Following through on the new approach I’m trying this month, I’m talking about how we can better support ourselves in this month’s energy. In the case of this month, supporting ourselves in (slow) progress through a good night’s sleep.
To really, truly make a lot of progress, we need to get really good sleep. When we are well rested, we are better able to notice the promptings of Spirit and to follow through on them. Plus, on the more mundane level, we make better decisions on our own.
My Sleep Challenges
When I worked in an office, I always heard about how tired people were. I was the same way. It felt like I was a slave to someone else’s schedule and there was no way I could change that; I was simply doomed to living out of sync with my own circadian rhythms.
The problem with that viewpoint was that, once I was fully self-employed and no longer subject to anyone else’s imposed schedule, I was still tired. I still woke up feeling unrested. I drank a lot of caffeine, longed for naps, couldn’t nap when I actually had the chance, went to bed longing and hoping for good rest, woke multiple times a night, and was startled awake by the alarm clock in the morning, disappointed that I had once again not rested well.
After my kids were born, it only got worse—whether we were living according to a schedule imposed by an employer or our own.
How We Began Sleeping Smarter
Finally, while trying to improve our lives via the Miracle Morning, we had really good results—when we could stay awake for the Life SAVERS. So my husband found a book called Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson. That changed everything.
My spouse and I are nerds. We like to know why something works. We like reading the original research reports. Sleep Smarter is brilliant because the author has actually done the research of what works and what doesn’t—and why. Instead of just repeating that people need so many hours of sleep a night and telling you to get more sleep, he tells you how to get better sleep. And what’s been making it harder for you to sleep well.
We had been making improvements to our diet, activity, and mindset for years before reading the book, so there were only a few things we had to change to use all 21 of the book’s strategies, but those were absolute game-changers for us! Sometimes we can’t (or just don’t) follow one or two of these strategies for a night or two (for example, traveling can make it more difficult to follow some of them), and let me tell you—we notice!
Basically, I would be thrilled if everyone read this book, because I truly believe there’s something in it for everyone. I love it so much that I’ve given several copies as gifts.
How You Can Sleep Smarter
Next week, I’ll tell you about which of the strategies made a tremendous difference for us, as well as how we personalize them to fit our lives. But for now, I want to share the 21 strategies (each corresponding to a chapter in the book), in case you’re on the fence about whether this book can help you. (I promise it can!)
Remember, these are the strategies writ large. Each chapter provides much more detail, which you can use to personalize each strategy for your own life. And if you’re a nerd like me, you’ll be happy to find source citations for every chapter!
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- Know the value of sleep.
- Get more sunlight during the day.
- Avoid screens before bedtime.
- Have a caffeine curfew.
- Be cool.
- Get to bed at the right time.
- Fix your gut to fix your sleep.
- Create a sleep sanctuary.
- Have a big “O.”
- Get it blacked out.
- Train hard (but smart).
- Get your “friends” out of your room.
- Lose weight and don’t find it again.
- Go easy on the bottle.
- Play your position.
- Calm your inner chatter.
- Use smart supplementation.
- Be early to rise.
- Use bodywork that works.
- Dress for the occasion.
- Get grounded.
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Win a Copy!
This week, I want to give the gift of better sleep! Comment on this blog post by midnight (EST) on October 21, telling me what about your sleep you really want to change. Then I’ll enter you in a drawing. If your name is chosen, I’ll send you a brand-new copy of Sleep Smarter!
If you want a second chance to win, share this post on Facebook and tag “Wych Elm Reiki and Intuitive Counseling” and/or tag me personally (Stephanie Seifert Stringham).
10/19/20 Update: The comments do NOT seem to be working on my blog posts right now. While I try to get this remedied, please email any comments or questions to stephanie@srsstringham.com, and I’ll share it here.
One of my subscribers, Sara, had some problems posting her question here (Gotta love Mercury retrograde!), so I’m doing it for her, and posting my reply too:
Great post idea!
How might someone learn to cope with pre-sleep rumination?
Thank you!
That is a great question! I used to have problems with this ALL THE TIME! Honestly, presleep rumination nearly went away for me once my spouse and I started implementing the last few Sleep Smarter strategies that we hadn’t yet implemented (more on that is coming in the October 22 post). Thanks to my hormonal cycle, I still have maybe one night a month when I have a problem with the presleep rumination, but that’s it.
Eliminating electronic usage at least 90 minutes before bed has been the biggest factor in this, followed by application of topical magnesium oil. Taking CBD before bed has also helped reduce this issue for me, and melatonin has for my spouse. On that one night a month when I still have problems with the rumination, I focus harder on my gratitude, meditating on the Reiki principles, and/or doing Reiki on myself.
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