Rene Magritte, The Ordeal of Sleep
A reader asked the question: “I have really bad insomnia. Does it matter which way my bed faces? North, South, East, West? Help!!!”
My answer:
Well, no, it really doesn’t matter what compass direction your bed faces per say, but there are some things that do matter about your bed placement: Do your feet point directly out the door while you sleep? Does your bed back up against a bathroom wall? You you sleep on the same wall as your entrance door? All of these placement issues can affect how biologically safe you feel and, thus, how well you sleep. If any of these are an issue, do your best to change them.
Now less see: Do you sleep under a ceiling fan or a giant chandelier? Do you have bright red/loud colored bedding? Do you store things under your bed, or over your bed? If you answer yes to these, check out THIS post & THIS post on Bedroom No-No’s and see if these fixes help your space. Those are some starter basics.
Also, you have to look at your life routines (caffeine, drugs/prescriptions, diet, stress levels) and start journaling while you are staying up late at night. Shut off electronics (including the TV!) an hour or two before bed.
Also, use the time you are awake and restless in the interim to clean up!!! Really clean, detail your house!
Once you identify the reason for being up all night, take steps to organize your way out of it… and give yourself time to re-adjust. Don’t let frustration keep you awake!!!
Sweet dreams! & let me know how it goes! xoxo Dana
I tend to have insomnia as well, and I definitely have to take a lot of steps to get to sleep, but when I do– it helps! Sorry for the length of this post, but if I can help anyone with the (million crazy) things I do, I want to!
First, I wash my face and brush my teeth at least an hour before I want to be asleep, because those things tend to wake me up rather than relax me. Then I take melatonin (the chemical our body produces naturally to cause that sleepy-eyed, drowsy feeling) about 45 mins before I want to fall asleep. Showering at night is right out, as that revs me up.
(Sundown Naturals puts out a “Super Snooze” blend of melatonin, valerian root, and chamomile (all non-addictive and natural) that I’m using with success at the moment. Coupons come out for vitamins all the time, you should be able to pick up something like this for under $10 and the bottle should last 2 – 3 months. Very reasonable.)
Then I make sure I’m totally physically comfortable, and eliminate anything that might make me more alert, or get me out of bed once I’m in it– I pee, put on loose pajamas, put on socks if the weather’s cold, get my hair in a loose ponytail so it’s not in my face/trapped under me when I lay down, put on lotion so my skin doesn’t feel dry/tight, etc. I close the curtains so the streetlight outside doesn’t shine in my eyes. Sometimes I spritz lavender spray around the room and on my pillows, for an extra bit of help if I had a tough day and I know I’ll need extra oomph in passing out.
Once any possible irritants are eliminated, I get into bed so I’m ready the moment the urge to sleep hits me 🙂 I only have a 40-watt bulb in my bedside lamp, because lower lighting tells our bodies “it’s bedtime!” I have tinnitus (ringing in ears) that can keep me awake, and I tend to be hot when I sleep, so I make sure a small fan is on for both the air circulation and the sound so there’s nothing to annoy me and keep me awake.
Then I sit up in bed and devote at least 5 full minutes to just thinking– about the day I just had, and the day I’ll have tomorrow. I keep a notebook and pen at bedside so any last-minute thoughts or items can be written down, and then I can release worrying about them.
After that’s done, I read something that requires no thought or concentration– a romance novel or “cozy” murder mystery. Nothing fast-paced or exciting. Within 15 mins or so, I am feeling drowsy and sleepy-eyed so I know that’s my cue to turning off the light, laying down, and (hopefully) passing out.
wow you certainly have a system! amazing! hopefully this helps other readers who can’t sleep, too! xx Dana
Michaela is right, i kinoof have the same routine. I (used to) have insomnia and i’ve been treating it with Valerian and Melatonin aswell, it has benn life saving!
My only bedroom problem (yes Dana we’ve fixed the damp walls and placement hehe) is that it’s tiny and we have very very little space for things so our only solution was getting a shelf on the only available wall, above the bed. I know, it’s a nono, but we didn’t really have a choice. I did fill it with red and pair things, ghearts, a picture of us, etc, and the dragon i drew. The little fella brought a lot of our romance back so he stais hehe.
I have never had electronics in the bedroom and when we decorated last autumn i insisted we have none in the bedroom and keep it quiet. I have a laptop but i only use it to play some chillout in the evening and light some candles while i take a bath. It goes off when we go to bed.
Much luck with this problem to all fellow insomniacs. Do these tips, they really work, you’ll be so happy you gave it a shot. And much healthier and up spirited during the day. A good sleep always makes my day 😀 so to speak.