If you are anything like me, your brain can pull many tricks on you that can make you stare wide awake at the ceiling at 3:00 am.
While this has occurred to me often, at various points in my life, I found for me that many causes were related to anxiety or stress. My mind would race, as I worry and wonder about things to come, what I need to do the next day, or what I am forgetting/ forgot to do that day.
Today this post encourages you to focus on your sleeping, as a proper night's rest can make the day so much better.
Affect of poor sleep on your mental health
Did you know poor sleep can actually lead to worsening depression anxiety and many other mental health concerns?
I'm sure that for many this is not a surprise because we all remember times when we're so tired that we don't feel like ourselves. As such it's important to put your sleep first! Taking care of having a good night's sleep, not too much sleep, or not too little sleep but the right amount of either what your body needs / what you can get or around 8 to 10 hours is self-care in itself (Sleep and Mental Health, 2022).
(Diagram from Sleeping and Mental Health. Mind)
By having a good sleep you are helping set yourself up for a better tomorrow.
Strategies to get that better sleep
There are so many different strategies that you can use to help you sleep better. I am sure a simple google search would give you tons of ideas, however below I have explained some tips that I have used to overcome the overthinking/anxiety that occurs for me as I try to sleep.
Anxiety/overthinking
A nighttime routine
Don't underestimate the power of a good nighttime routine. Having a set of things that you do each and every night helps trigger your brain that it is time to go to bed and helps you feel tired. This can look like reading a book, watching TV and then brushing your teeth and heading to bed. But try to give yourself at least an hour before going to bed after working, so that your brain gets the time it needs to unwind.
For me developing my nighttime routine was crucial. When doing school work or working on a computer without a nighttime routine I do not feel sleepy. So here is the routine that works best for me. Around 9:30 I stop whatever it is I'm doing I plan my goals for tomorrow. Then I take a shower, wash my face, brush my teeth and get entirely ready for bed. Then from 10:00 to 11:00, I watch TV currently I'm watching Grey's Anatomy but I often watch a show entirely unrelated to my life so that I can think about something else when I go to bed. SWAT and Criminal minds were also good shows for me, as it helps remind me that there are good people in the world.
Relaxation
Oftentimes we can't sleep because we cannot relax. We might have had a stressful day or an exciting day and our body has just not caught up with the fact that at this time to sleep. Have a wind-down routine read a book, journal, watch a movie something that gets your brain to be able to think of a different scenario.
Plan the next day
Before you go to bed plan out what you want the next day to look like. That way when you wake up in the morning you know what you need to do. And when you're going to bed you don't need to worry about tomorrow you have it all figured out. This can help you to stop overthinking about the days to come and what you need to do, projects you are working on etc.
Keep a journal by your bed
If you can't sleep because you're overthinking. Take 10 minutes to write down anything you're thinking about, “word vomit” your thought onto the page. Put down things you're worried about, about how they make you feel, what you're feeling at the moment, things you need to do, and any of the thoughts that are coming to mind. Give yourself these 10 minutes will help you center yourself you can empty some of that stuff you're overthinking about, onto the paper and tell yourself that it's all written down and you're not forgetting anything before you try to sleep again.
Don't Force sleep
Above I mentioned my nighttime routine and how I usually go to bed around 11:00. However if I am not sleepy when I'm watching TV at 11:00 I am still awake, there is no point in getting in bed to sleep. I find I will just end up laying in bed waiting for sleep to come and it takes much longer. If you're not tired continue doing an activity that will help relax you. Sometimes I watch an extra episode of TV or read a couple of extra chapters until I start to feel tired and then I go to bed.
Students
With so many things going on in your life and many projects and assignments due, I know personally that staying up because of schoolwork stress is one of the most common reasons for a bad night's sleep.
One piece of advice that I have is knowing that your sleep is more directly related to your mark than it is to how many hours you spend on school work or how many hours you spend studying.
However let's say that you're trying to go to bed and you can't sleep because you're worried about a project, maybe try a little bit of it. If it's a report just create the outline and introduction paragraph give yourself maybe an extra 30 40 minutes. Then try to go to sleep again. This has worked for me in the past as at this point I was able to tell myself “I have gotten started, I have made progress and I can get it done”. Or give yourself some time to plan how you are going to get your assignments and projects done on time. Plan it out right then and then so you can tell yourself you have a plan and stick to that plan, (to create self-trust). That way hopefully tomorrow you can get a better night's sleep.
The last piece of advice I have especially for college or university students if the assignment is only worth 1% It really should only take an hour to do. You can use this method to scale upwards for other things, for example, if your exam is worth 30% you should probably study for 30 hours. This helps me alleviate some of my stress because there is no point worrying and staying up all night to get in the assignment done that's only worth 2% versus handing it in with whatever is done and getting a good night's sleep.
Other
Here are some other strategies that I would recommend
Don't drink coffee
I like many people am heavily addicted to coffee! However, if I'm having trouble sleeping the next day I don't drink coffee. I know this may sound crazy to you but I would rather have one terrible zombie feeling day and be able to sleep at night, maybe go to bed early than drink a coffee and not be guaranteed to sleep. Sometimes caffeine is just too much of a stimulant your body doesn't need it. Try a couple of days without coffee and see how you sleep and how you feel.
Get some exercise
It's winter, I know winter in Canada is cold. But you know those days where you're very active and you go to bed and you just get like a fantastic night of sleep. We're getting a lot less of those busy days because of the cold weather and that can in turn affect your sleep. I'm personally going to try to join the gym and just try to go to walk on a treadmill or ride a bike to help use up some of the energy that I find I am not using. Not only is this good for my ability to sleep but it also helps boost my endorphins which in turn boost my mood and actually help my mental wellness.
Use your bed just for sleeping
I know many of us lay in bed to watch TV, play on our phones, read a book or even university/college students working on assignments. However, this leads your brain to think that it's okay to be awake while you're in bed. According to anxiety Canada by keeping your brain awake while you're in bed you're less likely to be able to relax and fall asleep in that environment.
Establish a morning routine, and have a set time that you wake up.
By doing this you're not allowing yourself to sleep in too much and get too much sleep. Too much sleep one day can lead to a bad night of sleep the next day.
Bedtime Procrastination
There are many people who cannot go to bed because they feel it's the only amount of time that they have in their life. Often these people work stressful jobs or have a busy life and they feel that this is their time for themselves, where they can feel in control. So in turn you actually stay up later procrastinating resting to get done things you want/need to do.
If you feel like you're struggling with this my advice would be to plan your week. Give yourself time for yourself, with weekly goals for yourself so that you know what you want to accomplish each day. This allows you to feel balanced so that you feel like you're not just a student you're not just an employee.
That way you're not forcing yourself to stay awake for an extra couple of hours to do things that you want to / need to do.
I hope this gives you some strategies on how to create a more relaxing sleep.
You deserve rest, and by giving yourself this you fuel your creativity for the future.
Until next time
I hope you can Love It All
Tia Van Der Gulik
Resource/Works Cited
Anxiety Canada. Getting a good night's sleep. Anxiety Canada. (2022, November 20). Retrieved February 4, 2023, from https://www.anxietycanada.com/articles/getting-a-good-nights-sleep/
Sleep and mental health. Mind. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2023, from https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/sleep-problems/about-sleep-and-mental-health/#:~:text=If%20you're%20having%20problems,or%20make%20existing%20symptoms%20worse
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