Posted on Wednesday, 21st October 2009 by Catherine

Last segment I pointed out how essential sleep is for survival and success in life. Many people (over 65%) have trouble sleeping, falling asleep, staying asleep or both.  There are certain people who may suffer from a sleep disorder and if you think you may  be one of them you need to seek professional medical assistance.

For a good night sleep over and over again, consider treating yourself as you would a baby. The number one thing we strive for when a child is born and in the early years is SLEEP.  Parents do everything they can to try and get babies to sleep and sleep all night.  It becomes a quest, a very calculated experiment, a routine of sorts.  When it happens and your baby snoozes all night long it is a time to celebrate!

I think if adults reverted back to making our sleeping a priority I have a sneaking suspicion we may sleep better and longer.  Consider the following points.

Environment

We always make sure it is dark, temperature appropriate for the season, quiet or possibly a bit of white noise in the background before putting a baby down to sleep.  We ask people to be quiet in the hose when a baby is sleeping.  We do these things to give the baby the best chance at good sleep.

Have you evaluated your sleep environment?  Do you leave the TV on?  Would you sleep better with some background noise?

Is it too hot or cold?  We would not make a baby sleep in a room that was too hot or too cold so why do we try and do it? Examine your environment and make changes to help you sleep.

Evening intake

We never would feed our children caffeine or sugar before putting them to bed – do you drink caffeinated beverages or alcohol before bed?  Do you hype up on sugary snacks?  Filling your body with sugar (either in the form of alcohol or snacks) will interrupt your sleep pattern.

It could keep you awake later than your body naturally desires to be awake.  You may not even realize it but without the caffeine you would probably go to be much earlier because you are feeling tired.  Consider nothing with caffeine in it after about 4 pm.

If you really need to “sip” something try some dedecaffeinated teas to help you relax. One other thing to consider is having a healthy snack instead of a sugary snack before bed so you don’t wake up hungry in the middle of the night.  This  may only work for certain people.  I know I prefer to go to bed on an empty stomach so you may have to experiment with this.

A routine

Bath, bottle, bed was my motto when my kids were really little.  Now it has evolved into bath, books maybe a TV program and then off to bed.  Having some sort of bedtime routine is important.  It helps your body and your brain get ready for rest.

Relax for a bit, enjoy a book or magazine.  Get off the computer or video games and allow yourself time for a nighttime routine. A set bedtime is key for both you and your children.  Going to bed at the same time each night will allow for a more restful night sleep.

You had to teach your kids to sleep and you may have to re-teach yourself. It doesn’t always come naturally.

There will be nights when you just don’t sleep well.  No matter what you do there is something keeping you awake.

Those nights probably won’t ever be eliminated but if you can do the things referenced in this article to keep them at a minimum you are on the right track to getting the sleep your body so desperately needs.

I would love to hear from you about the things you do to help get a restful night of sleep.  It is so important and if you can get a good night of sleep you will be better able to cope with the challenges in life.  You should feel refreshed. EVERYTHING looks better in the morning after a restful night of sleep!

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