Sunday, March 6, 2011

from a recovering insomniac

when i started this blog back in the winter of 2008 i was struggling with some hard core insomnia. here, here and here are some posts i wrote during that time.

insomnia is horrible.

i hate it. and i hate it when i hear of a friend or family member who struggles to sleep. ugh!

i am in a season of good sleep right now and am very thankful for each full night. i feel like i've got some pretty good tools to keep insomnia at bay and wanted to share them in hopes that they may be helpful.

1. get up early. around the same time each morning. even if you didn't sleep great. even if you don't have to be anywhere.

2. work out in the mornings. or at least before late afternoon. get your heart and lungs pumping! wearing yourself out is always a good way to ensure a good night's sleep! but don't work out too late or you'll get your mind going! (that's what happens to me anyway!)

3. don't take a nap! you have to FIGHT this one, but a good nap can throw off your night sleep.

4. don't drink caffeine past 3.

5. go to bed at a consistent time each night.

6. get a sound machine! this one is perfect. we have three of them in our house. one in the girls room, one in ian's room and one in our room. the loud white noise seriously helps turn my overactive mind off.

7. don't get too much sleep! don't let yourself sleep more than 8 hours. i find that 7.5 is just about the perfect amount for me. if i let myself sleep longer, i usually have a harder time falling asleep the next night.


happy sleeping friends!

3 comments :

Unknown said...

Good tips Mandy! I also struggle with insomnia at times (boo).
I will definitely put these tips to good use!

Danielle said...

Amen and Amen! I agree with all of your tips. Thankful that I don't have insomnia right now either.

Courtney said...

this was a great post - great tips! insomnia is the WORST...i've only suffered with it once but it was enough to make me HATE it and LOVE a good night's sleep!