All this week (maybe all month), I have felt like my sh!t is definitely not together. Even sleep has been a challenge, including getting in my pre-bed downtime and getting to sleep on time.
Basically, the month’s energy so far has felt somewhat chaotic in my world. I’ve lost my temper probably more than a few times. I have alternately felt joyous, conflicted, worried, fully supported by the Universe, and as if I am foundering.
But even with that chaos and starting some days not feeling very rested, I have been getting along reasonably well. Sometimes it feels like I have taken one step—or maybe even two steps—back for every two I’ve taken forward. But sticking to my good habits, especially sleep habits, has helped me to stay on a generally even and positive keel—and to get back on the middle path after having a flare of temper or worry.
Definite progress has been made, with a lot of changes, a lot of clearing out, and a lot of bringing in, but nearly all that progress has, as promised in this month’s energy report, been slow. I am tired, but that is because of the amount of energetic clearing and moving that has been happening this month, for myself and others, and overall, it feels really good.
So here are the best practices that my spouse and I have found support us in getting good sleep and staying on a more or less even keel.
1. Shut off electronics at least 90 minutes before the household’s earliest bedtime—and keep them out of sleeping spaces.
This means TVs, phones, smart devices, tablets … EVERYTHING! Even if you turn off the blue light on your phone, you are affected. Even if you use blue-light-blocking glasses, your brain is affected. You may fall asleep right away, but your sleep will be shallower for about the first 90 minutes. (Trust me, I can attest to this from those nights I’ve decided to be “bad.”)
Why keep them out of your bedroom? Because even when you put your phone or other device in Do Not Disturb or airplane mode, the phone, simply by being on, is still emitting some types of radiation, including EMF, which can affect your sleep, especially if you are sensitive to energy, as everyone in my family seems to be.
We like to read books (light fiction, for example), do puzzles (word finds, fill-ins, sudoku, etc.), or even just talk to each other. The key is that whatever you do is relaxing—nothing that will agitate you or get your brain thinking too hard. You’re trying to get calm during this time.
2. Use appropriate supplementation.
I and my various family members use personalized combinations of topical magnesium (ingested magnesium isn’t nearly as efficacious), CBD, and/or melatonin. The easiest way for us to get magnesium is with an Epsom-salt soak. My family members like to soak our feet each evening as part of our electronics-free time and/or use magnesium spray, which we make ourselves much more cheaply than we can purchase prepared sprays. (My husband is a chemical engineer, so he makes ours differently, but here’s the recipe that multiple people seem to think is best.) Magnesium can also help prevent muscle cramps if you are prone to waking with cramps in the night. My husband, my daughter, and I take CBD and/or melatonin (depending on our personal preferences and needs) about 30 minutes before we plan to go to bed, as these relax us and, in the case of CBD, can also help with any minor aches and pains.
3. Increase your physical activity.
Do any activity that you enjoy, but be careful not to overdo it, or aches and pains can keep you in a lighter sleep state. You may need to experiment with this to see what works for you and your body’s natural cycles. Some people do heavy exercise in the morning and only lighter exercise in the evenings, whereas some people like to exercise really hard only a couple of hours before bed to get to a level of fatigue that helps them fall asleep faster. The key is to find your own sweet spot.
4. Find some time for daily silence/meditation.
Regular practice of this—even just five minutes a day—helps you find a state of calm and relaxation that you can more easily call to mind as you lie down at night, which can lead to you falling asleep faster, falling into a deeper sleep, and being less likely to be awakened by worries or to have those worries keep you from falling back asleep if you wake up in the night.
5. Get rid of all light in your bedroom that you possibly can.
Try to make sure that your alarm clock uses red or amber for the numbers. White and blue lights—yes, even the amount from a digital clockface—can disrupt your sleep.
6. Have a “set” wake-up time.
We set a sunrise alarm clock for 4:00 a.m., meaning a gentle light comes on around 3:30 and grows gradually brighter until 4:00, when a gentle sound starts playing. The sound plays three times over about 15 minutes.
The sounds of the sunrise alarm clock are not the rude awakenings of the traditional blaring alarm clock, and the waking process is gentle. Research has shown that we have sleep cycles of about 90 minutes, and the sunrise alarm clock uses light and gentle noises for about 45 minutes, waking you far more naturally and gently—and effectively—than traditional alarm clocks. You are more likely to wake gently, feeling refreshed than to jump out of bed with a rush of anger or irritation.
My husband and I find that now, even if we go to bed late, we wake up within that window every day, even without an alarm and even on the weekends, which in turn helps us to be sleepy and ready for bed around the same time every night, or even earlier if we’re sleepy. (This seems to be more effective than the practice of trying to get to bed at a certain time every night to ensure that we can wake at a certain time in the morning. I have no idea why.)
This is what my family and I have found, through a few years of trial and error, works best for us. Remember I mentioned last week, when I shared the 21 tips from Shawn Stevenson’s book Sleep Smarter, that when we discovered the book, we had already been doing most of them? I really think the ones above were the last few we had to implement, but they made the biggest difference for us. It’s always important to remember that your mileage may vary, so I highly recommend that you read the entire book yourself and implement as many of the steps as you can. I promise, you will not be sorry.
Giveaway Details
If you would like your own copy of Sleep Smarter, comment on this blog post by midnight (EST) on October 28, telling me what about your sleep/wake habits you really want to change. (For best results, please also email me the question/comment—stephanie@srsstringham.com—just in case the comments feature is still being persnickety.) 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, Stephanie Seifert Stringham.
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