What to do when you can’t sleep! #2

Hello there! ❤️ Feeling tired? Well I’m assuming you are seeing as you’re reading this post! Understandably a lot of people are finding it difficult at the moment to doze off at the end of the day because routines are so out of whack what with all that’s going on. Me and sleeping have never seen eye to eye but I find that in isolation I do fall asleep, it’s just that the night owl in me is ever present and it’s at midnight/1am that I finally settle down 🦉😬 (I mean, have you read my confessions of a night owl? The proof is in the pudding I’m telling you! 😂).

This lack of sleep is mostly because my chronic pain has been so bad and the condition in my legs has gotten a lot worse. It’s tough at night when I can’t really distract myself from it like I can try to do in the daytime. In an effort to help others and hopefully myself through this I decided to dig up an old post: what to do when you can’t sleep and create a part two full of even MORE ideas. I don’t know if you’re ready for this…but I’m going to carry on typing anyway 😂 Here is what to do if you can’t sleep:

Don’t put a light on as it makes you wake up! 💡

This sounds like common sense but when you’re restless it’s so easy to reach out and switch on a light. You want to do something to tire yourself out like reading which is okay but I find that I even switch on the light when I can’t bring myself to read for some reason 😂 So the light comes on and I’m just laying there looking around my room which doesn’t help with anything. Eliminate as much light as you can from your room and if the darkness gets to you a bit then let a glimmer in but not to the extent that it wakes you up. It’s important to allow your bedroom to have that “night” space away from everywhere else that you associate with sleep and darkness is paramount.

Essential oils

I have a lavender aromatherapy roller ball and if anything it calms my mind on a restless night. If you’re looking for a good one then I recommend Tisserand 🌙

Listen to white noise or other calming sounds

For years now I haven’t slept in complete silence unless the electricity goes and I have to 😂 If it’s warm I’ll have a fan on which I believe is the equivalent to a white noise sound or I’ll actually switch on a sound machine that my sister got me for Christmas. It has white noise on it but I prefer the sound of beach waves and I have them playing every night now 🌊. Noise also goes a long way in helping to lull me off to sleep if I have a migraine flare-up!

Go through your day in your mind…

Is there anything that could be keeping you awake mentally? Can it be resolved now or do you think writing it down would help? Yeah I know I told you not to switch on the light but sometimes in instances like this it is inevitable. Occasionally when I write down my worries it helps because having them physically in front of me helps me to compartmentalize and see things in a better perspective. You could even look at this point in another way and just go through a nice day in your head and think about all of the good things that happened ✨

Have a herbal drink 🌱

There are even some specifically for sleep! I like a good mug of chamomile and it’s nice to have something to wind down with at the end of the day before I go up to bed 😴 but it does mean that I’m less likely to read before I sleep as the drinks make me a bit drowsy which means I don’t have them a lot because I love my nightly reads! 😂

Try to use up your energy in the daytime

Easy to say this when you’re lying in bed and the day is over but plan it for tomorrow! Its tricky when you don’t actually have the energy in the day but even just reading or moving about a bit can bring you that bit more closer to sleep at night. I find that I sleep better when I’ve let fresh air into my lungs (I know that’s not exactly energy loss but I’mma add this in anyway 😂). I can’t get out into the garden at the moment but most evenings I’ll open our sitting room window and sit on the ledge watching out. These are such lovely moments as it’s around this time that the sun is setting and there is a light breeze ruffling through the trees complimenting the golden glow being cast over our land (I think I just went off in a trance there 😵😂).

Are you wearing socks? Take them off!

Contrariwise, if you’re not wearing socks then maybe your feet are cold and you should put them on! I go through phases where I like it being either way but it’s healthier to sleep with no socks on so as not to restrict blood circulation. Doesn’t stop me from worrying that someone’s going to tickle my feet though 😣😂

Be sure to regularly change your duvet cover

A fresh set of bedding can really switch things up and I find that I’m looking forward to getting in bed throughout the day because of it (usually I’m not because I’m wary about having another sleepless night).

Recite tongue twisters 😝

Get tongue tied until it tires you out. I once heard that the most boring word to repeat over and over is “the” so try that! 😂 Or even “red lorry, yellow lorry” and “she sells seashells by the seashore”…..I thought I knew more tongue twisters to be honest! Ummm actually it’s not that difficult to make some up and most sentences start to sound tough if you repeat them enough! 🤷👍 Lucy has left the building on that one 😂

Listen to sleep hypnosis

My sister swears by sleep hypnosis! I am yet to try it but we’ve even played some for our smallest dog Toby to calm him down as there are ones specifically for dogs. We play it whilst we trim his hair and it makes the experience a whole lot easier! 🙌😂

Put on a boring/relaxing radio channel

They tire me out real fast 😂 Sometimes I’ll put on a channel where they’re speaking fully in Irish as I think it’s a calming sound but I understand some of the words so my mind is unconsciously (or is it consciously? 🤔) aware of what is going on and trying to make sense of the conversation I’m hearing so at that point I’ll switch over to something else 😂

Count something…ANYTHING

On my last list I said count sheep but they don’t always get the job done so now I’m saying count ANYTHING. You could even imagine putting books on a shelf, one at a time over and over again. Like the cover of a book? Maybe you could open it up and imagine the story within ✨📚

Make up a talent show in your head

Think of each contestant in detail and what they do! You could even follow their journey throughout the “show” 😮 I get so involved in these types of dreams! 😂

And remember, as much as it can feel like the best time to try be productive at night when you cannot sleep, DON’T make a point of doing daytime stuff, It’ll just wake you up more. You need sleep so that your body can rest, recuperate and regenerate (you might even turn out to be the next Doctor Who 🤷 Don’t get excited about the prospect of that or else yet again you won’t be able to sleep. And yes, I did mention Doctor Who in part 1 of this post as well, sue me 🙄😂).

Thank YOU for reading! 😉 Can you think of any more things that help with sleep? Let’s make a LONG list! I’d also love to hear how you’re finding sleep at the moment, is it tough or are you away with the fairies at night? 😂💫 Let me know in the comments below and I hope you have a lovely day, take care 💕

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