Hey guys. I’ve mentioned before that I am an anxious person. One of the many not-so-fun things that come along with anxiety for some people is insomnia. Insomnia is when you know physically that you’re tired but can’t fall asleep. Usually, this is because something is on your mind that is making you anxious and your brain is too focused on the anxious thoughts.
A lot of the time for me, the things making me anxious enough to stay awake are time-sensitive commitments the next day. You can see why this would be an issue. Being worried that I won’t wake up on time causes me to stay up and be more likely to sleep in. This leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy of oversleeping and missing important things. This obviously creates a lot of problems.
Insomnia is terrible, but it isn’t unavoidable. One way I know that I can put myself to sleep is by using melatonin. Melatonin is a natural supplement that aids with sleep. The problem I have experienced with melatonin is drowsiness the next morning. If you aren’t going to have time to get coffee and take a shower to wake yourself up in the morning, melatonin is a risky way to fall asleep. You can still use it if you have to be up early, you just have to take the melatonin early enough to get a good amount of sleep while still having time to wake up and get moving in the morning.
If you know for a fact that you won’t have time in the morning, and don’t want the drowsiness from melatonin, there are other ways to fall asleep without it. Something that works for me is reading a book. Taking your eyes off of your screen and making your brain do the work of reading is a goodway to wear yourself out. I find that sitting and reading for an hour can put me straight to bed. A large part of this is from getting off of technology. Putting your phone and computer down, and turning the TV off lets your brain relax and cool down. This makes it easier to fall asleep.
By turning off your technology, and if you have the time in the morning, taking melatonin, you can help to ease your insomnia. These things won’t always help. If your insomnia is chronic and you can’t seem to do anything to fall asleep, talk to your doctor. Getting the help you need is important and it is okay to not be okay. Have you ever suffered from insomnia? If so, how did you get yourself to fall asleep?
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