What made me happy today? Insomnia!
That will need some explaining. I'm not happy about having bouts of insomnia. But I am happy that I finally seem to have found something that works for me. And the best part is that I can totally relate to this post! Major frustrations, I'll say!
I know people who zonk out the minute their head hits the pillow. There is no way to describe how envious I am of that! The only time I ever zonked out minutes after putting my head down, was when I had to get general anesthesia to have all four of my wisdom teeth extracted. But I've found a few things that will help me fall asleep faster on most occasions. Like my sleepphones, breathing exercises, relaxation exercises and the right temperature in the bedroom.
What helped me most was throwing out my alarm clock! I would find myself obsessively staring at it, calculating how long I had left before I had to get back up. Which of course led to me obsessing over how little sleep I'd be getting, and how tired I'd be the next day. So I put my alarm clock away. Now, I put my smartphone on my nightstand, so I still have an alarm to wake me up. But I can't constantly see wat time it is. And oddly enough, that helped!
Sleep tight tonight!
Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Catch your ZZzzz's
What made me happy today? Catch your ZZzzz's.
Wow, I slept so well last night! I only woke up at 10.30 this morning. That almost never happens to me :-) Must be my advancing age, or a fluke / glitch / bug. So I decided to take myself for a long overdue haircut. Which was about the funniest one I'd ever gotten. As I'm planning to grow my hair out again, the hairdresser only cut the front and back, not the sides :-)
Once my hair was done, I got a cup of coffee at koffie Onan. Then I walked back home, as it's a lovely Indian summer day. Now I'm going to get ready for my birthday party with my friends this evening!
Enjoy your Saturday!
Wow, I slept so well last night! I only woke up at 10.30 this morning. That almost never happens to me :-) Must be my advancing age, or a fluke / glitch / bug. So I decided to take myself for a long overdue haircut. Which was about the funniest one I'd ever gotten. As I'm planning to grow my hair out again, the hairdresser only cut the front and back, not the sides :-)
Once my hair was done, I got a cup of coffee at koffie Onan. Then I walked back home, as it's a lovely Indian summer day. Now I'm going to get ready for my birthday party with my friends this evening!
Enjoy your Saturday!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Fun with function
What made me happy today? Being able to function on 3 hours of sleep.
I don't know if you read it on my Facebook or Twitter today, but yesterday I tore a muscle in my shoulder / clavicle. Kind of painful. Because of this I only got 3 hours of sleep.
But looking on the bright side: I've always been a pretty bad sleeper, as I've mentioned before. And in situations like this, the fact that I'm used to functioning on little sleep really helps. Even though I've recently started sleeping better, I'm still able to function pretty much normal after a bad night. Add a cup (or two, now they fixed the coffee machine at work) of coffee or tea, and I'm good to go.
Here's hoping my shoulder / clavicle heals fast, because a torn muscle is rather painful. But hey, I'm staying positive!
I don't know if you read it on my Facebook or Twitter today, but yesterday I tore a muscle in my shoulder / clavicle. Kind of painful. Because of this I only got 3 hours of sleep.
But looking on the bright side: I've always been a pretty bad sleeper, as I've mentioned before. And in situations like this, the fact that I'm used to functioning on little sleep really helps. Even though I've recently started sleeping better, I'm still able to function pretty much normal after a bad night. Add a cup (or two, now they fixed the coffee machine at work) of coffee or tea, and I'm good to go.
Here's hoping my shoulder / clavicle heals fast, because a torn muscle is rather painful. But hey, I'm staying positive!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Sleepphones
What made me happy today? Sleepphones!
What are sleepphones? Well, basically it's a fleece headband with two flat speakers in it. It's made for use during sleep. You can hook it up to your pc, tablet, phone or MP3 player and listen to music or anything you like when in bed.
I did a blog a while ago about my issues with sleep, and potential solutions. You can read that one here: http://project365-oneyearofhappy.blogspot.be/2013/01/brain-experiment.html
During my experiment, I noticed that regular in-ear headphones are no good for me. They work if you sleep on your back. But if you tend to sleep on your side, like I do, or toss and turn a lot, like I do as well, they're not comfortable or staying put. So I turned to the internet again and came across this website: http://www.sleepphones.com/
The idea is so simple! Just put small, flat speakers in a headband and viola. Problem solved. It totally seemed to be the thing for me, so I decided to order a pair. Order was placed on Jan. 17th, shipped on Jan 18th and delivered on Jan 23rd. And that even though their website says that international shipping takes between one and four weeks! Major bonus points there. The package was a small envelop with bubble wrap on the inside.
The sleepphones I got are black (big surprise there). They smell like lavender and are super soft. The cord looked a bit funny to me at first, but as it turns out it's made from fabric for extra comfort. So I decided to try them out that same night. They're amazingly comfortable and as a bonus during these cold days, keep my ears nice and warm! At first, I was a bit worried about sleeping with a cord that close to my neck, but it exits the sleepphones from the back (or the front, depending on how you wear them). I had no problems with it so far.
I got a code for some free music with my order, so I decided to give it a try. They have some other songs on their website too, which anyone can download. I put the songs on my MP3 player, hooked it up to the headphones and went to bed.
The last two nights have been the nights I slept best in several months. Last night I even managed to get 7 straight hours of sleep. That's rare for me. I am very happy.
Conclusion: I love the sleepphones! If you suffer from insomnia, a noisy neighbourhood, or a partner that snores, these might be a good solution for you.
What are sleepphones? Well, basically it's a fleece headband with two flat speakers in it. It's made for use during sleep. You can hook it up to your pc, tablet, phone or MP3 player and listen to music or anything you like when in bed.
I did a blog a while ago about my issues with sleep, and potential solutions. You can read that one here: http://project365-oneyearofhappy.blogspot.be/2013/01/brain-experiment.html
During my experiment, I noticed that regular in-ear headphones are no good for me. They work if you sleep on your back. But if you tend to sleep on your side, like I do, or toss and turn a lot, like I do as well, they're not comfortable or staying put. So I turned to the internet again and came across this website: http://www.sleepphones.com/
The idea is so simple! Just put small, flat speakers in a headband and viola. Problem solved. It totally seemed to be the thing for me, so I decided to order a pair. Order was placed on Jan. 17th, shipped on Jan 18th and delivered on Jan 23rd. And that even though their website says that international shipping takes between one and four weeks! Major bonus points there. The package was a small envelop with bubble wrap on the inside.
The sleepphones I got are black (big surprise there). They smell like lavender and are super soft. The cord looked a bit funny to me at first, but as it turns out it's made from fabric for extra comfort. So I decided to try them out that same night. They're amazingly comfortable and as a bonus during these cold days, keep my ears nice and warm! At first, I was a bit worried about sleeping with a cord that close to my neck, but it exits the sleepphones from the back (or the front, depending on how you wear them). I had no problems with it so far.
I got a code for some free music with my order, so I decided to give it a try. They have some other songs on their website too, which anyone can download. I put the songs on my MP3 player, hooked it up to the headphones and went to bed.
The last two nights have been the nights I slept best in several months. Last night I even managed to get 7 straight hours of sleep. That's rare for me. I am very happy.
Conclusion: I love the sleepphones! If you suffer from insomnia, a noisy neighbourhood, or a partner that snores, these might be a good solution for you.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Brain experiment
What made me happy today? A successful experiment on my own brain!
In order to get to my point, I first need to give you two pieces of background information.
Backstory 1: I'm a nurse, specialised in neurology. I've worked in a hospital for 4.5 years, and now work in clinical research. I like science, and will do the occasional experiment on myself. Nothing dangerous of course :-)
Backstory 2: for as long as I can remember I've been a pretty bad sleeper. I have days when I sleep ok but I also have days when I am plagued by insomnia.
Combine backstory 1 with backstory 2 and you'll sense where I'm going with this :-)
Over the years I have tried a lot of things that are said to help with insomnia. From the simple 'hot milk' to the 'get out of bed, do something different and go back to bed when tired'. None of those things ever seemed to work consistently. Warm milk before bed is a bad idea for me, it upsets my stomach. Getting out of bed does not help either, I'm tired any way... I refuse to take sleeping pills. I know my body, and I know I would be all fuzzy during the next day. Which I do not want.
So over the years I have developed several coping strategies for my bouts of insomnia. But there are occasions when nothing seems to help, or seems to be able to get me to sleep. That's when I decided it was time to start doing some experiments on my own brain.
The leading two causes of my insomnia usually are: ambient noises (old building, the pipes and central heating tend to be a bit noisy) and my own brain.
Now for the noise, there's a simple solution: earplugs. They'll help, but I can't use them every night because they'll irritate my ears.
For my brain that keeps on thinking about, well, everything when I'm in bed, it was a bit harder to find a solution. But after digging around in my brain and on the internet I think I finally may have found a solution: white noise and other soundscapes. They cancel out some or all of the background noise, and seem to give my brain something to focus on, other than thinking about so much stuff. I even found some soundscapes on Youtube that are said to promote sleep.
So far, the results seem good! I've had a very good night's sleep last night and the nights before were pretty ok too. I feel rather well rested at the moment so it might be working. Here's hoping!
Yes, I am perfectly aware that 1 person is not a valuable test group, but I'm only experimenting with what works for me and my insomnia.
Also, I know this post is up a lot earlier than usual, but it's snowing very hard and I have some social obligations this afternoon :-)
In order to get to my point, I first need to give you two pieces of background information.
Backstory 1: I'm a nurse, specialised in neurology. I've worked in a hospital for 4.5 years, and now work in clinical research. I like science, and will do the occasional experiment on myself. Nothing dangerous of course :-)
Backstory 2: for as long as I can remember I've been a pretty bad sleeper. I have days when I sleep ok but I also have days when I am plagued by insomnia.
Combine backstory 1 with backstory 2 and you'll sense where I'm going with this :-)
Over the years I have tried a lot of things that are said to help with insomnia. From the simple 'hot milk' to the 'get out of bed, do something different and go back to bed when tired'. None of those things ever seemed to work consistently. Warm milk before bed is a bad idea for me, it upsets my stomach. Getting out of bed does not help either, I'm tired any way... I refuse to take sleeping pills. I know my body, and I know I would be all fuzzy during the next day. Which I do not want.
So over the years I have developed several coping strategies for my bouts of insomnia. But there are occasions when nothing seems to help, or seems to be able to get me to sleep. That's when I decided it was time to start doing some experiments on my own brain.
The leading two causes of my insomnia usually are: ambient noises (old building, the pipes and central heating tend to be a bit noisy) and my own brain.
Now for the noise, there's a simple solution: earplugs. They'll help, but I can't use them every night because they'll irritate my ears.
For my brain that keeps on thinking about, well, everything when I'm in bed, it was a bit harder to find a solution. But after digging around in my brain and on the internet I think I finally may have found a solution: white noise and other soundscapes. They cancel out some or all of the background noise, and seem to give my brain something to focus on, other than thinking about so much stuff. I even found some soundscapes on Youtube that are said to promote sleep.
So far, the results seem good! I've had a very good night's sleep last night and the nights before were pretty ok too. I feel rather well rested at the moment so it might be working. Here's hoping!
Yes, I am perfectly aware that 1 person is not a valuable test group, but I'm only experimenting with what works for me and my insomnia.
Also, I know this post is up a lot earlier than usual, but it's snowing very hard and I have some social obligations this afternoon :-)
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