I’ve written about WHY women in midlife have trouble sleeping (and, unfortunately, just about every woman runs into this once or more in their menopause journey). I talked about HOW the various hormone imbalances that accompany menopause keep you from sleeping. You can take that assessment here.
Workshop: "Help! My Hair's on Fire!" (and other reasons you don't sleep)
Sunday, Nov 26th
4pm ET/3pm CT
2pm MT/1pm PT
Research shows that calming down about an hour before bedtime helps you get to sleep faster and sleep more deeply. Try and go to sleep the same time each night, and start calming down about an hour before bedtime.
About an hour before bedtime, write down all the things that are worrying you. Relatives and friends who are ill. Children who are making bad choices. Money and job problems. Marital and friendship issues. Now, give them over to God or your higher power. Honestly, there isn’t anything you can do about these things tonight. If there was, you would have done it, right?
Now, make a list of 5 (or more) things you are grateful for. Make THIS the list you concentrate on as you fall asleep. Can’t think of 5 things? How about – tonight, you have a bed to sleep in. You have an Internet connection. You have a friend on your side (Hey, I’m on your side, even if everyone else in your life has deserted you!). There are stars in the heavens and the sun to give warmth to the earth. Surely, you can think of one more!
If you awaken at night, and start to worry, repeat these actions. If you wake up too early, repeat these actions.
If you awaken refreshed, but before your alarm clock, get up, and go spend the time doing something luxurious for yourself – a morning yoga routine, or start the coffee and add some cinnamon to it. Read a book by your favorite author or google the poetry of Robert Frost. ENJOY the early morning hour of solitude! But most of all, DON’T start on the daily routine of worry. There”s time enough for that AFTER breakfast.
Without it, our bodies can’t recover from our daily activities and can’t make the hormones that keeps our daily cycles working smoothly. Without it, our minds can”t reorganize our daily experiences and begin to look like the aftermath of a hurricane, with everything displaced and unorganized. Sooner or later, even the power naps won’t help.
But, by beginning to establish a regular pattern of sleep habits, you’ll see yourself improving the quality of your sleep and noticing how much easier that makes your day!
Join me for the next "Help! My Hair's on Fire! (and other reasons you don't sleep)" workshop. I hold these workshops live approximately monthly.
You can register for the next workshop by clicking the button below.
© 2023 Jeanne Andrus, The Menopause Guru®