The Secret to a Good Night’s Sleep

So outside of sleeping in a hotel for the night, alone, away from bed-stealing kids (give me back my bed already), I’ve FINALLY found the secret to a good night’s sleep for me.

Now falling asleep here isn’t usually a problem, I can doze off easily and love a car nap (when I’m not driving, obvs) but it’s ‘the staying asleep’ bit that gets me. Whenever I go through stressful periods (which has been a hell of a lot over this 12 months with a sick close relative, to be fair) I tend to suffer from nightmares and night terrors, waking up mid-bad dream panicking and anxious.

I’m pretty calm and collected by day so the no doubt, accumulated stress must be releasing itself at night. Luckily I have a deep sleeper of a husband who is super understanding too. I think I would freak out a little bit if he was the one leaping out of bed shouting most nights.

So what happened?

I got some professional advice. My GP told me again, (poor doc) to switch all tech off by 9 pm or as early as I could to get the melatonin going as the blue light emitted from tech including the tv, can halt its production keeping my already super-active and creative brain going (she told me that a lot of her patients suffer from nightmares because of it too so I’m not alone) and this time I was taking her advice and sticking to it.

She advised me to wind down with a night routine like I do with my own kids, to take some time for myself. To have a bath, read and do some yoga. I’ve been threatening to get back to yoga for months now and feel ashamed it’s taken me so flipping long. I’m not sure why I haven’t gotten around it. As with all sport, I think the less you do, the bigger a hurdle actually doing it, becomes. Ridiculous, I know.

I used to do yoga daily. My body and most importantly, my mind, benefited hugely because of it.

So I’ve been getting back on the mat before bed, for 30 minutes minimum, going through routines that surprisingly returned from memory and I flicked to the back of  Madeleine Shaw’s Ready Steady Glow book following her yoga pose pictures.

I adore this 10 Minute Solution Yoga DVD (it’s only a fiver) and end up doing the whole film when I put it on.

Yoga relaxes me like nothing else. Yes I love to run and need a combination of both, (the aerobic in the am preferably) but yoga makes me feel reborn somehow. Calm. Composed. It’s me at my best. Unfrazzled and clear.

I love to read too and am relishing Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby and read a chapter or two before lights out.

When I follow that routine, I sleep like a baby, just not my baby.

Please try it for yourself if you’re suffering.

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