Night, night, sleep tight.

Last week I posted this picture on my Facebook page, because I am one of those who will take ages to log off from the computer as I 'just want to check one more thing'!

My friend commented that she had heard it was good to have an hour of 'no screen time' before going to bed' and was asking why.
As I replied to her comment, I realized that I guilty of not always practicing what I preach. I think part of this has been hard wired into my brain. I used to tell myself and others things such as -
"I'm such a bad insomniac that it won't make any difference to me."
"Pah, unwind before I go to bed - why bother, I go to sleep alright, it's staying asleep that is the problem."

Comments such as these re-enforced my beliefs about sleep and insomnia - that it would always be a difficulty for me. I was really into my own little pity party around sleep. I now know what an effect these comments can have and realize what I say to myself is important.

Also that what I do is important.

As a child I used to have a bath and a bedtime story. Over the years this changed. Like most parents, mine stopped being so active in this routine when we were old enough to bathe unsupervised and read by ourselves. Evening baths were replaced by morning showers and then as a teenager, I was doing homework late at night. As an adult I had a TV in my room. Also over this time my sleep patterns were changing and insomniac habits were settling in.

So now as adults I think we need to restart our bedtime routines and tuck ourselves in at night!

Technology is too stimulating and does need to be switched off before bedtime. Other stimulants include caffeine and alcohol. You should also avoid exercise late in the evening - the only exception to this would be yoga or other relaxing/stretching exercise to release your body of tension.

Take TV's out of the bedroom. They may 'help' you fall asleep, but they are not a good crutch to have and I would often wake later in the night as I could hear the noise on the telly and then not be able to go back to sleep.
Take time to tick of the days chores from your list, and plan what to do tomorrow, so that your mind does not have to think and remember what needs to be done.
Have a bath to start relaxing and unwinding.
Switch off bright lights, and use lamps etc, to start telling your brain it is night time so it can start releasing the right hormones to prepare you for sleep.
Read a few pages of a book, to bring back associations with childhood bedtimes, or other relaxing hobby, to start unwinding.

When you go to bed - switch your mobile phone off! We are so into being in contact 24/7 but it is not good for us! For years I have used my phone as my alarm clock and thought I couldn't switch it off and would be woken in the night by texts coming through, but then a friend told me that in most phones, the alarm will work even when the phone is switched off. So, if you use your phone as an alarm try this now - set your alarm for 2 mins time and switch the phone off and see what happens!

I am pretty good at most of these things - except switching the computer off, so I'll be making an effort to that. What do you need to change to help you sleep better?

Sweet dreams!

Night Owl or Morning Lark

My morning routine is timed down to the last possible second that I can stay in bed. I look at people with horror when they say that they get up early to do the housework before they go to work. When people say that they find it difficult to have a lie-in, I feel sorry for them on missing out on the delight of waking up and then realising that it's the weekend and you can turn over and drift of back to sleep again.  Over the years my colleagues have learnt not to expect greatness out of me first thing in the mornings. I only found out that the local street market really did open at 7am, when I was coming home one night (OK, morning) and realised I could buy some bread before going to sleep.

Yes, I am a self confessed Night owl and I love it. When on holiday I quickly drifted to the habit of going to sleep around 2am and waking around 10. There are times that I have struggled with it as as modern society tends to favour the Morning Lark - school hours, 9-5 working, shop opening hours etc. I have found ways to make it work for me and things are changing and though some people may complain about the 24 hour lifestyle, I am finding it's advantages.

Whether you are a Night Owl or Morning Lark has some genetic basis. Your own circadian rhythms have a huge influence on your sleep patterns, but just as you can change your sleep patterns to overcome jet lag, I can change to become a morning person.

This is not something I have ever relished doing, though is easier now that I have sorted my insomnia and now sleep well.
Working in daycare has meant that for most of my working life I have been subject to shift work. Not the huge shift patterns of night working but starting work anywhere between 7am and 10am. These changes are irritating enough to affect your routines but don't solicit the outpouring of sympathy that night shift workers get. For a morning person the answer to these slight changes would be to get up everyday at 6am, but for a sleep deprived person, this idea was bad news and late starts were seen as the opportunity for a sleep catch up and early finishes for an afternoon nap.

I did have one job where for 5 years I was working 9 - 5.30. I had hoped that over time, a regular getting up time would help my sleeping habits. It didn't. I still struggled for those 5 years of getting up at 7am for five days a week and enjoyed my weekend lie-ins.

Now that I am sleeping properly, I have been able to think about and have begun to change my sleeping habits. Don't get me wrong, I'm not getting up at dawn but I have reduced my lie-ins and am scheduling my sleep pattens into a slightly more modern world friendly schedule. Most days I go to bed around midnight and wake around 8am. It was an effort to do this at first, especially at the weekend, but I am seeing the benefits and am getting more done. Now when I stay up late because of a party, it is the exception and getting up early a couple of days a week for my earlier shifts at the crèche are not a struggle and I get the benefits of an early finish for my work day.

It would still be easy to go back to my extreme Night Owl ways, and I don't think I'll ever bounce out of bed at 6am, but for the moment, these new hours are suiting me fine.

What about you? Are you a morning person or do you dance on the tables till dawn? Are you happy with this, or do you want to change? Has a change in your life also made these changes for you? What adjustments have you made to your life to fit with or change these habits? Please comment below, it would be fascinating to find out?

Sweet dreams!