Sleep: A Technique to Try

If I toss and turn at night, Cliff sometimes says, “I can hear your brain working.”

Wow, those must be pretty good ears.

Then he adds, “Just stop thinking and go to sleep.”

STOP THINKING??

Sometimes, it’s big thinking:  This is the first time I’ve  had a recall on a mammogram.  What exactly did the nurse say again?

Sometimes, it’s little thinking:  Should I top the banana pudding with whipped cream or meringue?

Sometimes, it’s grumpy thinking: With a broken furnace and a crown to be drilled, tomorrow is not going to be great day.

Sometimes,it’s happy thinking:  Should I get the old toys down from the attic now or wait until the baby is a little older?

But NO THINKING

In the middle of the night?

Not easy.  No sir.

In the last few months, I’ve been experimenting with a form of no thinking.

I call it “calm thinking,” for want of a more creative term.

My new rule is I have to think calm, nighttime thoughts.

It seems to be working, some of the time at least.  I mostly focus on gratitude– I’m in a nice bed, pleasant covers, stars are shining in the sky, goodnight moon- that sort of thing.

Give calm thinking  a try. I’d love to know if it works for you!

PS: And it may be that calm thinking is actually working because my wide-awake menopausal hormones have calmed down a bit.

Good news for those of you in the middle of the roller coaster ride. There’s less rattle and clatter at the end.

The photo is a BIG headline from the Durham Herald to get fans thinking about the upcoming Duke and Carolina basketball season. Go Blue Devils!

 

The Estroven Good Sleep Challenge

The nightgown above was mine!  My mom saved it all these years.

And when I wore it, I bet anything I slept tight all night long. I used to pile the bed high with my dolls and animals, and go sailing off to dreamland.

And remember how we slept as teenagers!  Now that’s what I call SLEEPING.

Even in my early married years, I could sleep and so could Cliff.  Once, when we had a house guest, we slept until noon. She was up much earlier than we were, and I’m realizing now how rude that was  (Sorry, Evelyn).

But when perimenopause inched my way, I started to wake up in the middle of the night. I finally figured out I might as well just get up. I did projects like cleaning out toy boxes or writing Christmas cards.  But it sure was cold in this old house on some of those Christmas card nights. After about two hours, I could finally fall asleep again.

Middle of the night waking changed to something I find even more annoying:  early morning waking. The rooster in my brain goes off, and cock-a-doodle-do, I’m awake without a farmer’s prayer of going back to sleep again. My mind spins like the whirligig on my back porch. I throw off the covers and give up. And then I get up.

So many women have trouble sleeping, thanks to the hormonal issues of perimenopause and menopause. Mine has improved some since The Great Pause set in, but I do still have issues with early morning waking.

A few months ago, Estroven approached me, inviting me to participate as a blogger in their Good Sleep Challenge. I’ll be taking Estroven Nightime and blogging about my experience on the Estroven site. Estroven is inviting others to sign up for the challenge.  Check it out here (and find a great coupon)!!

To thank me for participating, Estroven is sending me to BlogHer 2012 in NYC in August.  I hope to meet up with other menopause/midlife bloggers there as well as gather up tips to improve my blog.  Let me know if you’re planning on attending!

Back to sleeping troubles. What about you?  Do you sleep like a little girl or have the winds of menopause blown the sandman far, far away?

Photo: The nightgown belonged to me, but the Mary Had a Little Lamb clothes hanger brightened my mom’s closet in the 1920’s.