We’ve all had nights when we know we need to be asleep but the mind and body need a little coaxing. I have a few tricks that have worked well for me over the years (if I haven’t interfered too much with sleep by my caffeine habit or erratic sleeping schedule during my residency years). Now that I’m adulting so much better now, I tend to keep a consistent bed time. But we all need a little help from time to time. So I hope this helps when you need it.
- Make sure you and your room are CLEAN & COOL. Did you ever feel tempted to curl up and go to sleep in a cold classroom? Didn’t I see you nodding in that meeting when the thermostat was set to Antarctica? Our bodies use cooler temps as a signal to sleep and increase the circulating melatonin which helps us drift off to dream land.
- LIGHTS out! This means that annoying little light on the TV and phone as well. Getting the room totally dark also signals your body that it’s time to go to sleep. Blue light emitted from electronic devices is the worst. If you can, charge those items overnight in another room. Watching TV or working on your tablet to fall asleep are NOT good ideas if you want to doze off anytime soon.
- WARM your feet and legs. This is MY FAVORITE thing to do to go to sleep. I’m almost embarrassed at how fast I drift off when I get into bed and my warming blanket is on. Almost. I’ve got to get my beauty rest. Unlike Beyoncé, I don’t wake up like this.
- Listen to RELAXING SOUNDS. For me this is soft rain and thunderstorms. For my husband, it’s absolute silence. So I use wireless headphones to listen to my relaxing sounds. It relaxes me every time.
- MILK does a body good. I remember when I was on-call in residency, a great night was patients resting well, happy nurses and a bottle of chocolate milk ready for me when I hit the bed after rounding at 1 am. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, oh man it was great! To this day milk, either warm or cold, gets the sleep juices going. I often mix a splash of flavored creamer in my milk if I want a different flavor.
- Maybe have some MELATONIN. If none of the above measures have worked in an hour, I start bringing in reinforcements with medication. Melatonin gummies are one of my go-to meds to induce sleep. I just keep them out of reach of children and out of the Texas sun where my last bottle became one giant melatonin gummy (singular) and I had to dispose of the whole thing.
- Bring in the BENADRYL. I usually keep diphenhydramine (Benadryl) tablets stocked in my house. I use them for allergies sometimes, but more often I use the medication for sleep. One 25 mg tablet works fine, but adults can take up to 50 mg if necessary. It’s never been necessary for me.
If the above measures don’t work to get you to sleep, make sure that you aren’t sabotaging your efforts by inducing wakefulness with your daily activities (caffeine, late exercise, blue lights of wakefulness, etc). Speak with your doctor if insomnia does not respond to conservative measures or if the insomnia is interfering with wakefulness during the day.
I hope these tips help you take control of your sleep.
Be well.
- Dr. A
