Counting Sheep To Go To Sleep - Tips On How To Get a Good Night’s Rest
“Say you’ll see me again even if it’s just in your wildest dreams,”
It happened. Another night of tossing and turning. Thoughts flashing like thunder on a cold, windy day. “What brought this on?”, you think to yourself. “I wasn't particularly worried about anything last night”. But your mind didn't care. It was time to experience darkness yet again.
You remember you read an article somewhere saying you shouldn't grab your phone, so you end up staring at the ceiling. In the background, you hear some noise coming from the streets. Strangers, coming out of a local pub. “I could've stayed out this late; I won't get much sleep anymore anyway.”
You try not to focus too much on the clock. But sometimes, you lose control and can't stop yourself from looking at it. 2am…3am...4am... you're still wide awake.
The curtains are closed but even they can’t stop you from noticing the rays of early morning sunlight shining through. Now that it’s the day, the worries you had during the night seem to disappear, and you finally doze off. You doze off to a world where everything is all right. Your own little happy place that only appears to you in your wildest, wildest dreams.
Two hours later, that phone you weren’t supposed to touch finds you. It’s time to start your day and hope for not another sleepless night.
I've never been someone who could easily sleep through the night. I feel pure envy for the people that can. But if you've ever experienced one of these nights, I sympathize. They really are the worst. And even though sometimes these nights are inevitable, I thought I might share some tips that have worked for me over the years. Full disclosure, since everyone is different, some of these might work o,r maybe none of them. But hey, at least there's no harm in trying, right?
The first thing I have to say that really helped me is doing yoga before bed. It might be a bit on the nose, but I felt that focusing on your body really helps tune out everything else. I have to be honest, though, and say that I have the attention span of a goldfish, so I do 10 minutes of evening yoga by following a video on Youtube. So I'm definitely not some yoga expert, but as long as it helps me sleep, I'm down.
Another one of my (not so secret) remedies for helping me fall asleep is Sleepy body lotion from Lush. It has a lavender scent, and for some reason, it calms me down. You might have to experience it to believe it, but it really works.
Headspace is also a great way to calm your mind after a long day. Just don't Google the man who recorded the meditation sessions. Trust me; it’s better to have an imaginative man telling you to relax instead of a “real one.”
Last but not least. And to be fair, this is something so simple, but I never wanted to invest money in this. Two years later, I moved to an apartment above a bar (yes, great idea for someone who is a light sleeper). I think I just had too much faith in the fact that people wouldn’t scream at the top of their lungs while drinking beer at 10 PM nights, but I was mistaken. As I have experienced, people will always find a reason to scream. ANYWAY, the best purchase I made back in 2019 is hands-down - custom earplugs. You see, my ears are too small to fit regular ones, so I could never wear them. But now when I wear them I can focus on my breathing, even count some sheep, without hearing someone yell “Stijn!!! My bike is over here”. Worth every penny.
Having a good night's rest is important. For your body but also for your mental health. And even though sometimes the sheep count is high, experiencing our wildest dreams is priceless.
