Sleep is beautiful.  It’s essential for optimal performance and health.  It gives our bodies time to rebuild, and our minds time to process stimuli.  It is warm, soothing and lovely.  Unless… its not.

There are lots of ways to Not Get Enough Sleep, Insomnia is just one.  We all struggle at some point to get enough sleep or good sleep.  What happens if we don’t sleep?  In the short term, simple things like feeling tired, a lack of focus, irritability and lethargy.  Long term sleep loss can lead to job loss, decreased cognitive function, physical ailments and psychological issues.

A friend recently asked me how I overcame insomnia, so I want to share Sleep Hygiene suggestions for a good night’s sleep.  I am no expert on sleep, but I can speak from experience on overcoming insomnia, and as an organizer, I recognize logical, objective ways to improve routines and physical spaces.  So here some tips for chasing those elusive Zzzzzz’s!

Check your sleeping environment:

• Not too loud: Soothing music is nice, if you need it, but set a timer for it to turn off and don’t sleep with ear phones in your ears.  And I find instrumental music is better than music with lyrics, I found myself trying to memorize words instead of falling asleep.
• Not too quiet:  Silence can be even more distracting than noise.  A white noise machine may help, or a cool vaporizer like the one we run all winter helps drown out my hubby’s snoring.
• A cool room is best for sleeping, and some prefer a fan to move air around.  Sleep with blankets in layers, not just one really heavy one, so you can shed or add covers as needed, as can your bedmate.
• An actual bed (get off the couch, folks) and the right pillow – not too soft or hard, and not too many.
• Bedrooms are bedrooms.  They are not offices, exercise rooms or craft space.  Period.

Clean up your Sleep Hygiene for better sleep.

• Your “sleep hygiene” is your daily routine for getting a good night’s sleep.
• Determine how much sleep you actually need.  We don’t all need exactly 8 hours a night to live our best lives.  Some folks need less and some need more, based on age, physical demands, individual rhythms and a host of other variables.  Fix your wake-up time (for me, 5:15 am) and work back from there for your bedtime, first with 8 hours, then 7.5, then 7.  Turns out, I should turn off my light by about 10:00 pm to fall asleep and feel fully rested at 5:15 am.
• Keep your bed-time and wake-time the same, even on weekends.  Wake-time should vary no more an hour from weekday to weekend.
• You may actually be getting more sleep than you think.  When I suffered with insomnia, it was rare that I truly didn’t sleep all night, even though it felt like I was awake the whole time since my sleep would be shallow and not restorative.  And obviously, intentionally napping or even nodding off while watching TV counts as sleep, and can undermine your overnight sleep.
• Choose the same 3 or 4 soothing activities before bed nightly.  Yoga, wash your face, tea or warm milk, a warm shower, quiet TV viewing or reading in a darkened room.  We use book lights – the ones you clip on the book – they’re great for bedtime reading, especially if you share a room.
• Keep a notebook and pen at your bedside, to jot down random thoughts that might keep you awake.
• Avoid Overhead and fluorescent lighting at all costs.  They are terrible for sleep hygiene.  Turn down all your lights after dinner, to tell your brain it is time to start shutting down for the night.
• Turn off anything with a screen (TV, computer, phone) half an hour before bed time, and keep computers and TVs out of the bedroom completely if you are having sleep issues.  The electronic fields can interfere with good sleep.
• During the day, exercise, but not close to bedtime.  And check your medications, foods and beverages for hidden caffeine, sugar or other stimulants.  You would be amazed all the places caffeine hides, or how medicines like steroids can keep you awake at night!

A good day tomorrow depends on a good night’s sleep tonight, so employ one or two of these tips to help you tonight.  Sweet dreams!