Do you have trouble sleeping? Read this diary of the night in the life of an insomniac and see if it sounds like what you go through. The advice given might help you out!
10:00pm
I start to feel sleepy, yawning occasionally. I usually stay up until later than this, but I decide to try following my body's lead to see if it will help me sleep better.
10:15pm
I begin drawing a hot bath, which should help with sleep. I put in tranquility bath beads.
10:45pm
The bath is drawn and I'm in it with a book. I had forgotten how relaxing a bath before bed could be! Soon I'm feeling very relaxed. My boyfriend brings me some chocolate ice cream, which I scold him for although I eat it. Hopefully the caffeine in there won't keep me awake.
11:30pm
After a nice, long soak, I put tranquility lotion on my feet and put on nice, soft socks. I get into my PJs and climb into bed. I try putting on a classical music station to drown out the random noises of the house but they keep playing fast songs in with the slow ones. So I just put on the air conditioner on fan setting, which works nicely.
11:45pm
I have a nice large glass of warm water and take vitamins. I do the pre-sleep relaxation exercises of starting with my toes, scrunching them for a few seconds and then fully relaxing them. I work the way up my body until my whole body is relaxed. I feel soft and floating. Here it comes, sleep!
12:30pm
My eyes have been closed, my mind gently wanders, but I seem to be skimming the surface of sleep, like a little water bug. I'm not feeling alert - laying in bed is very relaxing. But I am definitely not sleeping. I try to imagine myself as an old log, settling into the mossy ground of a forest. It feels wonderful, but sleep does not come.
1:30am
Still no sleep. I try not to be stressed about it. Sleep will come when it's ready. I imagine blue ripples of water in my mind, gently washing away any worries that try to intrude. My mind is peaceful ... but awake.
2:00am Somewhere in here, 2 hours after my first attempt, I do actually fall asleep. In the past I used to blame my trouble sleeping on noises that kept me up, or worries of the day, or other such. But none of these took place tonight. It simply was that I couldn't cross that final line.
4:00am I'm awake again. Nothing woke me up, at least as far as I could tell. Usually if a sound wakes me up I remember the sound. I head back to sleep.
6:00am Awake again, again for apparently no reason. The fan still hums along, I still feel relaxed and comfy.
8:30am Awake. The alarm was set for 9:30am which would have given me 9 hours of sleep if I'd actually gone to bed on my schedule. I consider turning it off but leave it.
9:30am The alarm goes off and I wake up. Without the alarm I normally would have slept several more hours but I decide to get up - maybe by getting up now, tomorrow night will be more successful.
Conclusion
Compared to other nights, it definitely seems like I was far more relaxed and content. I did not feel stressed or tense at all. The bath, warm water, vitamins, fan's white noise and de-stressing exercises all helped immensely. Maybe it really was the chocolate caffeine which kept me away from that final cross-over into sleep. Also, even though I was sleepy, maybe trying to sleep a few hours before 'normal bedtime' wasn't going to work. Since I got up "early" today, though, tonight might be more successful.
 | Secrets of Falling Asleep by Jenn Mottram Are you having trouble falling asleep? Do you lay awake watching the clock? These tips will get you into the land of ZZZZs! More Details ... |
