By Pat Larsen
For Capital Region Independent Media
THAT was just the teaser. Honestly, the question on the minds of mostly everyone is, “How do we… sleep like a baby again?”
I have no answers that you probably haven’t heard of or tried before.
So, let’s approach this topic with a more commonsense consideration and see if that will trigger a solution for you and me both.
We all need sleep. Back in the day, sleep came after a good long hard day’s work. Now that we’re retired or working from home on a computer, or meeting friends at Stewart’s for a cup of coffee until just before lunch, we can’t exactly admit that any degree of “hard work” has taken place, can we?
There are no alarms going off except the ones that we hear outside our windows suggesting the roosters are serenading us at 4:45 a.m.
So, thinking this subject over, I’ve concluded, we have to look at “sleep” differently than we did years ago.
Gone are the nights of eight hours of deep, restorative sleep. Away with the notion that at nighttime we don those cute little Llama PJs and slip into warm flannel sheets after drinking some warm milk.
I give my vote to sleep when you just feel like it, day or night. Be sure you’ve fed the cats or the dog first, though, before resting that head on the down pillow. Put away the computerized solitaire game and stop scrolling on your phone to look for the next best game app.
You get tired, you go to sleep for a bit. Who knows, maybe even a few hours. Just take that continuous pressure off an expectation that you don’t have to subscribe to anymore.
Nap… maybe two times a day. Get up when you’re feeling refreshed. If it’s the middle of the night, go outside and look up. The nighttime sky is awash with satellites streaming on by and star constellations that you probably haven’t considered for years.
Play a game of “stay awake” by actively NOT closing your eyes.
Take a break from continuously thinking that you should be sleeping and enjoy the evening by reading a book, listening to soothing music, or knitting.
I particularly love imagining that I’m telling a story to my grandkids. Maybe even a favorite from your childhood and see if you can recall all the details, even if it’s something as simple as “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” or “Little Red Riding Hood.”
Ever have a truly “happy” place that you’ve enjoyed? That could be great imagery to conjure up and replay from beginning to end.
Stop pressuring yourself into sleep. Think about anything else but what you think you should be doing and just relax into the time you’re spending in bed or on that couch enjoying the simplicity of the moment.
If you find yourself roaming around rather than in bed, do something like watering the plants or uncluttering a drawer. I know that kind of sounds like a ridiculous task-oriented solution but it’s productive and you already are frustrated by not sleeping so why not turn that into a check mark on your other “to do” list.
The “sleeping like a baby” ship may have sailed for all of us but we can make the best of the already frustrating scenario that is unnecessarily keeping us awake anyway.
Until then, may the sleep fairy sprinkle some sleepy dust in our eyes often and soon!
Life always offers us another chance… it’s called tomorrow. Nighty night all!
Pat Larsen teaches really fun fitness programs at The Shamrock House in EAST DURHAM weekday mornings. Contact Pat at 518-275-8686.
