Didn’t sleep again last night? Do you wake up in the middle of the night? Do you have difficulty dragging yourself out from underneath the covers because you just finally got to sleep? Well, who hasn’t experienced insomnia! Hope is here: I just read a good book by Tammy Barlekamp called A Time to Sleep. What’s covered? 70 relaxing ways to get 40 winks without giving yourself 40 lashes for staying awake ALL night. Heck, yes, we’re all wise to “keep it simple” when it comes to our sleep habits.
SHAPING YOUR SLEEP ATTITUDE
“WHAT IF…” worrying directly pressures your mind to stay awake to stave off harm, and keep the other shoe from dropping. Inspirational soul-liners abound in A Time to Sleep. Freely use any of these healthy mental sleep sedatives—or new sleep attitudes—the next time you feel tortured by a lack of sleep:
- Sleeping well is a skill.
- We need peace to sleep.
- Treat your body with love and respect. Take it out for a walk once in awhile.
- The idea is to fill your mind so completely with peace that anxiety has no room to roost.
- Begin to focus immediately on your peaceful thoughts when you come into the room where you sleep.
- When you cannot sleep, it is an indication that worry is in control.
- Be sympathetic to yourself at this time. It will not help to try to force yourself to sleep.
- Do you find you like yourself when you sleep well and hate yourself when you sleep poorly?
- “I must stay alert so nothing bad happens!” and “Not sleeping is a sign of how much I care!” are sleep-deprivers.
- Losing too much sleep can make a person feel dead.
- Do you believe that if you just spend enough sleepless nights analyzing problems in your head, solutions will miraculously appear?
- You are improving your sleep attitude every night.
- Try substituting a devotion for a potion.
- Stop wishing it away (sleeplessness) for one night.
- Are you carrying an old attitude into a new environment?
- Some people feel guilty for taking a nap…I’m talking about maxi-shame for a mini-siesta.
- It’s not your fault you cannot sleep.
- Praise is tying the balloon after you blow it up. It completes the process. Otherwise your work can come undone.
- Also, ask yourself if you are starting to get caught up in the thought that the faster you go, the more you get done. This is not always true.
- A tough time is a time that is tough for you.
- You really can’t work any faster than one night at a time, so relax and enjoy this night at this time!
ONE NIGHT AT A TIME
What’s to feel good about when you’re spending another sleepless night watching the clock while tossing and turning and having racing thoughts? According to Barlekamp, “You may be surprised that your personal point of view is keeping you awake!” Then again, you may subconsciously understand that “I couldn’t get to sleep at all last night!” could be a bit of extreme thinking on your part, one that you can overcome with a positive sleep attitude that respects loving your life while boosting your mood, too.
Sweet dreams!”
ABOUT AUTHOR, NURSE AND INSOMNIA EXPERT TAMMY BARLEKAMP
Tammy Barlekamp lives with her husband and three children in northwest Ohio. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Toledo. Her interest in helping others with sleep evolved from an affiliation with The Midwest Center for Stress in Oak Harbor, Ohio, where she has been involved in coaching, phone support and correspondence for the past eight years. She enjoys running, writing, music, and her Cairn Terrier, Gracie. You can order Tammy Barlekamp’s new book “A Time to Sleep” now at Xlibris.com.
ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS PSYCHOLOGIST DENNIS E. O’GRADY, PSY.D.
Dr. Dennis O’Grady is a keynote speaker and corporate trainer specializing in positive and effective communication and leadership skills. Dennis sleeps like a log most nights since he began using positive sleep attitudes. He is the wide-awake author of “Talk to Me: Communication Moves To Get Along with Anyone,” and President-Elect of the Dayton Area Psychological Association.