Sleeping troubles

*I go to bed, it's not too late and I'm pretty happy with myself. It is 10pm. The hours go by as I plan my day for tomorrow in my head, think of what superpower I would want and shift my feet from inside to outside the blanket as I fluctuate from freezing to boiling. The night goes on and on and before I know it, it is morning. *

It is this continuous cycle of thinking and my buzzing brain that have kept me up early into the morning hours and even for the whole night. My sleep struggles are starting to wear me down. I feel a bit crazed and sleep deprived during the day and it is something I feel could get out of hand.

As difficult as I am finding getting adequate sleep, I am not alone. The Sleep Health Foundation estimate that 60 percent of Australians experience regular sleeping difficulty (3 times or more every week). Establishing good sleeping habits and a regular sleep schedule are essential for good mental and physical health.

As much as I am aware of this and as helpful and researched many tips are, I still struggle. Breathing and a cup of tea just do not seem to do it for me and no matter how hard I try, when my body doesn’t want to sleep it doesn't. One tip I’ve read is that you shouldn’t' fight this absence of sleepiness and fatigue but embrace it. If breathing and a warm cup of tea are not calming you down and your mind is still racing try getting up and going for a quiet walk, or reading a book in soft light conditions or something mundane and boring such as drawing a cartoon. For me this is challenging because it can feel wrong. It feels like I’m doing the opposite to what is good for me. However, the way I’m trying to look at it is it's better to waste an hour doing a gentle activity to put you to sleep then to spend a whole night tossing and turning to no avail. It is about trial and error to find your sleep patterns and schedule and I am still in the error phase, but onwards and upwards!

For more information on sleep health, visit the University of Adelaide Wellbeing Hub.