Trouble Sleeping? Here are Some Tips

As I mentioned in yesterday's article about Sleep, a good night's sleep is essential to our well being in every aspect.

Here are some tips for helping to get a good night's sleep:

1. Make sure the room is dark. I mean dark!

No moonlight or streetlights coming in through the windows, no lights from the alarm clock or extension cord. No lights!

Our bodies instinctively know that when it is dark, it is time for the mind and body to relax and shut down.

2. Keep your day planner or a pad and pen by your bed, and write down what you need to do tomorrow.

Thoughts are the enemy of sleep! If you lie down with all kinds of thoughts about what you want to do tomorrow, of course you can't get to sleep because you're worrying that you will forget them.

And if you happen to wake up and think of some great idea or something to add to the list, it is right there for you to write in and then forget it and go back to sleep.

3. Don't eat or drink anything 3 hours prior to bedtime. Otherwise:

a. Your body will be busy digesting the food instead of relaxing.

b. When you do get to sleep, your body will still be working on the digestion process instead of being about the business of healing itself during the night.

c. Obviously if you drink liquids shortly before bedtime you will have to keep getting up to go to the bathroom throughout the night!

4. There are different relaxation techniques that you can use and find in many other places, from counting sheep to focusing on and then relaxing a specific portion of your body, one at a time. Different techniques work for different people, so they are definitely worth trying.

5. Exercise about 2 hours before bedtime.

Then take a relaxing bath, get into bed and maybe read something light for a few minutes. By this time, those relaxing endorphins will have kicked in and you will be relaxed and physically tired.

Perfect conditions for sleeping!

6. Trust in God! He will keep you safe during the night, and awaken you in the morning. Give over control of things to Him. Most things aren't really under our control anyway, but we spend so much time worrying and trying to figure things out, really just spinning our wheels.

The Bible says, " Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Isn't that the truth!

I hope these ideas help. I'll offer some more suggestions next time.

Til then, sleep well!

Phyllis Towse