RazzWorks

Why am I using the phrase inspire sleep instead of simply saying fall asleep? Good question.

Many of us, when we were children, were coaxed to bed with a bedtime story, tucked in, night light turned on and off to dreamland we go. As we grow up and become older we are no longer convinced to go to sleep by someone else. So now you have to put yourself to bed.

However, sometimes you can’t get to sleep, and no matter how hard you try to convince yourself, you can’t force yourself to nod off. Therefore, you need to coax yourself. You want to be subtle and let your mind know it’s time to relax and drift off to Lala land. Hence, the reason why, in this article, I will be using the phrase inspire sleep.

HOW MUCH SLEEP DO YOU NEED?

It’s no big surprise that we all sleep, we need it to function during our waking hours. On average most people need about 7-9 hours of sleep every 24 hours during their adult years. The key word in this case is the word average. What that simply means is that some people don’t need that much sleep, maybe 5 or 6 hours and they are fine, while others require more. So if you’re worried you’re not getting enough sleep but seem to feel and function fine with only 4 to 6 hours, stop worrying about it. Also, it’s not uncommon, especially if you had an eventful day, to occasionally need more rest.

I know myself I generally function fine with about 6 hours. Sometimes I need a nap, and other rare times because of a busy day I’ll sleep as much as 10 hours. Another thing is if you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night regularly for an hour or two and then going back to bed this is also a normal pattern for a lot of people. Nothing to be concerned about. Historically it was quite common. People would awake in the middle of the night and get a wood stove going so it would be ready for morning. Others might work on something for a couple of hours and then head back to bed and sleep until it was time to get up and start their day.

Now we have various nighttime patterns out of the way – only sleeping a few hours and feeling fully rested, a nightly pattern of being awake for a while in the middle of the night, or any of the normal patterns that various people have. Next, we’ll look into some other underlying issues that could be causing a person to not get the proper rest that they need.

We need to consider ‘why’ you’re not getting a good night’s rest. Some common issues that many people deal with are things like insomnia, sleep apnea, stress, anxiety, situational depression, and pain, which are some of the major issues. Then there are basic things like bad weather, temperature, noise, not feeling well, or just the expectation of something in the near future whether it be good or bad, or you are just simply still feeling wide awake from partying. If you know the cause for your restlessness then there is a chance you might be able to work out a plan to get the required rest you

But what about times when you just have trouble sleeping your normal pattern and to your knowledge, there are no underlying issues going on? Life is normal, just for some unknown reason you’re having trouble sleeping, whether you keep waking up or just can’t seem to doze off. Well, that is a different issue. Now in the past, I did write a short piece to help with getting quality sleep. Which advises on improving your sleep pattern. However sometimes you just can’t get to sleep even though you do have a good regular pattern, what do you do then?

We all know from experience if you don’t get a good full night’s rest, the next day can be difficult. You wake up all sluggish and deal with drowsiness throughout your day. Some people can be downright irritable. As you attempt to carry out normal simple tasks you have poor concentration and sometimes end up making the stupidest mistakes. Wherever you show up first thing in the morning you look terrible, with bags under your eyes and barely enough energy to lift your head. So this is the reason for this article, to give you the tools you need to inspire sleep in hopes of avoiding these zombie-like days. It’s vital to be able to inspire sleep on those occasions when you can’t get yourself to sleep and are wide awake for no apparent reason.

METHODS TO ENCOURAGE DROWSINESS

CHECK YOUR ENVIRONMENT
OK so now you got up and out of bed. The first thing you want to do before you go off to try and find a way to encourage your mind and body to get drowsy is to take a quick moment to be aware of your surroundings. Maybe you need to make a slight adjustment to the room. Too warm, too cold, or muggy? You might need to open or close a window, turn a fan on, add an extra blanket or pull the sheets back. Maybe shut off a light somewhere or close the curtains to make it slightly darker.

WRITE IT DOWN
If you notice your brain is busy perhaps grab a notebook and jot down whatever it was you were thinking about. Maybe a super great idea popped into your thoughts. Maybe your mind is causing you to worry about something you need to deal with. Write it down, even if you think it’s a silly thought, write it down anyway. You’re awake anyway, so get those little thoughts out of your head and on paper. It’ll help clear the mind.

CALMING LAVENDER SCENT
This helps a lot of people; the smell of lavender in the air. If you have something with that scent it can be a great way to relax. Lavender is a pleasing scent that for many has been known to be very relaxing. Whether it be incense, oil, a lavender-scented candle, or even an air freshener spray. If you have it, use it, if you don’t, consider getting some for the next time you have a restless night.

SOOTHING WARM DRINK
Go make yourself a simple warm drink. No caffeine or anything exciting, just something simple. For some people, it’s a plain cup of hot water. Me, no thanks, I’d rather have some kind of flavour in it. Since I don’t drink tea on most days, on a night I seem to be awake I’ll make an herbal tea of some kind, like Earl Gray or rosehip. There are many different flavours of herbal tea, try something new. Some people believe a cup of hot water with a little bit of lemon and honey does the trick. Personally, it’s not my cup of tea, however, that does not mean it won’t do the trick for you.

SOFT RELAXING MELODY
While you have your hot drink, go sit and relax in a comfy chair, or if it’s a nice night, sit outside and stare at the sky. If you like soft music, it’s a perfect time to put some on. Preferably you would want something that has a simple, soft, slow, melody. This will help inspire sleep because you are simply relaxing. When you begin to feel sleepy you can just head back to bed.

A COZY STEAMY SOAK
Here is something you can try that for many is their favourite way to encourage themselves to feel drowsy. A nice hot steamy bubble bath. You’re awake anyway so why not enjoy the moment and have yourself a nice soothing bath? You can bring your hot drink with you, light a candle or incense or even both for that matter. Just don’t fall asleep while you’re relaxing in the hot water. If you start to get drowsy that might be the perfect time to get out, dry off and head back to bed. If bubble baths aren’t your thing, try using Epsom salts. It can be found with a lavender scent as well.

DON’T FORCE IT
If you don’t feel tired, don’t try to force yourself to sleep. You want to inspire sleep which means you want to calmly encourage your body to want to get sleepy when it’s ready. Therefore the first thing you want to do is get up and get out of bed. Don’t stay lying there arguing with your brain, worrying about why you’re not sleeping. That will only cause your brain to spin and spin. So get up and go find some other way to inspire sleep.

MENTAL COUNTING
OK, now when you feel like you’re ready to head back to bed there is one more thing you can do. This is one that I use every night. I count slowly with each inhale from 1 to 100 and then back down. 99% of the time I’m already asleep before I get back to 1. As a matter of fact, I think most nights I’m already asleep before I reach 100. I should mention, in case you do try this, with the double digits like 29, as I’m breathing in I think twenty, when I exhale I think nine. Also, I should note that when I first started, and sometimes still happens, the counting gets mixed up. For example, I might repeat a number 3 or 4 times. That’s because I don’t try to pay attention to the numbers, I just count. So if you notice it happening to you, don’t worry about it, it means it’s working, and your brain is drifting off to dreamland. That’s the whole point, right?

A B C’S TO REMEMBER NEXT TIME YOU ARE WIDE AWAKE

Now you have some ideas to use to inspire sleep the next time you head to bed and for some unknown reason, you’re wide awake. The key thing to remember is A. Don’t fight it. If you’re awake just get up. B. Don’t worry about it, the more you worry, the more you think, and the more you think the more your brain continues to be active. C. Go find some way to relax or else you will not be able to inspire sleep. Remember – inspire sleep, don’t force it. Once you’re relaxed your body will let you know it’s ready to nod off.

A QUICK RECAP FOR YOUR NIGHTCAP

• Wide awake? Get up. You want to inspire sleep not force it.
• Check your room’s atmosphere. Is it comfortable? Not too warm or too cold, but comfy.
• If you have thoughts floating in your head, write them down to get them out.
• Have a warm soothing drink to help you relax, no caffeine.
• If you like background music, put on something with a soft melody.
• A pleasant scent like lavender, via candles, oils, incense, or even air freshener.
• A nice warm soak in the tub, whether it be a bubble bath or Epsom salts.
• When you start feeling drowsy head back to bed and slowly count while breathing.

What do you think should also be added to the list? If you have tried some of these suggestions already let us know which one you feel works best for when you can’t sleep. I’m sure other readers would appreciate a first-hand account of methods that were found to be very helpful.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to know when our next one is posted simply click the follow button and then you’ll be able to catch any of our future posts when they come out. Do this for any WordPress websites, bloggers, or writers you like that way you won’t miss out on any content you truly enjoy.

RAZZ