The Snacking Sage

We all do it. Sleeping that is. Unless you’re undead or made of stone or something. And seeing as you are probably neither of those, I’m writing this. These days we live in some rather unnatural arrangements, much of which is not condusive to a good night’s sleep. It’s no wonder insomnia is so widespread.

Picture waking up in the morning. The sun has long since risen- yet The room is dim and smells of stale air. The alarm is blaring in your ear. Oh, Go away! There’s something foggy about your mind. Your body doesn’t want to respond. Are you just lazy? Maybe a little. But why should that stop you from getting up? I think there is something fundamentally wrong with this picture.

Why am I talking about waking up when you want to get to sleep? Well, if you spend all morning in bed then you’ll find it harder to sleep in the evenings. The body responds to light by producing or suppressing the production of certain chemicals in the brain. What’s relevant here is Melatonin. It governs our circadian rhythm, which is just a fancy way of saying our wake-sleep cycle.

Don’t close the blinds all the way in your bedroom! Ever! Leave a little room for the light

to peek throughIt should look more like this picture (Not mine) We also spend most of our time in artificial light, which only makes this problem even worse!

For some reason, People didn’t bother to make them anything like sunlight.

So, First things first: Blue light inhibits Melatonin Production. This makes us stay awake. Literally every computer or device seems to be flooded with it. The screen I’m using I’ve turned the blue down 20% but you wouldn’t even know! Companies have started making nighttime

modes recently to address this. Windows 10 has a night light feature. Apple has Night shift, I’m not sure about the rest. This is only one aspect of the problem, but it is important.

Actually, Electronics in general are disruptive to sleep. (Screens especially!) But I would recommend minimizing their presence in the bedroom. You also should make sure you exercise at least once a day. It doesn’t have to be strenuous, Maybe a 5 minute walk? Or some starjumps? Otherwise it’s no wonder we are restless in bed! our bodies want to be used! Up to you.

How do you spend your evenings? I know I’ve been guilty of playing some dumb video game well after I should be, and then scurrying off to bed in a hurry. And I can’t sleep. Have you ever seen a cat go to sleep? You know what? have a video:

Imagine if they just plopped themselves down as soon as then got there? It would be just… wrong? That’s what we often do as people. We get distracted watching yet another video, or go on a wiki walk or browse stuff on pintrest and suddenly realise it’s getting really late.

So we shut it all off, and make a beeline for bed. We jump into our pajamas, pull ourselves under the covers, and wriggle. And wriggle some more. People find what cats do hilarious. They don’t seem to realize it all serves a purpose. Not only are they softening the surface, they are also working tension out of their body and mind. We need to wind down. It’s important. Most of us are chronically tired, and we essencially overclock our bodies and our minds to get through the day. You need to turn it off.

I’ve often found myself “switching gears” and actually collapsing to the floor! The only thing holding my body up was willpower. It takes time. Everything i just said will take a while to master. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

Funny thing about relaxing is that you can’t force it. So how the heck do you wind down? Personally? I “bum around” for about 15 minutes. I might stare at the mirror, fiddle with a pen, Admire my belongings, fold some clothes up. Write in my diary, or read a book. It doesn’t really matter what it is. As long as it doesn’t involve a screen or stress you out.

You can’t force it though. Insomnia is a real pain in the ass. One last thing: If you are feeling wide awake and restless in bed, Just get up and do something for a bit! it’s not going to help just lying there. Anyway, If I give you any more information you’ll probably burst, so I think I’ll stop here.

But to surmise:

• Don’t close the blinds all the way. Let some light through! You won’t need your alarm this way either.

• Don’t Use your phone in bed

• minimize electronics in the bedroom

• Make sure you mattress is supportive enough. (if you have back pain in the morning it isn’t)

• A lighter covering like a blanket instead of a duna will make it easier to get up.

And if none of that works and you’re fed up, You could try heading outside and standing barefoot for a few minutes on the grass. Much like the problem with artificial lights, we are always insulated from the ground. it doesn’t do us much good. There are quite a few studies on the subject. Here is one.

I hope this has been helpful to you. Thanks for reading.