Trouble sleeping?

Hey guys,

This is just a quick update for those of you who have problems sleeping. This can be having problems falling asleep, staying asleep or getting up in the morning. This is something quite common for me, and I know how frustrating it is. Being so mentally and emotionally drained and wanting to just sleep for hours when you can't even manage to drift off. So I'm just going to share some things that I do, and some things that have been recommended to me to try to get a better nights sleep. 

Getting off to sleep;


~ A warm bath/shower before going to bed; it'll help to relax you and can be quite soothing. It can also be nice to use your favourite scented products too. (Personally, I love lush products!) but you could also try something lavender scented. As well as being relaxing, this also gives you some wind down time before sleeping, so I do this a lot. 

~ Hot drinks before bed; I would say to avoid coffee, or adding sugar to your drinks. But tea, herbal fruit tea's, and hot chocolate can work quite well. I've heard of a lot of people having the original Horlicks drink before going to bed, as that's advertised as being a before bed drink, aimed at trying to help you sleep better. But personally I've not noticed any difference between that and the other hot drinks. 


~ Wind down activities; things such as reading by low light, watching some tv or a film quietly, listening to soft music for a while before bed could help. For the best chance of getting off to sleep easier, it's not a good idea to keep your brain too active by doing something that takes up a lot of attention and concentration. 

~ Try to make simple preparations for the next day; Chances are, if you're too anxious or stressed about the next day, it's going to make it even harder to get off to sleep as you'll be too busy worrying and all of the negative thoughts will just be going around in your head. Try breaking it down into simple plans, write it down if you need to, or talk to someone if that's possible. It's a gentle way of convincing yourself nothing is going to happen, and you don't need to worry as much as you are. By getting it off your chest, it could make you more relieved or relaxed.  

There's no guaranteed way of preventing yourself from waking up during the night, but if you do, you could try the following. Getting back to sleep;

~ Staying out of your thoughts; I know it's very easy when you are repeatedly waking up to start panicking and becoming stressed over your inability to fall back to sleep. But that will just keep you up longer. Try staying in your relaxed position instead of sitting up. The stress will only encourage 
you to stay awake even longer. Instead of focusing on your thoughts, focus on how you're feeling, and the relaxation. 

~ Relax and don't focus; Don't focus too much on the sleeping itself. If you're laying there repeating in your head "why can't I sleep, I need to go to sleep..." it'll just keep your brain active and encourage the stress and worry. Try to let your mind go blank, you could even try the old counting sheep exercise.  

Getting up in the morning; 

~ Give yourself something to look forward to; For me, it's always helped knowing I have something to look forward to the next day, even if it's just a little something. You can call it your reward for getting up if that suits you. 

~ Messages to yourself; Personally, because of the depression it makes it quite hard even having the motivation to get up some days, which I don't think helps the matter. I've done it a few times where I've set alarms on my phone, or sometimes notes on there with an inspirational quote, or just 
something motivational to remind myself of the good things rather than just how I'm feeling in that moment

Of course none of these are going to have an immediate affect on your sleeping patterns, or even work for you for that matter. Different things work for different people, and some of these things are really only all that good for the short term help, if you've been experiencing bad sleeping problems and have found yourself very tired and lacking a lot of energy during the day, I would suggest seeking advice from a professional. Until next time, sleep tight! ♡










"Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again" 

~ Alice