A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book. Irish proverb
Statistics suggest that four out of five people say they suffer from sleep problems at least once a week. In his article, “The Sleep Debt Collector Is Here,” New York Times newsletter correspondent, Oliver Whang, writes, “The sleep debt collectors are coming. They want you to know that there is no such thing as forgiveness, only a shifting expectation of how and when you’re going to pay them back.” The experts agree, lack of sleep harms your health!
Here are a few tips to get better sleep from Dr. Aric Prather, author of The Sleep Prescription with a few from me:
—If worry is keeping you awake, set a time to worry during the day. Ten minutes is plenty.
— Dr. Prather suggests one that’s new to me—stick your head in the freezer! He says the brief shock of cold activates your arousal system. He compares it to using jumper cables on a car.
—Declutter your bedroom. At the least, put the clutter where you can’t see it from the bed.
—If you have a loud neighborhood, consider getting a sound machine to block out the noise. If the noise is coming from a person sleeping beside you, consider separate bedrooms.
—Keep your bedroom cool. Our core temperature naturally drops just before bedtime. Help it along.
—Spend time doing something pleasant and soothing before bed.
If your sleeplessness is chronic and impinging on your quality of life, seek out a sleep specialist and/or talk to your regular doctor. It could be the medications you’re taking or other reasons you’re not aware of.
Affirmation: I will get a good night’s sleep!
Coaching questions: If you frequently don’t sleep well, what are you going to do about it? What do you think is causing your sleeplessness?
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash
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