Sleeping Beauty

If you find typos in this post, please forgive me. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. It wasn't from insomnia (I'll get into that in a minute). Normally, my husband gets the kids up for school, but he's away so I had the honor of getting them up and out the door for their first class this morning. Needless to say, I was so worried that I would sleep through the alarm, I was up by 4:40 AM and never fell back asleep. I don't think there's a worse feeling than being sleep deprived. If you've ever had a newborn baby, then you know what I'm talking about. No sooner do you fall back asleep after the baby's been up for their 2AM feeding, when you hear their piercing screams again by 4AM. Some people can't sleep for no apparent reason, but there is always a reason for insomnia. I know, I've been there, done that and have the t-shirt to prove it as they say. Here are some things I've learned from having been to a sleep clinic: You know how they say that kids need a routine to help them get to sleep every night? Well, adults need the same thing. Create a routine for yourself every night and try to stick to it as much as you can. Use the bed only for sleeping and that other thing you do in bed (nod, nod, wink, wink). Nothing to stressful before bedtime like fighting with your spouse or paying bills. Do something passive, like reading or just watching some TV. Absolutely no caffeine after 3PM (this is a big culprit). If you can't fall asleep or if you wake up and can't fall back asleep after twenty minutes, get up and do something passive again like reading a really boring book or play a computer game until you feel sleepy again, then go back to bed (tossing and turning and worrying about not being able to sleep will just perpetuate the cycle of insomnia). If you really need to ask for medication, then do so, but expect your doctor to ask you a bunch of questions about why you can't get to sleep. There's almost always an underlying reason ranging from the physiological including pregnancy (no sleeping pills for you!) to menopause to a chronic medical condition as well as psychological which would include depression and/or anxiety. Whatever it is that's keeping you up nights, get a handle on it as soon as you can. The sooner you get treatment, the better you will feel and you can get a good night's sleep, which is better than winning the lottery (well, almost!).