My little red tether is my anchor in running with my friends. A beautiful guide dog has been my tether/anchor in mobility and independence for 17 years: 1. Pantera 2. Cricket, and now my beautiful 3. Georgina (Georgie). A life of family and friends is my joy and anchor in life.

The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it. CC Scott

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Therapist's Thoughts on Thursday

One of the most disturbed biological patterns is the disruption of sleep. If we get too little or too much, we are affected mentally, emotionally and physically. Agitation, irritability, and anxiety can be consequences of poor sleeping patterns. The sleep prior to midnight is even more beneficial.

A few suggestions that might help:

*Follow a routine. Include exercise and physicial activity in your day.
*A warm shower or bath can be very relaxing prior to bedtime.
*Music, relaxation exercises, meditation, restful tapes, fountains.
*Fall asleep in a dark, quiet room.
*Avoid excessive daytime boredom
*Effective stress management.
*Do not try to force falling asleep. If you cannot sleep, get up and do something peaceful. Then go back to bed.
*Take time to unwind. Trying to sleep after exercise or a flurry of activity will not help you sleep.
*If you have a lot on your mind, take time to write the worries out before you go to bed in an effort to let them go for the night.
*Avoid caffeine several hours prior to bedtime.
*Music, Relaxation exercises, Meditation, Fountains (sound of water) can be helpful.

Our sleep is important and has a direct impact on our outlook on life.

I do best with the routine of 11 pm - 6 am.

Do you have something to add to this list? What is helpful to you? What is not working? Love your comments!

5 comments:

Katrin said...

One thing a sleep specialist told me was if you are awake in bed for 15min or more then get up and go sit quietly somewhere else. When you are drowsy again get back in bed. That was to train your brain that being it bed is ONLY for sleep. So no watching TV in bed or reading in bed or doing computer work in bed. Just sleeping in bed. It does make a difference.

Melanie Lutz said...

It would be really nice if I had a baby who could sleep!! I think it would be easier to be an insomniac then having a two year old that is one.

Torie said...

I find "Writing" my worries on a word document really helps. Then i can let go of them. I find i get really frustrated when i don't do it, and just must must must do it if something really really is bothering me.

Apart from that, i usually get enough sleep. Mostly anyway.
Loving the blog still, and please check out my new blog!!!! Xxx

Infrequent Flyers said...

In my old age, my sleep patterns have become off-kilter! I fall asleep okay, but I keep waking up earlier and earlier. My mind seems to turn on at about 5 am, and I lay in bed, thinking about things I need to do that day. I try to shut my mind off so I can go back to sleep, but I can't! Then, since I wake up so early, I fall asleep really early. If I watch something on TV after 8pm, I drowse off. It's annoying!

Anonymous said...

I'm so happy to have found your blog, thank you for commenting on mine today! :)
I generally don't have a hard time falling asleep--it's the waking up part that I have trouble with! And I realized a while back that I don't get enough sleep (even when I sleep for 8 hours, it's not enough for me) so I've been working on forcing myself to get to bed earlier so that I don't have to drag myself out of bed each morning!
-Lisa