It
is amazing to me how many sites are selling insomnia cures.
There must be thousands of them. There are magical binaural
beats, mystical herbs and other things that can not be
classified as anything but made up junk science. Magnets? Over
the bed pyramids? There is
actually one site who advertises that they have put relaxation
and sleep
inducing Alpha and
Delta tones in their wondrous recordings. One problem: there is
no such thing. Some websites are so bold that they don't even
tell us what their amazing CD or MP3s actually do... but if you
shell out 29.95 we will learn the secret to resolving all of our
sleeping problems. Of course, like most advertisers, they sell the
sizzle and not the steak. Here are some common sense tips I
have learned over my 25+ year battle with insomnia.
Over millions of years sleep evolved for most animals as a way
of recharging our body's energy cache after a day of surviving
in a brutal world. Night was the great equalizer. We slept
because we were tired. Exercise, even walking, gets our
biorhythms right with nature.
Sounds simple enough but I have had to remain diligent about
maintaining a strict sleep schedule over the years. Humans are
creatures of habit so you can train your body, over a period of
time, to sleep on a schedule.
I
try to keep my bedroom as clutter-free as possible. It makes me
feel more grounded for some reason. Also, I do not have a
television in my bedroom as it makes no sense. You have to keep
your eyes open to watch it and even if you listen to it with
your eyes closed television produces light. Light is the enemy
of an insomniac.
I
work on a computer much of the day and know when I have
spent too much time looking at the screen when my eyes hurt at
bedtime. I don't know the medical reasons why but consciously
relaxing my eye and facial tension has helped me tremendously.
Our
bodies are the coolest they will be in a normal 24 hour cycle
when we are asleep. I did not know that fact when I started
putting a frozen bottle of water next to my neck, or leg or
whereever. I just knew it helped me sleep.
Most of our body functions slow down during sleeping. One thing you
can control is your breathing. Incorporate relaxation techniques
and consciously slow your breathing.
When we visualize we are using the same part of our brains as
when we are dreaming. This section of the human brain is known
as the
Secondary Visual Cortex.
Visualizing greases the grooves
to deep sleep.
There is nothing to purchase or download to accomplish any of the
above. I have gone from dreading the idea of trying to sleep to
regularly falling asleep on a schedule. I still have my bad
nights but it is nothing like it used to be... and it used to be
a Living Hell of sleeping pills, vodka and sleep deprivation.
