Today we’re talking Sleep Fails. Plans, diets, exercise all covered, the theme of fails moves to sleep. That tough nut to crack, the one that you think you’ve got right and until it hits you like a double decker bus.
It could be something you ate, it could be the glass of red which you had your arm twisted to drink. It could be being in the wrong time zone in the wrong place. Or it could be absolutely no reason at all. Yep, we’ve all been there. The one where you’ve got the house to yourself. You do all the right things. Have a healthy salad for dinner, hot bath with sweet scented candles, read Shogun until your eyes start to droop. Then you turn off the light at a sensible of time with a gentle smile on your lips.
Wham.
3am.
Blink, blink.
Did you send that email to your boss? You’ve got the washing to do today. Your back is aching for some reason. Jill! I was supposed to speak to her. Forgot about that. I’ll do it tomorrow. Actually today now. Better get back to sleep. Right.
Tick, tick, tick.
3.15am.
Tick, tick, tick.
3.30am.
And so it goes on. Your mind whirling around like a washing machine. All those well followed sleep protocols thrown out the window. The best laid plans and all that. For the record, this is me most nights. Your Life Guide, yours truly, is one of the most restless sleepers on the planet. I re-enact fights and wake up to find the bedsheet more creased than a bulldog’s face. So, for me, sleep fails are the norm and sleep hygiene is sacrosanct.
Three life guides to try
- Read a book. Preferably without turning on the light (thank you Kindle). You might just need 20 mins to stop your brain churning.
- Get out of bed. Your body needs to associate: bed = sleep. So go to the bathroom, have a walk round the living room, sit in the armchair. When you feel sleepy again, return to that place of rest.
- Meditate. Turn on your app or put on those calming sleep beach sounds that you keep for these moments.
Having a good sleep routine reduces the chance of sleep fails. Remember those? Sleep in cave-like conditions (dark, quiet, cool), be consistent and regular, avoid late meals and lay-off the sauce. If you have a sleep tracker, use that to tweak, tweak and tweak again. If the sleep tracker is stressing you out, then throw it out the window.
So, today’s whisper? Don’t worry about sleep. That just makes it worse. When it comes to the complex land of dreams we don’t all succeed. So, just follow the life guides, stick with it, and things should get better.
What’s your sleep routine?
Don’t have a sleep routine? Start here.
