Well, While I Sleep
Sleep has become a rare commodity. As soon as life hits you and stress is on the brink of becoming excessive anxiety, sleep becomes elusive. We all have different things that keep our minds racing, into the sinful hours of the night. Throughout my twenties and early thirties, I had to exhaust my body for ten or twelve hours a day so I could sleep. It worked well until my body began to break. We can only take so much, and I don't recommend that course of action to anyone past thirty. I have since been through MRI's, x-rays, huge needles, electro-shock therapy (not the kind for mental illness), migraines, and two rounds of physical therapy; one for a neck injury, and one for a shredded rotator cuff. I slept well before the physical toll caught up with me. Father time let me slide for a while, but then decided to hit me with age all at once. I have since made peace with him.
There are hundreds of methods we can use to calm our minds. The easiest, not safest, would be medicine. There are basically seven groups of pills that induce sleep. You can find a basic list of the groups here. Of the seven types, four of them have a high dependency rate. They also provide a way to supress your breathing to nothing. Tolerance makes these drugs dangerous.
The natural supplements can work for some people, but are generally ineffective; especially for the lack of sturdy research. Melatonin, is a natural chemical specific to sleep that our bodies produce naturally, but the supplements generally come from cows. Milk is good, hormones not so good. It does nothing for me. Valerian root can work for some. It acts on the same receptors as a benzo class drug. It smells horrible, and tolerance to this herb is built quickly. I am not of the holistic mind set, so I will skip over the concoctions offered by them. I would prefer benadryl. It has almost no addiction factor, and generally has no negative side effects other than sleepiness.
The problem with long-term sleep aid use is the same problem that over use of nasal spray and eye drops cause. Any time we re-place a natural function of our bodies with an artificial one, our bodies get lazy. For instance, long-term, consistent use of eye drops, then stoppage, can cause dry eyes. When we start tampering with the critical balance of hormones that govern our health, through supplements, the outcome is usually worse in the long run. There are obviously exceptions, and I know that insomnia is very real, like mania, but most of us are capable of training our bodies and minds to sleep.
The obvious non-drug methods are exercise, no caffeine after five p.m., no action/thriller movies before bed, no eating before bed, and no un-resolved fights before bed. It's so easy, right? No. All of those things combined don't neccessarily equal good sleep. I have been taught some effective ways to calm my mind to the point of hypnosis, followed by sleep. The trick to good (non-narcotic) sleep is commitment and consistency. Learning a form of meditation that works for you is the best way to start. Google can help with those methods.
The best form for me is intentional relaxation; relaxing every muscle in your body, starting with your toes. Flex and relax until you reach the center of the anxiety keeping you from sleep. The brain is the hardest part to access unless the rest of your body is relaxed. When I finish with my body, I practice my own form of "guided imagery". It can really work. Remember; it takes commitment and practice, but it works. We are the masters of our minds, so more of us should be sleeping. Tomorrow is going to happen whether you worry about it or not. The best part is that you aren't afflicted by anything when you are asleep.
There are hundreds of methods we can use to calm our minds. The easiest, not safest, would be medicine. There are basically seven groups of pills that induce sleep. You can find a basic list of the groups here. Of the seven types, four of them have a high dependency rate. They also provide a way to supress your breathing to nothing. Tolerance makes these drugs dangerous.
The natural supplements can work for some people, but are generally ineffective; especially for the lack of sturdy research. Melatonin, is a natural chemical specific to sleep that our bodies produce naturally, but the supplements generally come from cows. Milk is good, hormones not so good. It does nothing for me. Valerian root can work for some. It acts on the same receptors as a benzo class drug. It smells horrible, and tolerance to this herb is built quickly. I am not of the holistic mind set, so I will skip over the concoctions offered by them. I would prefer benadryl. It has almost no addiction factor, and generally has no negative side effects other than sleepiness.
The problem with long-term sleep aid use is the same problem that over use of nasal spray and eye drops cause. Any time we re-place a natural function of our bodies with an artificial one, our bodies get lazy. For instance, long-term, consistent use of eye drops, then stoppage, can cause dry eyes. When we start tampering with the critical balance of hormones that govern our health, through supplements, the outcome is usually worse in the long run. There are obviously exceptions, and I know that insomnia is very real, like mania, but most of us are capable of training our bodies and minds to sleep.
The obvious non-drug methods are exercise, no caffeine after five p.m., no action/thriller movies before bed, no eating before bed, and no un-resolved fights before bed. It's so easy, right? No. All of those things combined don't neccessarily equal good sleep. I have been taught some effective ways to calm my mind to the point of hypnosis, followed by sleep. The trick to good (non-narcotic) sleep is commitment and consistency. Learning a form of meditation that works for you is the best way to start. Google can help with those methods.
The best form for me is intentional relaxation; relaxing every muscle in your body, starting with your toes. Flex and relax until you reach the center of the anxiety keeping you from sleep. The brain is the hardest part to access unless the rest of your body is relaxed. When I finish with my body, I practice my own form of "guided imagery". It can really work. Remember; it takes commitment and practice, but it works. We are the masters of our minds, so more of us should be sleeping. Tomorrow is going to happen whether you worry about it or not. The best part is that you aren't afflicted by anything when you are asleep.
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