Don’t you love how cats sleep? They are just the most peaceful relaxing creatures I’ve ever witnessed. I have often sought to copy their behavior, especially at times in my life when I have experienced insomnia. Have you ever suffered from insomnia? Research has shown that as many as 1 in 3 people suffer from some type of insomnia. Having experienced it myself, I can attest to it being one of the most frustrating issues to deal with. When you hear the stories of prisoners being tortured by being kept awake, I can fully understand how horrible that is. It is awful to not sleep. Mentally, physically, & emotionally it is so important to regroup and get the sleep needed to balance your life.

Sometimes I had specific events in my life that caused my insomnia, other times it was just an overall inability to relax and shut off my mind. The last time I experienced severe insomnia was about 7 years ago, and it became the turning point for me. I had to find a way to cure this pesty ‘disease’ or I felt I would not be sane.

I have never been one to take prescription pills, or any other kind. I always loved to try a natural remedy, herbal teas, essential oils, vitamins, or supplements was more my style. I would even go as far as to take herbal cleanses and juice fasts, anything to try and heal or promote general healthiness. But, this last period of sleeplessness for me became so severe that I did turn to unnatural products. After 6 or 8 months of literally sleeping only a couple hours a day, if I was lucky, I decided to try some prescription pills and see if they could get me back on track. Anyone who has ever experienced several nights without sleep understands that immediate gratification becomes a key desire.

Since I was concerned with getting ‘addicted’ to a particular pill, I figured I would try one for a couple of nights and see how it worked. Well, they didn’t. Not at all. In fact, I think they actually made it worse. Instead of sleeping, I was now thinking about how I should be sleeping and wasn’t! Absolutely more frustrating than before. So I tried another kind. Same thing. Since I had always kind of thought in the back of my mind that I had the ‘prescription pill’ route as a backup, I was now more frustrated than ever. Now what will I do?

I tried going to bed earlier and earlier. It would be 8 pm, and I was climbing into bed. Ridiculous. All that did was prolong the agony. I then decided to try all of the things everyone always says about sleep. No tv, read a book, get out of bed if you don’t fall asleep, only get into bed when it’s time to sleep, no alcohol, no caffeine, etc. etc. Nothing helped. Eventually I knew it was time to visit a doctor. Not my family practitioner who would just prescribe another pill, but one that could help my mind. Yes, I was desperate and felt I needed mental help.

I chose a local doctor in my area. Turns out, I was very lucky. This doctor has been referred to as ‘the rest doctor.’ Perfect! Just what I needed. I made my appointment and started my ‘therapy.’ This doctor actually turned out to be the best medical doctor I have ever met. After a couple of months, I was sleeping! This doctor actually did what very few doctors want to do nowadays… fix you. Why don’t they want to fix us? Because then we will stop being their patients, and they need patients. So, Dr. Edlund, I know I haven’t seen you in about 7 years, but you will go down in my book as the best doctor I know. I know I now have you all on the edge of your seat just waiting for me to share with you his magical secret….I will tell you what worked for me, and I will add what I feel like was the one lesson I learned that was also part of the key.

After a few sessions, Dr. Edlund started talking to me about when I felt more active, when I felt tired, when I felt more focused, etc. He started explaining to me that each of us has an internal clock within that can help us as we plan our day. If we can figure out what our internal clock is telling us about ourselves, then we can be much more productive and therefore overall, feel more happy and satisfied. Think about it, if you could workout when you had the most energy instead of when your schedule allowed. If you could nap exactly at the right time of the day so that 15-20 minutes of sleep/rest gave you a complete rejuvenating feeling, and of course, when was the best time to go to bed at night and feel the most rested. All of these things are explained in his book, ‘The Body Clock Advantage.’ A must read for anyone in need of any of the above.

What Dr. Edlund described to me was how to find my own individual body clock. He gave me several ideas on how to find it, and one way kind of seemed appropriate. He told me to allow a specific time allotment for sleep. Instead of going to bed before the sun goes down, stay up and do a lot of things that you’ve been needing to get done. Work on a special hobby, or get to some chores that have been lurking unfinished. Anything to keep yourself busy. Set a prescribed period of time that you will then be in bed, and also a specific time that you will wake. Set your alarm and get up, even if you don’t have to for any other reason, make yourself adhere to this timeline for a few days.

Because I was not an early riser, I immediately figured I would set my times as going to bed super late, and letting myself sleep in the morning a little. I picked 1 am – 6 am as my ‘sleeping time slot.’ So, the first night comes, and I get busy. Wow…so much time I loved it. I got so much done and was so productive, would you believe 1 am came around, I climbed in bed, and I actually passed out! 6 am alarm goes off, and I make myself wake. 5 hours of sleep, it was wonderful. I hadn’t slept that much in a year!

I kept this schedule for several nights, as suggested by Dr. Edlund, and figured I could start tweaking it an hour here and there in order to best suit me. I ended up tweaking my schedule back to a start time of midnight. I found out midnight to 6 worked as well. Then I moved it to 7am. This worked. After a couple of months, I had figured out that the best times for me to sleep was between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am. Literally, going to bed earlier for me does not work. Sounds a little crazy I know, but I seriously have not had a problem sleeping since.

Have I had a few nights where something is on my mind and I don’t sleep as well? Of course. I also have a daughter, which as anyone with children knows, many things can interrupt your sleep when you have children. Jobs, family, financial, etc. all things that of course can interfere with a good nights sleep. I think the starting point for anyone however, is to figure out their own body clock and to work their schedule around this time frame to the best of their ability. I realize it’s not always possible to fit perfectly, but just knowing the best times for you will help in some scheduling.

I have also figured out my daughters body clock. She happens to be very similar to both of her parents in that she likes to go to bed a little later, and wake a little later. This isn’t always possible with school schedules, but thankfully our school suits us just perfectly. I think many schools are starting to realize in fact, that making young kids get up at ungodly hours of the morning isn’t the best way for them to stay focused throughout the day. More and more schools in our area have pushed back school start times and all I hear from parents is how great it is.

So that’s my doctor’s input on insomnia. I do suggest getting the book and reading it. He of course offers other ways to figure out your body clock and I think anyone can benefit from the read.

Although I am not a doctor, I will now give you my personal input that I think helped me as much as the doctor. Of all the countless sleepless nights, and countless moments of frustration due to being tired, I will say that one of the best things I did was to just relax about my insomnia. Sounds weird right? I was so caught up in the fact that I wasn’t sleeping that I feel like I was going to bed with a thesis to write I was so anxious. I know many people, myself included, feel like a big part of many problems begins in our mind. I think this even ties in with our body clocks in that it helps take the focus off our mind, and place it on something that is essentially out of our control But…it frees up the mind!

Once I realized I wasn’t going to die, pass out, become sick, etc. from a night without sleep, it just seemed to ease my mind. Once I took the thoughts out of my head, my head could then let me sleep. Make sense? Sound weird? I think we all get so caught up in all of these little rules that we must follow in order to fall asleep that we forget to just relax and go to bed.

A great example of this is tv. Everyone always says you can’t have the tv on to sleep, right? I know women that won’t even allow a tv in their bedroom for this reason. The bedroom is for intimacy and sleep only. Well, I agree that the bedroom is for both of those, but I’m also just maybe a bit more modernized. With my own research with my own self, I realize I can go to sleep with the tv just fine. In fact, I put the timer on 30 minutes and I’m out like a light before it ever turns off. Would I suggest this for everyone? Of course not. Some people probably can’t sleep as well with the tv on, you have to find what works for you.

Alcohol is another great example. Everyone says alcohol is sugar, you can’t have any alcohol if you want to have a good nights sleep. Although I am not a proponent of telling people to drink, I think a half of a glass of wine or one shot of rum actually helps me sleep like a cat! More than that and maybe it is counterproductive. Again, I was so consumed with all the proper ‘rules’ that I wasn’t listening to my own body and was getting frustrated because many of the ‘rules’ weren’t working for me.

Relax your thoughts, try and find out what is your body clock, and let the sleep come. If you still can’t, find a cat to cuddle up next to and read ‘the Tale of Genji,’ as Dr. Edlund suggested, that book will most assuredly put you to sleep!

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