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10 Methods to Stop the Bedtime Madness
by Sisterlisa
Many of us may have heard that term ‘counting sheep’ and it’s used when you just can’t seem to fall asleep. There are several reasons why you may not be falling asleep at night. This bedtime madness has got to stop! Each person needs to find out what their best sleepy time routine in order to know what helps you get into the mode of relaxation that works for
you. Here are a few ideas to help when counting sheep just doesn’t cut it anymore.
1. Make sure you have ample time to have physical exercise during the day.
2. Limit caffeine after 2pm.
3. Tale to our Lord about everything that happened that day. When we take time to decompress from the things that crowd our minds each day it helps us to not think about them at bed time. This is especially true for children. If you take time to sit next to them when tucking them in they may begin to ramble on about everything that happened that day, I suggest you let them. Bedtime tends to be scary for small children. Many times they will have nighmares about their day and it gets all jumbled up in their little heads.
4. Make a list of the things you didn’t get done so it is off your mind and you can pick it back up in the morning.
5. Have white noise in your room. If you have an ocean sounds CD or fan to run it may help drown out the other night time sounds that tend to keep you awake.
6. Have a bed time routine of things you do every night.
-Lock all doors
-turn off all lights
-plug in cell phone
-hang up cordless phone on base.
-set coffee maker
- pick up items from the floor. (laundry, toys, etc.)
-turn off computers.
7. Get to bed around the same time every night and wake up around the same time every day. Our bodies do well with a routine that is easy to follow.
8. Don’t fall asleep with the television on. Commercials are louder than the programming and it can startle you once you have drifted off then your heart is racing again.
9. Don’t eat after 6 pm and limit late night liquids so you will have less or no trips to the restoom in the middle of the night.
10. Settle all household arguments with your family. No one should go to sleep with an angry heart.
Sisterlisa is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Growing in Grace Magazine and owner of AGMinistries, a devotion blog for women. She is married and homeschools her four children while remaining active in serving the Lord in her community.
Great article! I agree about wake and sleep at the same time every day, although I do need to work on that! lol
I find that having dim lights for a while before bed helps. Another thing I like to do is make up stories in bed. Often one will ramble on for months and even keep me entertained during the day.
I’ve tried most of these things all ready, do have any other ideas? I hate having to take TWO medications. And even with that I still wake up in the early morning!
~LL~
Lillian,
I am the Director at a women’s home and I have seen them struggle with this as well. We have seen them successfully stop all medication sleep aids. It takes a little while to adjust, but they follow these guidelines and get extra exercise during the day. But not after dinner. Exercising after dinner tends to keep you awake due to the adrenaline pumping. At first if they just can’t sleep we will allow one Benedryl to help them relax, but after about a week they are back to normal again. Hope this helps.
~Sisterlisa