My beloved was away for work this past week. We’ve slept in the same bed so long that when I sleep solo I need to build a pillow person to keep me company. Otherwise I find myself waking up with a start while groping around looking for my partner.
Sleep is a funny thing for me. If I get horribly stressed I have trouble falling asleep and often wake up in the night. If I’m feeling moderately overwhelmed or lonely I’m very sleepy.
Sticking to my routine while my partner is away helps me sleep better. I found myself heading to bed about an hour earlier than usual. I’m stil feeling a bit wooly headed from some congestion and I felt tired. It’s hard for me to know if that was just loneliness masquerading as fatigue or that I successfully fended off a nasty bug that’s been going around my office.
It was very busy at my paid work and parenting my teenage sons seems to take a lot of emotional heavy lifting. I was thankful for the solid nights of sleep.
I’m spinning indoors, walking to work and practicing yoga. I’ve also kept going for massages and Chiro appointments. Getting enough sleep has been a key part of my resilience to stress.
I’m thankful of this period of quality sleep. What do you do to get your best night’s sleep when you are feeling stressed?
Turns out even when I’ve had a good nights sleep I don’t really like mornings!
I end of falling asleep much later when my husband is gone. And it’s usually on the couch while watching tv at 3am. It’s far from my normal routine! However, I find that because I am so exhausted by the time I actually do fall asleep, that all of the crazy and subconscious that appears in weird dreams for me (on the regular) just doesn’t happen on those nights. What I wouldn’t give to wake up to some semi-self-sufficient boys on those mornings instead of a 5yo and 2.5yo. Here’s hoping for better sleep for all!
Ohhhh it’s not unusual for me to fall asleep on the couch. This week it didn’t happen but it’s a family joke that I nap past my bedtime!
I also go to bed a lot later when my husband is gone. The routine goes sideways and I end up wanting to stay up much later for some reason.
Last night I made it to sleep around 130am….alone. I think that’s a record for me! One thing that I, as yoga teacher, should know to do is to try some gentle yoga and/or meditation before sleep when I’m alone. It really does amazing things for your ability to shut down!
I can totally relate to these paradoxical effects stress has on my sleeping habits. I sleep a lot when somewhat stressed but hardly at all when very stressed.
I’m definitely a “go to sleep early when my husband’s gone” type of person. But, like you, it doesn’t matter how much sleep I get… I’m just not a morning person!
When I’m stressed, I generally need to talk things out to feel better and get sleep – if my husband is gone, I have to journal to try to get my thoughts in order so they’re not buzzing in my head, keeping me from sleep.
When Jeff is away I go to bed early early and enjoy the sleep. He tends to stay up later than me. No pillow people but I do tend to stack laundry on his side of the bed.
I am a big fan of a white noise machine, a sleep mask and ear plugs. I travel a lot, so I have problems falling asleep in different beds, in different hotel rooms. Putting in my ear plugs and my mask on tells my brain it is “sleep time” even though I am in a weird space. The white noise machine does the same thing, on top of drowning out odd hotel noises.
My sleeping habits have changed as a result of my accident. Concussion patients do have their sleep disturbed and have to try to get back to normal.
So it isn’t my partner …though it helps me to talk through stressful times with him. He’s very helpful as a listener and providing constructive feedback.
I totally agree with some yoga like stretching and relaxation, plus warm milk, a warm water shower and getting off the computer 1-2 hrs. before going to bed. The sleep specialist doctors will tell you that blue light from computer screens (including your iPhone) will keep the brain more awake ..without you realizing it. My sleep specialist doctor has emphasized this over and over to me..he works with patients who have been injured and works with athletes on sleep issues.