According to my fitbit watch I got 1 hour and 58 minutes of sleep last night. I don't think that was completely accurate, but let's just say I'm not exactly well-rested today. Yet, I can say, what kept me awake most was thoughts of this blog project; of finding solutions and strategies, rather than just fuming and fussing.
I had nowhere to go today, so I pursued putting my house in order. After a career in libraries I have really good organization skills--you should see my color-coded closet, organized files and my tidy drawers. Ah, if only I was the complete package. Being good at organization, yes; being good at staying organized, not necessarily so.
I like to start projects more than I like to finish them; but today I finished some projects and made steps to finish others. Regaining control of the things I actually can control quiets the fears just a little bit.
I realized that the election results hit me like a terrifying medical diagnosis might have. After the shock subsides you have to decide like both Andy and Red did in the Shawshank Redemption to "get busy living or get busy dying." I like the idea of living; and living my best life while I'm at it. Creating clean, uncluttered space in your environment is something positive I can do to combat despair and make space for calmness.
But I didn't really plan on writing about cathartic cleaning today. Some of what kept me awake last night was thinking about the importance of sleep. Ironic, huh?
My bed has always felt like a sanctuary, a safe place, just as long as I am completely under the covers, with only my nose and the top of my head exposed. I still sleep that way, even on hot summer nights.
That habit started when I was about 10 years old. We lived in a small 6-room farmhouse--you came in through an entry room with a wringer washer, electric dryer and chest freezer past where my dad's work clothes were hung into a small kitchen. There was a bathroom off the kitchen, with a toilet that was added when I was about eight. The other half of the house had a living room and dining room and there were two bedrooms upstairs; maybe 800 square feet total. I often wondered how the family of eight who had lived there before us had managed.
To get to the bedrooms with their slanted eaves, you had to go back out to the entry and up a narrow enclosed stairway with a dim bulb at the top. One night, my usually over-protective mom let me watch a horror movie from 1930's. It left me utterly terrified, but I'm not sure she ever knew that. Perhaps she approved because the stars were big name actors, or she had other chores to attend to and didn't even watch it with me.
The movie was called Devil-Doll and it starred Lionel Barrymore (who played the dastardly Mr. Potter in the Christmas classic, "It's a Wonderful Life") and Maureen O'Sullivan (who had played Jane in the Tarzan movies with Johnny Weismuller.) There was a mad scientist, a revenge plot and people shrunk to the size of dolls, not that different from my 2-foot tall wedding dolls that were treasured possessions. These "dolls" were sent to kill enemies in their homes while they slept. When the movie was over, I had to get upstairs and go to bed before my parents--how fast could I negotiate that dark and treacherous stairway to the safety of my bed? Pretty darn fast! The stairway was scary at night for years, but luckily, my bed was always safe (proper cover arrangement mandatory of course.)
At this moment the bedroom is tidy, I replaced a powerstrip that had a brightly lighted switch for one that didn't glow and I'm going to resolve to keep this room as a sanctuary spot where sleep will be safe and restorative and commit to practice better sleep routines.
Step 5: Create a sanctuary space for safe and comfortable sleep
There are lots of strategies to help with sleep
- Create a consistent schedule
- Avoid caffeine and other stimulants close to bedtime
- Dark and cool promotes better sleep
- Avoid electronics before bed
- Bedtime rituals can prepare your body for sleep
- Reading
- Meditating or other spiritual practices
- Taking a bath
- Aromatherapy
- Replace your mattress if needed or add a comfy mattress pad
- Get a sleep test if snoring or sleep apnea may be a problem
- Don't lie in bed if you can't sleep for 20 minutes or more, but get up and do a relaxing activity
- Try the 10-3-2-1-0 formula
Pleasant dreams!
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