To sleep, perchance to dream
My bedroom in a former home
“Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care” - Shakespeare - Macbeth
What a difference a good night’s sleep makes in our daily lives! We have all experienced that leaden feeling the day after a night of tossing and turning. Not to mention the ravaged look of your face when you don’t get your requisite 7 or 8 hours of shut-eye.
How to avoid these consequences? There are lots of techniques that can be helpful - here are some of the tricks I use when sleep is elusive.
First, I try to be as active during the day as possible, and I avoid naps, especially since they tend to make me feel groggy when I wake up. So lots of walking or running or Pilates or bike riding - or all four! Active gardening is great too - anything that gets you out in the fresh air and moving.
Alcohol unfortunately has an adverse effect on sleep, so I rarely have more than one glass of wine or mixed drink as an aperitif. I also like to have an early dinner to give time to digest.
Classic infant sleep pose!
Just like babies who need to be sleep trained, adults also benefit from a sleep routine. Screens shut down an hour before bed, a darkened room, ambient noise and meditation are all helpful to achieve the goal of true rest.
Controlled breathing is another technique that often works magically to calm the nerves and signal sleep to the body. Lengthening the outbreath is especially restful.
As a knitter, I love that quote from Shakespeare implying that sleep helps you fix the unravelled strands of your life. Sleep is important - let’s do everything we can to let it happen!
