Insomnia and Sleep Enhancement 

Having had a history of Anxiety related Insomnia for almost 20 years this subject is incredibly close to my heart.

Life under severe sleep deprivation is not a pleasant one and it becomes hard to enjoy ANY waking hours.

It is not just a feeling of being tired, it is so much more; depression, the mental inability to function, the body’s inability to function, and the effect it has on your work, friendships and relationships.

Causes of Insomnia

Insomnia can be caused by many different medical conditions.

Some examples given by the Sleep Foundation include –

• Nasal/sinus allergies
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Endocrine problems
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Neurological conditions
• Chronic pain
• Low back pain
• Restless leg syndrome
• Sleep apnea
• Anxiety
• Lifestyle
• Irregular sleep patterns

Healing from Insomnia

Over the years, I tried various sleeping tablets which made me feel just as bad as I did being sleep-deprived. Sleeping tablets can be a short-term fix but I knew these were never going to be the final solution and I took them as little as possible.

Ultimately, we need to find out what is causing insomnia and fix the root cause. Working out what the cause is will be the long-term solution to the problem so this should be the number one priority, but this can take time.

In the meantime, there are lots of things we can begin to change to help improve our chances of a good night’s sleep!

The following is a recipe, and as with most recipes, I personally needed ALL or most of the ingredients for the desired result!

If you want results you might need to make big changes, I certainly did!

Sleep Enhancement Tools

My recipe for a good night’s sleep, followed by a happy and productive day

1) Environment

It is very important to have a relaxed, controlled environment to go to bed.

We spend 1/3 of our lives in bed so let’s make it a nice place to be!

Is your bedroom a relaxed environment? Is it clear of clutter? Clear of technology?

I would recommend removing any books, desks, computers, TVs, etc

When you look around your bedroom, is there anything you need to do?

Try to keep your room clean and calm; allow your mind to switch off, this is time for both your body and your mind to relax!

2) Technology

Have a curfew for technology; turn the laptop off and leave your mobile phone to one side, or out of the bedroom altogether! Buy an alarm if you need one.

To be most effective I find at least 2 hours ‘technology-free’ is necessary before bed.

3) Lighting

Swap your lights for candles, or a low-light bedside lamp. A Himalayan salt lamp can be fantastic for depression as well.

4) Sound

Quiet relaxing music can help to drown out the chatter in our heads, try to use music with no lyrics to reduce the chance of stimulating any unwanted thoughts.

Google – Meditation Music on Spotify (or you can follow me on Spotify – search for Becki Jane Moore and search for my Restorative Playlist ).

5) Smell

I have organic essential oils next to my bed, I pop a couple of drops in my diffuser (often on my pillow as well, or on my skin), as I go off to sleep I focus on my breath, breathing in the nice aromas.

The following are known to be beneficial for sleep, but everyone is different, so it is best to find out what works for you.

Lavender
Vetiver
Roman Chamomile
Ylang Ylang
Bergamot
Sandalwood
Marjoram

6) Breathing

Slow down your breathing, pop your hands on your abdomen, and focus on your breath.

You can search for Breathing exercises for Sleep on YouTube. If you need your device, I recommend turning the brightness down and setting it to amber mode as blue light has been proven to disrupt sleep. Or for best results learn the exercises.

The 4,7,8 breathing exercise is particularly effective as well as 7, 2 11, and the humming bee breath.

Again, smelling your essential oils will help.

7) Go to Bed Early

I know this is not always possible but if you are prone to insomnia it is advisable to try to get to bed before 10 pm.

When you disrupt the body’s natural clock it can be unbalancing and set insomnia.

8) Food

Avoid eating late at night. If we take in more energy than we have been using, we will have excess energy running around our body and we will find it difficult to sleep.

Equally – Do not go to bed hungry.

Your body does not like to go to bed hungry and it will keep you awake if you deprive it of what it needs (our daily energy expenditure and our incoming fuel needs to be balanced).

If you are hungry before you go to bed Carbohydrates are best to be eaten late at night. Porridge is a fantastic example.

Food to be avoided late at night include –

• Fats (they release fast energy and are likely to keep you awake).
• Spicy, Sour, and Salty foods (they create excessive heat in the body).
• Be careful what you eat at dinner time, eat foods that digest well; eating inappropriate dinners will lead to gas, bloating, and a disturbed night’s sleep (I will be talking more about how to avoid gas and bloating from eating poor digestive combinations later).
• Avoid Caffeine after 4 pm (or altogether).

Foods I like to use to promote a good night’s sleep are Warm Milk with Saffron and Nutmeg and I am also a big fan of some bedtime oats.

The sleep foundation advises some other food as well (I would personally avoid eating fruit until your evening meal has been digested. Wait at least 2.5 hours before eating fruit after a meal otherwise this may lead to gas and bloating).

https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/food-and-drink-promote-good-nights-sleep

9) Alcohol

Alcohol can hugely disrupt our sleep. If we must drink alcohol then it may be best drunk in the afternoon, giving it time to wear off before we go to bed.

Easier said than done I know, but it is good to be aware of it and try to make better choices when we can.

10) Your Bed

Yes, as this is where you sleep this is important!

Is your mattress comfortable?

Does your bedding feel nice to touch and nice to look at? I have Egyptian cotton sheets on the bottom and an extra soft blanket between my body and my duvet, so cozy.

12) Inversions

Elevating our legs higher than our head increases the blood flow to the brain and decreases muscle tension by an additional 35% encouraging the body to relax and go into a restful sleep.

If your bed is against a wall, lay with your bottom as close to the wall as you can and stretch your feet up against the wall.

Pop your hands on your belly focusing on your breathing (and maybe your essential oils and meditation music) lay for 5 or 10 minutes (or until you feel relaxed) before getting into bed.

13) Napping

If you need to nap then nap! There is no point in fighting against your own body’s needs especially if you are an active person exceeding their daily energy levels.

Some people benefit highly from an afternoon nap, I know I used to.

If you are aware that you are doing the opposite and taking in more fuel than you are burning you may want to consider if a nap is necessary. Everyone is different.

14) Daytime activities

  • Try to engage in some sort of exercise (a mindful walk, Pilates, or Yoga work well as these are likely to decrease cortisol levels).
  • Get out in the fresh air and take on the negative ions.
  • Be mindful about how much you are taking on each day, and give your body time to rest and digest the day before bed.
  • In the evening our bodies want to digest our evening meals, absorb the day’s thoughts, feelings and emotions, detoxify the body, and synthesize new tissues. If our daily routine, diet, and behavior exceed our energy capacity our bodies will not perform these functions efficiently and our quality of sleep will be diminished.
  • Find Balance – Work, Rest, Exercise, and Play.

15) Smoking

Because nicotine is a potent stimulant, cigarette smokers can easily develop insomnia if they smoke frequently and close to bedtime. There are so many reasons to give up!

16) Listen to your Dreams

Embrace your dreams and listen to them, they are trying to tell you something you might not be able to see during your waking hours.

17) Reduce what no longer serves you.

If there are things going on in your life that give you that niggle deep in your belly, then the chances are whatever it is, probably isn’t for you.

Whether it be your job, your living environment, a relationship, food, alcohol, drugs, or trying to achieve some level of non-existent perfection.

Whatever it is, you can change it and when you do, your world will start to open opportunities that you would have never thought possible before.

18) Observe your thoughts

As your thoughts come up, label them as they are.

  1. Are they present? Are they with your body, your breath, and the sounds coming from inside or outside of the room?  – Label present
  2. Are they reflecting on interpretations of the past  – Label past
  3. Are they rushing off into the future thinking about all the things you think you have to do in the future  – Label future
  4. Is your imagination working? Your imagination can create your dreams, desires, and manifestations but it can also limit you but creating anxieties, fears, and worries. If your imagionation is working is it serving you and if it is not, are you able to change the behavior of your mind so it does serve you? Label imagination
  5. Are you talking to yourself? A kind of internal chit-chat? And if you are, how are you talking to yourself? What is your tone, what is your language? Are you talking to yourself with love and kindness? Label internal chit-chat.

Without creating a story in your mind, label the thought as they are.

Observe your thoughts without judgment and where you can begin to make small changes on a daily basis to be more present, to use your mind tool to serve you, and to be kinder to yourself.

Try to catch yourself thinking and observe the behavior of the thoughts as often as possible. It will become a habit. 

The more we can give ourselves the opportunity to digest what is going on during the day at the time, the better we will absorb and recover at night time.

19) Leave a notepad and pen next to your bed

Write down anything that keeps going around and around in your mind and know it will be there to pick up again tomorrow if it still needs to be.

20) Meditation

The above “observe your thoughts” technique, is a type of meditation. There are many types of meditation we can use to access deeper relaxation and understand the mind better in order to enhance sleep. You can google, search on Spotify, YouTube, or download an app to help you.

Next Steps

I had on many occasions tried one or two items on the list trying to find the one thing that would be the solution, with little success. For maximum success, I had to make some big changes and used most of these tools regularly.

Exercise

Write a list of the areas you are not currently practicing in the above list and day by day add a sleep enhancement tool to your nighttime routine, ticking off the list as you go.

Support

Oftentimes, when we are sleep-deprived it is hard to manage by ourselves and we need a little extra help. I run Sleep Enhancement Sessions if you would like  1-2-1 support. Sleep enhancement sessions can involve, breathwork, movement, meditation, and coaching in person or online.

Please WhatsApp me to reach out.

Good luck with your journey.

I wish you all a goodnights sleep.

 Helpful Online Videos

Breathwork

Breathwork

Meditation