A Good Night's Sleep?

A few days ago, I bought a Christmas present "to me". This is something I rarely do-there is not much I "need" and normally this is the kind of thing that when my offspring ask me what I want, I might mention.  The problem was that before Christmas, I had no idea that I wanted a Kindle Paperwhite.

In the past few months, I have been operating with a smart phone and a Samsung Tablet (I don't "do" Apple). I got a really good permanent keyboard for my tablet so I can use it like a mini laptop. I also was taking the tablet out of the case and reading my kindle on the LED screen every night.  

Now, I had heard from a variety of folks that watching that screen prior to sleep was a very bad idea, especially as I was intensively discussing my lack of ability to sleep without drugs.  But until I visited my daughter in Texas I had not realized the how huge the difference in screens were. Completely different, my friends.  Since I generally read in bed and then fall asleep, this is my first step in my goal to sleep better and longer. I now leave my tablet/laptop a good couple hours before getting into bed, and do my "fall asleep while reading" on a completely different, less intensive (and more adjustable) screen.

Now, regular readers know about my sleep issues. Prior to my widowhood, I was a light sleeper (as many women who are moms are I expect). I always woke up if one of my kids got up, and when my husband came home and generally woke a few times in the night and went back to sleep. Post widowhood, that problem became worse for a variety of reasons. Certainly the empty bed was a part of that problem. But I also went through a huge period of stress and depression, as well as gaining a huge a mount of weight as I ate and spent myself through my first year or so of retirement. The bottom line is that I was often getting just a few hours of sleep-and then falling asleep in mid afternoon for a couple hours if I was lucky.  I also have had mild chronic pain that has developed into serious chronic pain that worsens and cannot be reversed. Sleep was difficult to say the least. 

Readers also know that my first step in this direction was to allow myself to use medical pot-and this has certainly helped in more ways than I can say. I still have pain during the day, but can deal with it better after a good night's sleep. (THC makes you sleepy, so I am looking for a different kind of pot for daytime use when I am home and don't have to drive)There are no words to say what a difference this has made. But pot is not legal everywhere, and although it lets me avoid opoids I would rather find other ways to get a better night's sleep that I can use in addition to my "Colorado Medicine".

I am surely not the only person, or only senior who has sleep issues. People across the spectrum have sleeping issues-and many people simply think they can burn the candle at both ends. But lack of sleep affects brain function, and the brain does not regenerate. Lost sleep damage cannot be replenishes by sleeping all Saturday, in other words. Lack of sleep affects our skin, obesity, diabetes, and more. This article is a great link to the damage to your health, depending on how much sleep you have missed. Sleep disorders increase with aging, and affects everything from our cognitive abilities to increased falling.

So, how to get more sleep, or a more restful night?  This is something I've been looking at for awhile. While there are always plenty of articles and viewpoints, there does seem to be a consensus about a few steps that we can take to sleep better. For what it's worth, I am a work in progress, and am slowly working towards these steps:

• Try and keep to a similar schedule. We all have those day, like New Year's Even or special celebrations, or days when families or emergencies affect our sleep time. I try very hard to do this-I aim to be changed and ready for bed at a certain time. In my case sleep time is a fair guarantee, as it takes my medicine about two hours to hit me (even with help I am still a night owl who sleeps sometime after midnight.
• Having said that, if you can't sleep by fifteen minutes to a half an hour, get up and move around, get a drink, or read quietly and then try again later. Nothing is worse than lying in bed (especially if the other person is out cold) and not being able to sleep. This one has always been a huge issue for me, but I have learned that even if I have to get up and quietly go to another room for awhile the people around me suffer more if I am cranky and sleepless.
• Food can affect your seep. If you go to bed extremely full, or hungry, you can have a rough night. I drink milk at bedtime and I also have some crackers on hand in case I wake up. Also, smoking, alcohol and caffeine can affect your sleep as well. One of the reasons I no longer drink red wine in the evening is that this was affecting me drastically.
• Make a routine, as small or large as you can.It can be taking a bath before bed or listening to music.  In my case I am an evening shower kind of gal (that's why the short hair, ya know?). So my routine includes the shower, a glass of milk or T, fifteen minutes of meditation with a candle, and low lights in my bedroom.
• Make your room a sleep room. Depending on the size of your home it may be more difficult. For years, my husband and I had a large bedroom and no office of any kind, so our huge bedroom also housed the desk and computer and so on-but we never used it when the other person was asleep. At the moment I am blessed to have a bedroom that is a bedroom. I never do homework or anything in my room and I absolutely refuse to have a TV, when leads me to....
• Leave behind both the TV and other electronic devices. Research increasingly shows that screen time two hours before bedtime affects our ability to sleep and sleep well. This is where my trusty Kindle paperwhte comes in. I don't need to have other lights on as it is back lit, and lets me read on a non-led/LCD screen.
• Finally, exercise. Moderate exercise throughout your day is a good thing and helps you sleep.  That after dinner walk is a great thing on many levels. More active exercise done to close to bedtime is liable to keep you awake for longer than you would like. On the other hand, yoga, or tai chi, like meditation can help you sleep. I sometimes do a half hour aerobic program at home at four in the after noon-especially if I have spent a full day sewing or doing other lazy things. But I am trying to move it earlier, and would never do it later than that.

And there you have it-the quick down and dirty about how to maybe sleep a little better, and maybe even get some more sleep.  I am a work in progress, and continue  to try and make strides in the sleeping area as well as my overall health.

Some folks may have noticed that I did not include Tylenol PM, Melatonin for sleep, or even the marijuana chocolate bar that I eat.  While I know tons of people for whom these fairly non traditional methods work, because we are behind the curve in the US on research of herbs and supplements and the like, I would just say that there are plenty of places to do online research and explore various options. 

We often have to experiment to find what works for us, but in my journey, I would say it's well worth it.

How about you folks reading. Do you need help to sleep? Do you sleep through the night? What do you do to ensure a good night's sleep, if you are getting one now.