Peaceful Slumber
When was the last time you truly had a good night’s sleep?
When my daughter was born, my dad shared it would be five years before I’d sleep through the night. He wasn’t far off the mark. My daughter was an “easy” baby but there were still midnight feedings, cases of colds and flu, and restless nights of teething. During her early years, I worked full-time on big projects with deadlines. Meeting those deadlines meant setting my alarm for 4:30 AM, knowing I could get two hours of work in before the household woke up.
I was older when my daughter was born. When she turned five, I was entering the early stages of my menopause transition. I ignored the changes that were underway in my body. Oblivious really. I kept powering through, racking up more sleepless nights until not sleeping became a habit. This pattern primed me for being on call during the pandemic. A forced pattern of sleep interruptions finally took its toll. Being on call for 4, 10, and 21-night stretches was not sustainable for my mental health.
Sleep and rest are essential to well-being. Sleep lowers the risk of heart disease and diabetes, reduces stress, improves mood, increases focus, and boosts memory and learning. These risks also equate with changes during the menopause transition.
I identified five steps to a good night’s in a quest to improve my health and well-being.
Make your bedroom a sanctuary. Take a fresh look at your bedroom. Create a place free of distraction that promotes peaceful slumber. Treat yourself with the same love and care as you would in designing a child’s room.
Maintain a regular schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Strive to be in bed by 11 PM. Train yourself to wake up naturally without using an alarm clock.
Sync with your natural circadian rhythm. Our rhythm begins in the morning. Give yourself a morning boost by drinking a tall glass of water and opening your eyes to sunlight. In the evening, dim the lights throughout the house to mirror the natural rise and fall of the sun.
Embrace natural light and exercise. Aspire to spend 45 minutes a day outdoors. If this is not possible, consider a light therapy lamp. Get some heart-pumping exercise in before 3 PM. Enjoy quieter exercise after dinner by taking an evening stroll or stretching.
Relax with an evening wind-down routine. Substitute herbal tea for alcohol. Create time for quieter activities. Cool your environment. Consciously slow down. Put your screens away. Relax.
We will cover how to establish a healthy sleep pattern and what to do when sleep is disturbed by night sweats and rumination in The Wiser Woman Program. I invite you to learn more about The Wiser Woman on my website.
You are worthy of taking good care of yourself and deserving of support.
Become The Wiser Woman.
Your champion of well-being and joy,
Beth
