Emily is Smiling

Insomnia is miserable.  There's no way around it.  If you suffer with insomnia like I do, you may feel desperate to read any tips to beating this awful disorder, even for one night.  No worries.  I've made a list of 50 tips to tricking your insomnia.  Some may work for you.  Some might not.  It won't hurt to try.  Click here for the last ten tips.

Here are the next ten tips to beating your insomnia:

Follow a specific routine before bed.  About one to two hours before you go to bed, start a routine.  Maybe your routine will be to watch a thirty minute sitcom, take a warm shower, put on your pajamas, eat a small snack, brush your teeth, write in a journal, read for half an hour in low lighting, set your alarm clock, and turn off the lights.  Whatever your routine should be, try to keep it the same every night to make your body get adjusted to the schedule.  Once you begin your routine, your mind will learn to realize, "I'm going to go to sleep in about two hours."

Associate certain senses with sleep.  Every night before bed, put on a certain lotion.  Only drink warm milk and honey before you go to sleep.  Put on special fuzzy socks right before you hop into bed.  Associate your senses with sleep.  When your mind recognizes this triggers, you will begin to feel sleepy.

Create a peaceful alternate reality in your mind.  This trick rarely works for me, but I have heard many people say it works perfectly.  In your mind, create the most beautiful scene you possibly can.  Perhaps it's a picnic blanket in a soft, green field.  Perhaps it's a hammock hanging over a warm, tropical beach.  Whatever imagery is the most peaceful to your mind, create that scene.  Imagine all five senses: taste, touch, sound, sight, smell.  Imagine yourself falling asleep in your mental picture and you may find yourself drifting off to sleep in real life.

Practice breathing exercises.  Sometimes deep breathing is all you need for your body to relax and let you drift off into slumber.  There are many routines that you can try out, like the one at this website.  You can also try out some techniques of your own and see which breathing exercises work best for you.

Get up and move around.  Sometimes, the longer you lie in bed thinking, the less you'll be able to sleep.  Get up and pace the floor.  Walk around your bedroom or your home.  Go outside and take a walk in the cool night air.  Be sure to keep low lighting and don't exert yourself to the point of waking up your body even more.  Merely allow yourself to get up and move around until your body begins to relax, cool down, and allow your mind to become tired.

Lie in bed and try not to fall asleep.  It's reverse psychology for your brain.  Remember when you were a little kid and you were absolutely desperate to stay awake all night to catch Santa in the act?  It's like the harder you try not to sleep, the faster you fall asleep.  And the harder you try to fall asleep, the more awake you become. 

Go several days without caffeine.  I'll admit right now that when it comes to caffeine, I'm totally addicted.  You might be too, which makes this trick a last resort.  When you go through a spell of insomnia so severe, you're completely desperate, boycott caffeine for at least three days.  Let your body rest from anything that will keep you awake.

No spicy or fatty foods before bed.  As your late night snack, don't go to Taco Bell and buy yourself the spiciest food on the menu.  And don't go to Coldstone Creamery and purchase a three scoop ice cream cone.  Spicy and fatty foods will give you indigestion and possibly make it harder to go to sleep.  So avoid spice and fat after nine o'clock.

Take a walk in the cool night air.  For some reason, night air can either make me way excited or way sleepy, depending on the circumstance.  Driving at night, however, exhausts me.  If you have someone who will drive you around at three a.m., go for it.  If not, try taking a little walk around the block at a slow, peaceful pace.  Try to relax your mind and body.

Don't spend the day in bed.  You want your mind to associate getting in bed with going to sleep.  If you spend the afternoon sprawled out on your bed, surfing the internet or reading a book, your mind isn't going to make that connection when it's time for you to go to sleep at night.  When you want to relax and be awake at the same time, try a beanbag chair or the couch... not your bed, however tempting it looks.  Save the bed for sleep.

Check back on Thursday for the next ten tips on how to beat insomnia!