Searching for Sleep
My new midlife hobby
Sleep hacking is my new priority.
Day 1 results: F
Awake since 3:15am, I know this road. I walk it often. Who knew that sleep would become so elusive in middle age? It’s become a quest…capturing a good night’s sleep. Who’d have thought? Certainly not the me of 10 years ago, or 20, or 30. The dichotomy of always being tired, yet never getting a good night’s sleep is a weird space to occupy. Yet, here I am.
I realized today that there are 75 days left in the year. Seems like a good time to focus on a goal. With that said, I’m putting it out here in the internet world for some accountability.
MY GOAL IS TO FEEL BETTER & a big part of that is SLEEP.
Can you help me?
It used to be on those random sleepless nights an Advil Pm did the trick. Then 2 Advil Pms. Then 2 Advil Pms every night? I’ve tried melatonin, and magnesium but neither seemed to make a difference. Maybe I haven’t tried the right brand or the right dose?
The me of my past would cackle at this “goal.”
20’s goal: figuring out how to stay home with my kids
30’s goal: survive the blur of parenthood
40’s goal: running a marathon, earning a second degree, working in a major hospital, becoming published
50’s goal: sleep
I know the things to do…none are glamourous. Yet, I seem to suck at consistency.
Here’s my checklist:
Water - drink it!
No caffeine after 1pm
Move- my body, even when I don’t feel like it
Joy- do one thing that makes my soul heal
No Screens (phone- the big enemy, or computer - not a problem) after 7
Sleepytime tea in the evening
Clean sheets every week - is there anything better? Yet, I procrastinate this task constantly.
Cooler temperature at night
Dark room
And something new for me, pre-sleep meditation
What am I missing? Is there anything that’s worked for you? Can you share a sleep hack that has helped? Let me know in the comments.
Eternally grateful & dragging through the days,
K
I hear you. Why it’s 3 am I’ll never know but that happened to me. A friend with same problem recommended Insight Timer, a meditation tool. For the first month it did give me an additional hour, a few weeks more and it was 5:30 wake-up. Now it’s 6:30.
Interesting...I hope you get some good hacks in response! Unfortunately, I have nothing to offer in this department. My sleep patterns in the past year have become entirely variable, randomly derailed by what I can only figure are hormonal changes. You made a great list of all the best things to try - none worked for me :) My internal wide-eyed alarm just goes off when it goes off. So I just use it as an opportunity to practice enduring patiently 🙄 I decide each time how I can best use my sleepless time - relax in bed with my thoughts and prayers, go downstairs and listen to music, grab my laptop and work on something. And then the next day, I just use it as an opportunity to practice being tired gracefully 🙄 Is this growing, or giving up? 🤣