To live a well balanced, rewarding life of our dreams by day and sleep restfully at night.
Sponsors
Sponsors
My Copyright Info
5 things to do If you can’t sleep tonight…
Published June 28, 2010 | - breathe
- don’t stress about the fact that you’re not sleeping
- do tension exercises
- get up and read something boring
- get out your journal and write: worries, how you are feeling, a story, just write!
Debra : )
Related Posts:
Dream Remembrance: a technique to try when you wake up in the middle of the night
Published May 19, 2010 | Many of us can fall asleep initially at night. Much of our insomnia challenges arise (myself included) when something wakes us up in the middle of the night. Wouldn’t it be just great to be able to fall right back to sleep after going to the bathroom, getting woken up by a noise, a light etc. ? Often what happens is that instead of going back to sleep, our minds start coming to life. Thoughts begin to churn. Once this thinking process takes root, we are doomed. The monkey mind has got us and sleep eludes us.
One technique to try before our minds take over is called dream remembrance. The idea is that whenever we wake up we are coming out of a dream (whether we realize it or not). If we can remember any details, we need to try to remember them. If we can cling to our dream, we greatly increase our chances of going back to sleep and the next REM cycle.
So simply put: if you wake up, focus on any dream you were having. Focus on your dream state. If you can’t remember any dreams, then just focus on your breathing until you fall back asleep. The main thing is we do not want our minds to start thinking conscious thoughts. In the middle of the night- in that semi-conscious state- they are most certainly going to be anxious, negative monkey mind thoughts. We want to keep the monkey away!
I personally do dream remembrance and it truly does work. With practice, it gets easier. I have gotten to a point now where I can access my dream state even when I am still awake, but getting sleepy, and going into that semi-conscious state…it is really neat. I sometimes remember dreams I had many years ago. Give it a try.
Resource: idea for this post was inspired by a short interview with Woodsen Merrell, M.D., Chairman of Integrative Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center and co-author of Power Up: Unleash Your Natural Energy, Power Up Your Health, and Feel 10 Years Younger (May 2010 issue of Body and Soul Magazine http://www.wholeliving.com)
Related Posts:
5 Signals of Sleep Deprivation
Published May 17, 2010 | Sleep deprivation doesn’t necessarily happen overnight. Gradually over time, our bodies can go into a sleep debt situation. Our bodies give us some signals.
- We are having a hard time making decisions
- We are eating a lot but still feel hungry
- We keep coming down with colds
- We are weepy and emotional
- We are klutzy
What can we do to erase this sleep debt?
- Get morning sun exposure
- Exercise in the early evening
- Work on something that interests and challenges us during the day
- Eat a balanced diet. Limit sugar intake
To read more: check out March 2010 Prevention.com
Related Posts:
Not Getting Enough Sleep?- Don't Sweat It!
Published April 22, 2010 | Yes, it is miserable to not be getting our sleep. Sometimes I think though that we stress so much about not sleeping that it makes our insomnia even worse. Who has been there lying in your bed and you are just staring at your clock, watching the minutes and hours pass, thinking about how terrible you are going to feel at work the next day…
The best thing we can do for ourselves is not worry about it. Okay, we are not getting our ideal number of hours of sleep tonight but we will be okay. This has taken me a long time to figure out but I really believe the best thing we can do for ourselves is to get our minds off our insomnia.The things we focus on increase. If we are focused on not sleeping we will most likely continue to not sleep. Make sense?
This premise is the main underlying purpose of the Warm Milk Journal. Distraction. Diversion, Centering. The goal is getting our minds on something else besides the fact that we are not sleeping.
So the next time you are really stressed about sleeping tell yourself it is okay. This is not a crisis. Get up and read a book, stretch, meditate, write in your journal, etc.
Related Posts:
5 easy things to do to promote better sleep
Published April 12, 2010 | 1. Keep bedroom well-ventilated
2. Wear socks on your feet.
3. Invest in good quality blinds
4. Wear earplugs
5. Limit liquid consumption before bed
Related Posts:
Posted in Tips to help insomnia | 
earplugs, help for insomnia, limit liquids, sleep, socks | 
Leave a commentJoin the fun!
Sponsor
Copyright © 2012 - The Warm Milk Journal. All Rights Reserved. 