It’s 3 am…again
Do you often wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking about the following day? It is usually around 3:00am that I often will wake up and inevitably start thinking about work or other things I need to do at home. This can sometimes make me feel anxious, often unable to fall back asleep and before I know it, the alarm goes off. Not the best way to start one’s day!
A recent Harvard Business Review article by Rebecca Zucker offers some helpful strategies to manage this issue. They include:
- Make a to-do-list. Research shows that making a to-do-list before bed for the following day helps you fall asleep faster and wake up less often during the night. Keep a pen and notepad beside your bed so that if you do wake-up, you can write your thoughts down and go back to sleep.
- Keep a journal. Writing down your thoughts and feelings helps process emotions and reduce stress and anxiety.
- Exercise self-compassion. Often we repeatedly play-back experiences in our mind that did not unfold as we had hoped; causing us to lose sleep. Practicing self-compassion and recognizing that no one is perfect can help break the cycle of negative thoughts and result in better sleep.
- Engage in physical activity. As little as 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per day can decrease rumination of thoughts at night helping us to fall asleep faster and enjoy greater sleep quality.
- Practice meditation. Researchers found even 10 minutes of mindful meditation helped in calming racing thoughts and improved quality of sleep.
It is not always possible to avoid the things that cause us stress and worry in our daily lives. However, if we get a good sleep, it is much easier to successfully take on the next day’s challenges.If you have any feedback, questions or ideas you would like to share, I welcome you to send them to me at: dana.penner@bethanyseniors.com
Regards,
— Dana
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