5 Things I Did to Overcome Insomnia
I discovered I had insomnia after working for three years night support worker in a local homeless shelter.
It shocked me because I was such a sound sleeper prior to working nights, and for six months I suffered mentally and emotionally, as well as the obvious physical exhaustion.
About a year ago I decided to tackle the problem head on and hit the library and the internet to learn as much as possible about sleep related problems.
Below are my top 5 tips on getting the best from your sleep.
For me establishing a routine has always been a struggle.
I'm very social and love going out with my friends for a drink or a dance.
But finding myself so exhausted and drained I decided I would try a rigid sleep pattern to see if that worked, it was one of the first things I read online and others seemed to highly rate it.
So for me I tried 7, 8 and 9 hour nights of sleep, all focused around getting up at 7am.
Over time I settled on 8 hours a night, and my routine is 11pm to 7am.
Sometimes I don't quite get to bed in time of course, but I manage to stick to my routine about 5 nights per week and I feel much more rested and fall asleep quickly at 11pm.
My body really responded to this.
Check your diet.
I'm a foodie.
I love good food and wine, and whilst I do work out I can't resist a treat every few days.
But one thing I realised was if I cut down on alcohol and coffee a little, it made a big difference.
So now instead of having two large glasses of wine in the evening I've changed the size of my wine glass and have two small ones.
I don't feel deprived, but I'm consuming about half as much alcohol in the evenings.
I've also cut down from 2 cups of coffee at breakfast to one, and replaced both wine and coffee with extra water, and some fruit juices if I need a little extra.
In terms of food I try to eat my meal by 8pm so that my food has more time to digest, and I've reduced some difficult to digest foods, such as cheese and breads.
Increasing my activity each day brought more than just sleep benefits, it also helped me lose a few pounds.
I'm not a highly active person my nature, but I decided I could commit to 20-30 minutes of exercise every day, walking or running, and tried to fit this in before breakfast or after work depending on my schedule.
I wouldn't advise working out after your evening meal as I found it was hard to settle down at bedtime and sleep seemed to take a while longer.
I've read that your increased heart rate lasts for a couple of hours, and this contributes to a more alert state.
It amazed me that as little as 20 minutes per day could make a difference, but it really does.
Improve your bedroom.
In the last year I made two changes in my bedroom that really made a difference.
Firstly I added a dark lining to the inside of my curtains that blocks out the light.
Ambient light can really interrupt your sleep, especially in the early morning hours in the summer when it gets light as early as 4am.
This alone made a huge difference.
Secondly I added a memory foam mattress topper on top of my regular pocket spring mattress, and a memory foam pillow.
Memory foam is slightly firmer than regular mattresses, molds to the shape of your body, and is activated by body temperature.
The pillow is ergonomically shaped and helps maintain the natural shape of your spine.
I'd heard about memory foam stuff from friends, and have to say I was amazed with the improvement it made for me.
Speak to your doctor.
I went to my doctor after the first 3 months of bad sleep.
I'd been feeling depressed, was tired and lethargic, and felt anxious that my troubled sleep was perhaps related to some other illness.
After a full check up my doctor reassured me that I was healthy, and gave me the advice I've just shared with you.
She recommended trying to change my environment and my routine, before opting for medication that was treating a symptom.
Of course some people will need medication, but I felt that for me it was best to try to address the problem, not simply medicate the symptom.
I'm so grateful to the friends and my GP who helped me get through this.
Hopefully this has helped you too.
I fully understand the frustration and anxiety of disturbed sleep.
The great thing is some simple changes can get you back to deep restful nights.
It shocked me because I was such a sound sleeper prior to working nights, and for six months I suffered mentally and emotionally, as well as the obvious physical exhaustion.
About a year ago I decided to tackle the problem head on and hit the library and the internet to learn as much as possible about sleep related problems.
Below are my top 5 tips on getting the best from your sleep.
For me establishing a routine has always been a struggle.
I'm very social and love going out with my friends for a drink or a dance.
But finding myself so exhausted and drained I decided I would try a rigid sleep pattern to see if that worked, it was one of the first things I read online and others seemed to highly rate it.
So for me I tried 7, 8 and 9 hour nights of sleep, all focused around getting up at 7am.
Over time I settled on 8 hours a night, and my routine is 11pm to 7am.
Sometimes I don't quite get to bed in time of course, but I manage to stick to my routine about 5 nights per week and I feel much more rested and fall asleep quickly at 11pm.
My body really responded to this.
Check your diet.
I'm a foodie.
I love good food and wine, and whilst I do work out I can't resist a treat every few days.
But one thing I realised was if I cut down on alcohol and coffee a little, it made a big difference.
So now instead of having two large glasses of wine in the evening I've changed the size of my wine glass and have two small ones.
I don't feel deprived, but I'm consuming about half as much alcohol in the evenings.
I've also cut down from 2 cups of coffee at breakfast to one, and replaced both wine and coffee with extra water, and some fruit juices if I need a little extra.
In terms of food I try to eat my meal by 8pm so that my food has more time to digest, and I've reduced some difficult to digest foods, such as cheese and breads.
Increasing my activity each day brought more than just sleep benefits, it also helped me lose a few pounds.
I'm not a highly active person my nature, but I decided I could commit to 20-30 minutes of exercise every day, walking or running, and tried to fit this in before breakfast or after work depending on my schedule.
I wouldn't advise working out after your evening meal as I found it was hard to settle down at bedtime and sleep seemed to take a while longer.
I've read that your increased heart rate lasts for a couple of hours, and this contributes to a more alert state.
It amazed me that as little as 20 minutes per day could make a difference, but it really does.
Improve your bedroom.
In the last year I made two changes in my bedroom that really made a difference.
Firstly I added a dark lining to the inside of my curtains that blocks out the light.
Ambient light can really interrupt your sleep, especially in the early morning hours in the summer when it gets light as early as 4am.
This alone made a huge difference.
Secondly I added a memory foam mattress topper on top of my regular pocket spring mattress, and a memory foam pillow.
Memory foam is slightly firmer than regular mattresses, molds to the shape of your body, and is activated by body temperature.
The pillow is ergonomically shaped and helps maintain the natural shape of your spine.
I'd heard about memory foam stuff from friends, and have to say I was amazed with the improvement it made for me.
Speak to your doctor.
I went to my doctor after the first 3 months of bad sleep.
I'd been feeling depressed, was tired and lethargic, and felt anxious that my troubled sleep was perhaps related to some other illness.
After a full check up my doctor reassured me that I was healthy, and gave me the advice I've just shared with you.
She recommended trying to change my environment and my routine, before opting for medication that was treating a symptom.
Of course some people will need medication, but I felt that for me it was best to try to address the problem, not simply medicate the symptom.
I'm so grateful to the friends and my GP who helped me get through this.
Hopefully this has helped you too.
I fully understand the frustration and anxiety of disturbed sleep.
The great thing is some simple changes can get you back to deep restful nights.
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