Rearranging My Sheep

If you haven’t noticed, sometimes I post things into the wee hours of the morning. I’m attempting to work on regulating my sleep habits, and I’ve been reading up on getting better sleep for a while now. Some ideas are not applicable to me (like drinking caffeine late at night; I only drink it in the morning if at all) and some ideas just won’t work (like reading before bed; if I get really into the book, I won’t put it down until I’m done). So I thought I’d share some of the ideas that sounded like they could possible work. After all, I know some of you are up in the wee hours, too.

- Get some sunlight! (should be easier now that spring is here) You’re body recognizes that sunlight means daytime and no sunlight means nighttime. How? When the light goes away, your body produces a hormone called melatonin, which (surprise!) promotes sleep. Your body doesn’t equate indoor light with the light outside either. So being indoors all day has a different effect on melatonin, which can interrupt your sleep.

- Tidy up before bed. A messy room/house can increase your stress levels. Who knew? Stress, in turn, affects your sleep!

- Take a hot shower/bath approximately two hours before bedtime. Apparently when your body temperature cools, it makes it easier to sleep and stay asleep. By taking a hot shower/bath, you raise your temperature (duh). But a few hours later, your body temperature drops, and then you can (hopefully) sleep.

- Get serious with that internal clock. As creatures of habit, if you (try) to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, seven days a week, your body will eventually register this schedule. It will get easier to fall asleep on time. (I just have to shift my internal clock back a few hours and I’ll be set!)