a better thought even if it is totally unrelated. It might seem difficult at first - but you really will get better at it with practice. If your thoughts keep trying to drift to the problem, keep bringing your thoughts back to the good thought. Again and again until it sticks.
Become bigger than the problem. You are currently on a spiritual quest. (I know this simply because you are reading this article.) Every day you are growing spiritually and every day you are gaining more control over your reality. Do not let yourself forget this. As you lay there in bed at night imagine that you are holding the Earth as a little globe in your hand and now sense your immenseness in comparison to it. This is how big you really are. You are a spiritual being having a human experience which means there is truly nothing on this planet that you cannot handle. In reality you are so much bigger than all of it. Truly feel your immenseness in relation to the problem and realize that in "reality" that problem is nothing more than a speck of dust you can simply blow away. This is a great mental exercise.
Do the muscle relaxation exercise. This is an awesome exercise you may have learned in gym class. It is simple, but can be very effective in getting yourself to sleep or back to sleep.
Start by lying flat on your back. Tense your feet as tightly as you can to a count of 8 then gently release the muscles also to a count of 8. Then feel as if your feet have simply "disappeared" into oblivion. Next do your calves. Tense, tense, tense as you count to 8, release, release, release as you count to 8 - until you feel them completely disappear. Then move up to your thighs, your butt, your stomach, your chest, arms, hands etc. Do this for your entire body. By the time you are done, you will feel as if you are floating or as if your body has completely disappeared. Now the only thing you will sense is your deep breathing. This exercise can work wonders for both your body and your mind. You will find it even works really well if you've had a nightmare, so give it a try.
Use affirmations or read something uplifting before even putting your head on the pillow. You can experience far more spiritual growth in your sleep than you ever can during your waking hours. For years I have purposely said affirmations or read particular spiritual concepts that I have wanted to absorb subconsciously and have found how much easier the ideas stick when I absorb them right before bedtime. So not only can this help distract you from your normal worries but it in fact also expedites your spiritual growth.
The most important thing to remember is do not make it a bigger issue of not sleeping than it is. Everyone experiences difficulty sleeping once in awhile - but it does not have to be pure torture. Be creative, if you find that no matter what you do you still can not sleep - then simply stop trying to force yourself. Get out of bed and use the time to do something useful or inspiring. Go write a grateful list, go add to your vision board - simply do something that makes you feel better.
Heck if you are not going to sleep anyway, might as well do something that inspires you!
Keep this up and you will be back to your normal sleeping patterns in no time.
Happy Creating!
1 comments:
I've started a new job as of recently and have noticed my sleeping patterns change. The job requires a lot of responsibility and there's a very steep learning curve in place for me -- but in the grand scheme of this experience, its nothing I can't handle. Thank you for this article. The visualization of holding the Earth in my hands is very soothing to me, I really can do this!
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