“You cannot allow yourself to be keyed up all day and then expect your system to have a restful sleep. It’s too much, balance is key.” -Kristin

There are a couple of things that definitely become an obstruction to getting the deep sleep that you desire:

  • hormonal imbalance
  • taxing the adrenals

For some people it can be a combination of both issues.

To improve hormonal balance, I recommend:

  • Acupuncture
  • Eating healthy fats: omega 3’s
  • Intake of Vitamin D3
  • Melatonin
  • Exercise
  • Reduce stress
  • Self awareness: don’t allow yourself to cascade into overreaction. Recognize that you’re probably seeing things through a different, elevated perspective through this time and be gentle with yourself, your thoughts, and your reactions.
  • Meditation and breath awareness. These both enhance your self awareness as well.
    • If you’re having trouble meditating, try counting your breaths with each exhale. Similar to counting sheep!

To improve your adrenal health, I recommend:

  • Lower stress: breaking your life experience down to the present moment. The present moment is the moment of power and definitely a moment that you can handle. Experience the present moment with ACCEPTANCE. Accept it as it is rather than resisting the conditions. Stress = needing the conditions to be other than what they are. Breathe. Become aware.
  • Meditation
  • Routine: have a consistant routine in your day. Same time to bed each night, same time to rise. Give yourself at least 7 hours for sleep.
    • I like to use a programmable timer on a lamp in the room. Having this lamp turn on at a specific time simulates the sun rise and wakes me gently before the alarm goes off.
    • Make sure you give yourself enough time in the morning to get yourself together for the day… your shower, sprucing up, breakfast, your home, your lunch, and your commute. (Being present all along the way! What a great exercise!!)
  • Adrenal diet: (click for the blog entry on the adrenals…) basically a paleo diet, no caffeine, lots of variety, probiotics, and lots of omega 3’s.

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When you’re doing it all and still having difficulty:

  • Try a forehead and temple massage while you focus on your slow breathing.
  • Make sure you are parking all worries. Nothing will come of trying to solve problems with a deprived mind. AND if you’re not in the present moment, you don’t stand a chance of being able to impact anything positively.
  • Press on those acupressure seeds perfectly placed to enhance sleep… and breathe.
  • Connect with gentle acupressure at point Ren 17.
  • Read a book until you feel sleepy (Keep a boring book on hand! War And Peace??)
  • Have a glass of milk before brushing your teeth.
  • Reflexology: massage your hands or your feet gently to give your whole body a treatment in relaxation.
  • Keep from looking at the clock. Stressing about how many potential hours you have left will only make things worse. Pretend that you always have 8 hours instead!
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