What do you do to help yourself drift into a relaxed sleep?

Question

It's been a long time since I have been able to sleep over 2 or 3 hours at a time. It seems I cannot relax enough to sleep well, very often waking up feeling afraid for some reason. I won't take pills to sleep, so please don't even suggest that. What else can I do? Anyone?

Answer 1

I walk 2-4 miles in the late afternoon/early evening.

I practice yoga for relaxation an hour or so after dinner.

I get off the computer at least an hour before bed.

I may have the TV on, but I read before bed too.

I play ambient relaxing music with nature sounds on my CD player next to the bed.

I take Valerian root 2 hours before bed.

I take a 15-20 minute bubble bath by candlelight, sometimes with music.

I make a list of things to do the next day at the end of each day, so I don't have to think about them all night.

I practice breath counting. 1 in 2 out 3 in 4 out
up to 10 then start again. If you start thinking, gently bring yourself back to the counting. If you count too high, gently go back to one. This is not about beating yourself up for thinking or counting too high. It is about observing the breath and giving the brain something to do besides keep you awake.

Avoid caffeine and alcohol and chocolate and sugar in the evening.

Take calcium or have a snack with protein and calcium in the evening. Calcium has some natural tranquilizing properties.

Drink chamomile tea.

Read postive things and only watch positive things after dinner. No bloody news or crime shows.

Develop a spiritual tradition for your pre bed ritual.

Get a potpourri warmer for essential oils and use lavendar oil. It is very calming.

Use lavendar in your evening bath.

When you wake up like that, it is called night terrors. It happens to lots of people. Calming yourself before bed should help. Placing positive thoughts in your head will help too.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Are you afraid of taking sleeping pills because you fear you won't wake up? don't be frightened of pills. Just try some natural herbal remedy sleeping pills, they're harmless, they don't force you to sleep, they just help you relax and drift off into sleep. You wake up in the morning just as easily. If not, try using some lavender pillow spray, there's nothing more relaxing then the smell of lavender. Try having a glass of wine or something, i find it much easier to sleep if i have just a little bit of alcohol before bed, it's also known as a "night cap". Don't be too active at night, don't work out or anything before bedtime. 2 or 3 hours of sleep is terrible for your body as sleep is really essential, lack of sleep can mess you up, you get paranoid and jumpy. You might feel more secure if you had a little light left on like a night light. If you have work in the morning, it might be because you are afraid of sleeping in even though u may not realise it. Try whatever you can, if you carry on like this you may become over-tired and find it even harder to sleep. That's all i can suggest really. Good luck!

Answer 3

I use progressive relaxation when I am having difficulty unwinding or ridding of nerves before sleep. It involves multiple contraction and relaxation of each consecutive muscle group in the body and can result in your body feeling like it is slowly "melting" or turning to putty starting from your toes. I also use a sound maker/noise machine that produces white noise because I find that silence makes me wake more, especially if you live with people or in the city where noise might prompt you to wake up.

One other thing for you is it appears you have some anxiety and stress. Be easy on yourself and don't worry extensively that this is abnormal. Waking every couple hours after an REM cycle is NORMAL although most people when they aren't going through stressful periods don't usually rouse to consciousness during these events.

Nightmares or sleep terrors, on the other hand, can be classified as sleep disorders (caused by medical conditions or depression/anxiety/panic disorders) and you may want to have it checked out or go to a sleep clinic if they persist. There are options other than meds for treating sleep and psychiatric disorders.

Answer 4

Well i used to have problems sleeping all the time and I also refused to take pills but it may sound strange but I started doing yoga at least a half an hour before I went to bed and it really relaxed my body and mind and I would fall asleep quick. Maybe it might work, try it out once and email me and let me know if it worked.

Answer 5

I lie in my such a lot comfy role, i faux i'm on a solar lounger on a individual seashore, the solar is blazing down, the small breeze is rustling the leaves of the palm bushes, the waves are lightly lapping at the shore, the ice in my cocktail is chinking in opposition to the glass and i'm utterly cozy. I move via that situation level by means of level each and every night time by means of imagining every factor one after the other and it is mainly the final factor i consider of - i am long past ...that's a colossal change to how i used to get off to sleep - which used to be banging my head on my pillow!! lol. But while i moved in with my husband (then my boyfriend), that kinda drove him nuts so i could not do it anymore ;o)

Answer 6

Hot chocolate before bed. There is a natural enzyme that i released to help sleep.

Avoid noise and distractions before bed, like TV. Try a bok and read a it.

Exercise a few hours before to get fatigued. It helps to relieve the mental stresses that you would take to bed too.

Answer 7

try taking valerian. its an herb used for stress and promotes restful sleep. if you are on any medications though, check with a pharmacist first for any interaction.One drawback is that it smells really bad!

read

work out about 5 hours before you go to bed