Restful Insomnia

Happiness is more than just a feeling. Happiness is a state of mind, of contentment, of gratitude.

Feelings come and go (our bodies, beliefs, and intuition trigger and release feelings). However we can plant seeds for more lasting happiness… with Gratitude.

Here’s my version of a simple exercise that can empower your grateful and happy state of mind. Each night, write or think of three things that you feel grateful for during the day, and an insight as to why they made you happy. The insight helps, because you learn what satisfies your values. Here are mine for last night:

• Turkey for dinner: I cooked it for the first time in years and it tasted good.
• Sun! Colors, space, expanse, light
• Walking: Outside, movement, expanse, light
• Clean house: Neat, contained, open, expanse in rooms, organized
• Apply for writing gig: Productive, hopeful, confident
• Gratitudes: Pleasant, movement, appreciation, fun.

I clearly value expanse, light, movement, and productivity. Now I can keep my eye out for them during the day… increasing my happiness!

I will write about gratitudes each Friday (except today). Gratitudes are a simple diary that make changes, not just keep track of them. (I want to know why the word grateful isn’t spelled greatfull!)

Enjoy your nights,

Sondra www.restfulinsomnia.com

Even when my brain is going mumble-mumble in the middle of the night, darkness helps.

What? It’s already dark.

Yes, the curtains are closed, though I can see the dim street lights through them (city life). In the middle of the night, my pupils are in their night mode, so I can see more than when I went to bed.

A trick that helps most nights is to put on my eye-mask. It’s a Bucky’s eye mask, not the little ones you get at the pharmacy. The Bucky’s mask is made from fleece, with a foam roll right at the nose. That keeps the darkness from filtering in through the bottom. It even has a pocket at the top with ear plugs.

Funny that if it’s light in the room and I’ve put on the mask, my eyes “think” that it will still be light when I open my eyes. But when I do open them, it’s pitch black. It takes my pupils a few minutes to realize they can soften, relax, open more. Then the darkness stimulates the melatonin from my pineal gland so I can snooze or relax more.

I’m amazed at how it works.

Here’s the little sales pitch. They work so well, I sell them on my website in my Night Nest Products. Try one. It can soothe your nights.

Enjoy your nights,
Sondra

Some nights it’s easy to fall into rest. Then some nights, rest goes to an all-night bar while you’re home alone, abandoned.

Some days, you have more inspiration than you can handle. Other days, your mind searches for brilliance but all you see is the same old same old.

That’s because your mind isn’t the source of inspiration–nor of sleep or rest. Inspiration comes from us being present to being human, allowing the larger force of nature to connect with our nature.

Find your inspiration and natural self through focusing on the sensations in your body:

• How are you breathing today? Short, long, sighs, growls?
• What’s touching your skin?
• How are you sitting in the chair? Is one side of your bottom heavier than the other?
• Where’s your head in space?
• What’s the sensation in your gut—your second brain?
• Do you have any images, feelings, or sounds associated with your body? Perhaps heat, color, or movement.

You may not get inspired or exhausted just by noticing your body—yet. However you will get a break from all your constant thoughts. Then a little later, inspiration or deep rest will knock on your door—and you will hear it.

Sometimes I believe in prophylactic pee. That is, peeing now for less interruption later. It’s actually not a great thing to do because it trains your bladder to get antsy when it’s not full. Then you have to pee more, including at 3.30 a.m.

I don’t want to be woken in the middle of the night, so just in case, I toddle to the bathroom. Most nights that’s fine.

But remember how I had to pee and pee and pee and pee several nights ago? Turns out, it wasn’t just my prophylactic pee neurosis. It was my bladder with some unhappy bacteria jostling things up.

If you have to pee lots at night, make sure that you

• Cut back on evening alcohol
• Don’t drink tea or coffee after 8 p.m. (or earlier if that works better for you)
• Extend the strength of your bladder during the day by using kegels and going when your bladder is pretty full.
• And go see a doctor to rule out a bladder infection. Stress, sex, and sugar can all contribute. Cranberry juice and antibiotics help cure them.

It’s nice to spend the whole night in bed!

Enjoy your night,
Sondra

Do you ever come up with the GREATEST ideas in the middle of the night? All of a sudden your mind is filled with a plot twist, new antagonist, wordsmithing. You’re inspired but exhausted. How do you satisfy both your body and mind? Here are a few tricks from Restful Insomnia:

• Keep the lights low: Use a book light, a glow pen, a lamp dimmer or carefully draped scarf to keep the room dim. Darkness keeps your melatonin hormone pumping so you can more easily return to rest and sleep.
• Keep the lights OFF and use mnemonics (I love how that word is spelled–it means techniques to activate your memory): If your plot twist involves a blizzard and a car crash on Route 322, you can create a picture. See the car twisted under the Route 322 sign with your hero still breathing–then enlarge it to fill your bathroom. Believe it or not, the image will likely emerge as you brush your teeth.
• Write bullet points: Lay a trail of word-bread crumbs so you can write the full story in the morning. If you need, write the key piece of your wordsmithing and a guide to write the rest.

Night is a time for inner creativity and the day for outward productivity. So get your sleep and rest so you can get it out on paper.

Have a good night,
Sondra

Hyland’s Calms Forte makes my nights calmer, and even more sleepy.

It makes no sense, logically. Calms Forte is a homeopathic remedy–curatives that are diluted 30, 50, 100 times. Would they have any impact on your body? Slate Magazine gave Calms Forte a strong yes when they compared sleeping remedies for relaxation during flying. 

During restless nights, even in the middle of the night, I take 3 tablets of Calms Forte. It takes the edge off my insomnia, so I can do Restless Insomnia techniques. And often fall back to slumber. Because it’s so diluted, it’s totally safe (mostly sugar). You can find Calms Forte in health food stores or on my website here.

Is it a placebo? Studies are showing that MOST medicine has a strong placebo effect–many medicines don’t work for people with Alzheimers. SInce every body is different, you might see if Calms Forte works for your body and mind!

Have a good night,
Sondra

Not a good night. About two hours before bed, I drank tea to ease my sore throat (you’d think Sleepytime would be the ticket). I figured I’d pee it out before I turned out the lights.

Instead I padded that little hall between my bed and the bathroom 6 or more times. How can one cup of tea turn into 5 cups of pee? At first I went right back to sleep. Then at three a.m. I was wide awake. Tense, worried, and could not catch the “night rhythm train” of my body.

I couldn’t find my eye mask, the visiting dog climbed on the bed, did I have to pee again? I knew Restful Insomnia would help if I could find a way on board. But the train was leaving and I didn’t have a ticket.

Finally, I found my eye mask. Dark adds comfort, and still no ticket. I breathed and did a little Night Yoga. I could see the door of the train, far away. Then I did some medatapping–meditation and TAT in my imagination. Here you go, conductor, I’m relaxed. Ah, the train is moving to sleep.  

I’m glad to be a night tripper.

Have a good night,
Sondra

Creative Insomnia was a great name. Easy to pronounce, catchy, intriguing. My book agent and public relations person loved it. The name was an oxymoron, a contrast…. and to many people, it was confusing.

I got tired of explaining it.

Now we’re down to earth, down to the real problem to solve. How do you renew when you can’t sleep? With Restful Insomnia.

Keep an eye out for www.restfulinsomnia.com up on board, with new writings, new hints, and new products to help you renew–and sleep more–at night.

Have a great night,
Sondra

How was your night?

Mine turned out okay, even though I was awakened soon after I fell asleep by my husband. If I’m awakened before I’m in a deeper sleep–the no-no time is 5-40 minutes after I start snoozing–I’m UP, alert and cranky.

Last night I talked myself out of crankiness. Soothed myself with my mind It’s okay, you’re tired, you can go back to sleep. And I did.

This is my first post to this blog. It’s about befriending the night so you can:

I was an intermittent insomniac (one or two nights a month) until I hit a year of chronic insomnia (4 or 5 nights a week). I started that year of insomnia with anxiety, grief, and depression. I ended that year accepting my insomnia, knowing how to renew when I couldn’t sleep.

I developed a program to teach others how to renew in the night–Creative (and Restful) Insomnia. Now I teach and write on insomnia, wellness, and more.

Let me know how your nights are!

Sondra