There's not really much to say about it, it's one of the greatest pleasures of the day, but it can be a struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep for some of us, but on this post we'll explore topics such as insomnia, sleeping aids, and making a healthy wind down routine.
Now, before you run away, I just want to remind you that this isn't a sleep scientist talking to you about this, but it's another teen; who also occasionally is kept up at night by the stress of the school day or being unable to sleep from those cups of coffee drank to stay awake -we'll talk about caffeine in later posts- so just stay with me and keep in mind that I know the struggles of not being able to sleep - BELIEVE ME YOU. But this is scientifically proven information that had helped a lot with lots of people I've given this information to. After this, I hope you'll be able to have a better night of sleep.
Insomnia
Oh insomnia, our good old struggle. Before going into combatting insomnia, let's learn more about it and what causes it.
I cannot stress this enough.
Insomnia is not your fault.
All insomniacs have heard “just go to sleep” from someone who doesn’t understand the problem. It is not your fault you have insomnia and blaming yourself will only make it worse.
There are some causes for insomnia though. Most of the time it is a stress related thing, whether it be a geography test the next day, or a presentation that you're memorizing that you don't really want to give; or the worry about not getting sleep is the very thing that keeps you up at night. Sometimes, the insomnia is temporary because the cause is something that can be solved, for example you could revise the information or create notecards so you can refer to them if your memory fails.
Occasionally, insomnia can be caused by a shift in your body's biological clock, like jetlag from a long trip and mess up your sleep schedule. But normally, exhaustion catches up with us and we can go back to sleep. But if it doesn't, or if you've gotten into habits that keep you awake like being on your phone right before bed, it can lead to sleep deprivation. This is a lot more serious than insomnia, which is one of the most common sleep disorders in the world.
There was an experiment done by a 17 year old young man named Randy Gardner in 1963; he broke a world record and set a new one in the process. The link to a synopses of the experiment and some of the things that occurred after the first few days were- not ideal.
So let's just say, don't try this at home, you'll probably regret it.
But, what if I have insomnia, and how do I deal with it?
Don't worry, if you can't sleep or have insomnia, it's not the end of the world. *phew*
There are some ways to combat insomnia, the higher they are on the list, the more I -and most sleep scientists and therapists and psychologists- recommend them.
journaling
meditation
an outlet for your anxieties, such as speaking to a family member or trusted friend.
sleeping aids
Ok, so even though I put sleeping aids on the list, I don't 100% recommend them. Yes they're a temporary fix to insomnia, but we should be cautious that we don't rely on them daily. There's a lovely series on Netflix called "Headspace: Guide to sleep" and there's an episode called 'The facts about sleeping pills.' -please watch that and do thorough research before purchasing sleeping aids or taking any sedatives unless informed to do so by a doctor- and I highly recommend watching both the show and this specific episode, also, at the end of every episode it also has a guided meditation to help you go to sleep.
Journaling
There are many different outlooks on journaling, some say it's good because:
it's an outlet where you can creatively express yourself
it can help with improving your mood
it encourages space with negative thoughts
it's a way to process emotions
it helps with your journey of self-discovery
it tracks progress
However others don't view it as the best thing for a few reasons:
it's hard to start actually writing
if you note down negative things as a way of dealing with them it may not help but create an obsession over something unpleasant
it can be hard to confront emotions at times, and noting them down on a page could be even harder
After trying to get in the habit of journaling -MULTIPLE TIMES- I admit; it isn’t easy to start journaling. It can feel like work, and the expectation of writing every day may put some people off. But the positive effects of journaling can be felt even if it’s not done daily. Here's a link to a website to tell you how you can start:
What about meditation? And how do I do it?
There are multiple apps that help with meditation and mood-tracking. These are some that have helped with their varieties of useful features.
Headspace (guided meditations)
Calm (guided meditation)
Presently (gratitude)
Evolve (guided meditation)
DailyBean (mood tracking and log)
Headspace is something I've mentioned a few times before because I think it's very useful but you do have to pay if you want access to all of the features like with Calm.
A lot of these have some sleep audios as well so you can do the meditations first to wind down and then use the sleep sounds while you catch some z's. Like on Headspace there are sleepcasts, which last about 45-55 minutes.
Along with taking these into consideration, I recommend putting your phone in another room and whipping out that old-school alarm clock to wake you up. WAIT. I hear your disappointment, for some of us, going on our phone before bed has become a part of our routine-including 4 months ago me. But instead of that, whip out a book and read for 20 minutes or more before bed-and make your English teacher happy.
So one thing that I hope you take away from this post -if you're still awake that is- PLEASE SLEEP. It's when your body rejuvenates, studies have shown that getting more sleep can improve mental health, reduce chances of obesity in later life, improve memory, and help with getting better grades. I hope you can use some of these tips to combat the thieves of a good night sleep, and see you next time.
-thestudentsblogger
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