Friday, March 18, 2011

10 Steps to Better Sleep

I don’t want to beat around the bush, there’s no use trying to be eloquent. This week kicked my ass. The measly 1-hour spring ahead paired with single parenting while my husband was carousing  traveling on business in Vegas left me with a perpetual liquor-less hangover.  Yesterday, as I sat with my head on my desk attempting to nap, my computer signaled I had an email. It was Blisstree asking for my top ten sleep tips.  I rattled them off and should really follow my own advice. Here are my sleep suggestions:

1. Caffeine is for a.m. only — that pick-me-up at 4 p.m. will keep you up at night.
2. Don’t work out too close to bedtime.
3. I love a powdered lemon, magnesium supplement called Natural Calm.
4. Eat a carb at dinner. It’s the best time of day to eat carbs, because they help relax you. (Black rice, sweet potatoes, and soba noodles are some favorites of mine.) Everyone loves a pro-carb tip.
5. I also like a supplement that contains chamomile/valerian and turmeric called Zyflamend PM by New Chapter; it’s much better than Tylenol PM.
6. Be careful of dark chocolate as a dessert; the caffeine content can keep some people up during the night.
7. Tart cherries are a good pre-bedtime snack  — the natural melatonin in them will help relax you. Try sour cherry juice and seltzer or thawed frozen cherries.
8. Use lavender in a bath or on pulse points. I use lavender oil by Origins.
9. Screens are not soporific, books are. Screens mean anything with a backlight: TV/laptops/iPad/iPhone.
10. Instead of counting sheep, make a mental food list/diary of what you ate that day. That puts me to sleep immediately.


Have a great weekend everyone, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite.
What do you do to assure yourself a good night’s sleep? Did the time change affect you? What time do you go to bed?

23 comments:

  1. Great sleep tips that I think we can all use. I require a lot of sleep (preferably at least 8 hours). I therefore end up in bed before 11pm every night. Caffeine is a big one for me. If I have it anytime after 3 I will be up all night. I find a nice cup of herbal tea and reading a book or magazine puts me right to sleep. I didn't know about the Zyflammend PM. Are there any side effects the next day? And yes, that hour ahead killed me too. Crazy what one hour can do to us!!

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  2. This is a much-needed post for many of the clients I council!! Seriously, people don't realize that if you drink coffee past 4pm (or for some even earlier!) it will effect your sleep, even if you don't notice a major increase in your energy.

    So, I read your comment on my blog about the puffed wheat. I accidently bought puffed wheat instead of puffed rice, so yes, it does contain wheat. It's listed on the ingredients.

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  3. Thanks so much for this! I had a horrible time getting back to sleep last night after waking up...I'm so tired now...but with these tips hopefully tonight's rest will be more successful!

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  4. These are fabulous tips! I'll make sure to carb it up at dinner and less at lunch for an even swap =) and the coffee thing... even my 3pm coffees can pack an unwanted punch! haha! =)

    mwah!

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

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  5. Can't wait to try this tips next week. Thankfully, the "spring forward" happened the weekend before we started Spring Break so no impact on my daily life. Next week could be a mess...I really prefer sleeping until 9 am!

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  6. I am lucky that the expected direct correlation between busy days and feeling tired at the end of them works on me. The more crazy the day is, the more easy it is for me to fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow. With that said, I steer clear of caffeine, and on the days that I don't I definitely feel the effect. That's a good point to remind that some desserts are caffeinated.

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  7. Jennifer- funny everyone seems to love the pro-carb tip. And yes caffeine affects us even when we don't feel it.

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  8. Thanks for this. My husband has a lot of trouble falling asleep and often wakes up to eat in the middle of the night. I will make sure he's following these tips.

    I like the scented oil idea too. That sounds very relaxing!

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  9. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. You ccomment about how everyone was excited on twitter about the chickpeas totally made my day. Im not on twitter yet..I got to get on that! LOVE this post. This week destroyed me too. Its amazing how that 1 hour time shift really makes a huge difference. Im usually up at 5:15am so I try to get to bed by 10..It was hard at fist but now my body is so used to it I just pass out as soon as I lay down. The scented oil idea is fantastic though. I never though of that. I hope you have an amazing weekend!

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  10. I just learned about avoiding the "screens" before bedtime, because make your brain all sort of awake! I know this is a big problem for me because before bed is my only time to blog. I can't sleep as well if I'm lap-topping too much. Ugh.

    Neat article here...http://articles.cnn.com/2010-05-13/tech/sleep.gadgets.ipad_1_ipad-sleep-disorders-e-book?_s=PM:TECH

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  11. One thing that has helped me sleep better (relatively) is making sure that I use my bedroom just for sleep. I used to bring my laptop on my bed during the day, but now I make sure to keep laptops/blackberries/work reading away from my bed. I don't even go in my bedroom to 'hang out' anymore, and it's made a difference.

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  12. I'm going to need to try that cherry thing.. I have such a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. And oddly enough, when I take a week break from exercise, I sleep better... maybe i'm doing too much..?

    Anyway, most of my sleep problems are from all the clutter in my mind. Writing down anything before you go to sleep helps me a lot. To-do's, reminders, thoughts. ;)

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  13. Lori, I keep a pad next to my bed and make a list before I go to sleep, definitely helps.Betty, I'm a laptop in bed girl too (so romantic). I try to turn everything off long before I expect to fall asleep. I read the newspaper and I'm asleep almost instantly.

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  14. I DO work out close to bed times (sometimes) but I try to keep it at least 2 hours before bed! I have never found black rice in stores! Where do you buy it?

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  15. my fiance needs to read this! the man can't sleep!:(

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  16. good tips have a restful weekend Lauren its tough working and being a mum

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  17. oooh! I have Natural Calm, love it! Great tips. I have been really tired since returning from Germany, I need AWAKE tips!

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  18. This post could not come at a better time! I have not been sleeping well since daylight savings started. I haven't been reading before bed as often, so maybe I'll pick that up again, and the cherries before bedtime sounds interesting. But mostly I can't turn my brain off!

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  19. great tips for sure! i love to read at night and i take magnesium and melatonin. works like a charm :)

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  20. You often times push sleep aside when it comes to being healthy. Sleep is so important!
    Thanks for sharing these tips! I love the bath idea. I have been getting up super early lately, so once I hit the pillow, I am out! :)

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  21. Very helpful tips!
    My husband fells asleep with TV on, but wakes up as soon as I turn it off.
    I usually go to bed at 10pm, do a bit of reading (Bathroom Reader these days), and fall asleep soon after my head touches the pillow.

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  22. Great tips...I usually sleep pretty well but I notice that if I have coffee, even a decaf version during the day at all I have trouble sleeping. I also hadn't thought of chocolate having caffeine!! Great point - thanks for sharing!

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  23. I focus on my dog, Lucky. He has a very gentle energy.

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