In my quest for more/better sleep I am not eating three hours before bed, not drinking two hours before, and no screen time an hour before retiring to bed with book. I’ve removed all electronics from the bedroom, including phone, computer, wifi, and TV, and have a set bedtime for the first time in my adult life. I stopped drinking wine six months ago and have never lived by so many, self-imposed, rules, although the best thing for good sleep seems to be getting physical activity: working, walking, or anything else which makes you tired. (There are health benefits to getting a good night’s sleep and you can look them up.)
Anxiety can also make it difficult to fall asleep if I have an issue I’m obsessing about, and the other night as I went to bed I started outlining a disturbing story, realized that was a mistake, and stopped the thought process before it took over. Walking in the park is also a good way to process conflicts, often other peoples’ bullshit, and of course it takes two to tango, ie, just obsessing about it, wasting my time and energy, makes it my BS also. (For example I have this friend who’s King of the White Lies and when I call him on it he gives me an annoyed look like I’m the problem. I thought way too much about this in the park the other day!)
This list of issues, about which we might have anxieties, can also affect other age groups, not just older people: sleep, food, diet, weight, anxiety, sex, mobility, aging, clutter, physical health, medications, memory, dementia, loneliness, money, addiction, relationships, children, grandchildren, environment worries (climate change), politics, home maintenance, mental health, depression, and fear. (Did I leave anything out?)
I’m tracking the amount of sleep I get, computing the weekly averages, and all this seems to be working as I’m now sleeping between seven and eight hours a night on average, although each night is an adventure and about once a week I’m awake for three to four hours lying in bed thinking and mostly reading. (I take Nature’s Sleeping Pill about twice a week, in the form of smoking marijuana as an aphrodisiac, and it often produces eight hours of sleep, which helps keep the average over seven.) You might call this record-keeping OCD, but don’t, maybe I’m just into statistics?
I hadn’t realized how pervasive sleep disorders were and am interested in the ways others deal with this issue, including any drugs or herbs taken, lifestyle changes made, and what else seems to work. (I have a friend who takes melatonin and also opens up camomile teabags which he mixes with yogurt and eats before bed. He has also been waking up at 3am then hiking on the road by his rural home for a couple hours.)
On the way home from the park the other day I finally met a fellow senior without sleep issues. He said he feels bad if he doesn’t accomplish something and is very active daily which again points to exercise as one of the best ways to neutralize insomnia.
I finally got back outside, after all the bad weather and a sore knee, logged my first hour walking in the park in two weeks, and slept straight through for the first time in weeks.
(Here are some random tips from a recent article about sleep in the New York Times:
“Instead of having an afternoon coffee stick your head in the freezer, that brief shock of cold activates your arousal system.”
“Block out ten or fifteen minutes a day and write down what you’re anxious about, without searching for a solution. Your anxieties may still seep in in the middle of the night but you can remind yourself you have a dedicated time to address them the next day.”)
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