The Sleep Solution {A Book a Day 2}
I’ve mentioned this book before, but I’m recommending it again this month because it’s had such a positive effect on my sleep.
My #1 takeaway and helpful tip from The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It by W. Chris Winter is this:
If you have trouble sleeping, remember: Never try to sleep.
Just rest.
“It’s important to remember that resting even without sleeping is good for you too. You’re not wasting your time if you are lying in bed and not sleeping.”
This eases my sleep anxiety.
It counters the media noise that I constantly hear that if you’re not getting a solid 8 hours of sleep every night, you’re going to fall apart.
So even though I’d rather not be awake at 2 a.m., I now have a more realistic perspective that it’s not the worst thing in the world.
“Nobody dies from insomnia. You’re fine. You are more likely to die of too much sleep than of insomnia. Stop worrying about it so much.”
And that actually helps me get a better night’s sleep.
In addition to redefining what it means to get a good night’s sleep, I’ve made other changes to promote better sleep hygiene. After 21 years in our house, we put up blackout curtains in our bedroom (and they work!). We also bought a new mattress (but I actually miss our old mattress, so I’m unsure about this tactic). I cleaned off the top of my dresser and now the bedroom looks much neater.
Sweet dreams.
More Tips and Quotes from The Sleep Solution
- Avoid looking at the clock during the night.
- Have a consistent bedtime and wake time.
- Keep your room as dark and cold as possible.
~ * ~
“Sleep is not the absence of wakefulness. In other words, sleep is not a light switch in your brain that is either on or off. Your body is doing amazing things at night while you sleep.”
~ * ~
“For many people who struggle with their sleep, you can almost think of their nightly angst as a mini-PTSD episode….Don’t make your sleep disturbances a defining characteristic in your life. The hour or two it takes you to fall asleep is not that big of a deal. Believe this. Free yourself.”
How is your sleep? Do you sleep soundly through the night? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Read more:
You are on Day #2 of the series, A Book a Day {Nonfiction Favorites}.
Each day of February 2023 I’ll be recommending one book a day from my favorite nonfiction books.
The Table of Contents for all 28 books is here, updated daily.
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Previous:
“The Antropocene Reviewed” {Book 1}
Next:
“Do the Work” {Book 3}
I don’t have insomnia all the time, but I have had bouts of it. The thought that I am still resting, even if I am not sleeping, was a big help to me, too. The worst thing is to fret about not being able to get to sleep.
Sometimes pinballing thoughts keep me awake, so actively thinking about something else helps. Sometimes I pray or turn on soft music. Sometimes I set a timer on my audiobook and listen. Even if I fall asleep while listening, I can backtrack to what I last remember hearing.
Even without insomnia, though, I rarely sleep more than four hours at a stretch. I usually get up once or twice in the night to use the restroom. Sometimes I pray as I lie back down that I’ll be able to go back to sleep quickly.
I consider myself so fortunate to have little trouble falling and staying asleep, although I will take melatonin some evenings. And maybe it’s my age, but I always need to get up at some point and use the bathroom. The best part about that is it doesn’t take me long to go back to sleep.
Sweet dreams, Lisa!
On those nights when I can’t get to sleep, or wake up and can’t get BACK to sleep, I will often recite scripture in my head. Sometimes I wake up and realize I never finished the passage. / That statement about the value of just resting echos what my mother used to say. She would love to know that a sleep-expert corroborated her theory! Thank you, Lisa!
Unfortunately with Fibromylgia comes sleep disturbances, sounds like a good book to get more sleep strategies Lisa.
Blessings, Jennifer
Ah! I love the idea that we can rest instead of sleeping. I tend to do that for about half hour most afternoons! I’m a light sleeper and am easily disturbed and find it hard to fall back to sleep when I am. My husband, on the other hand, can fall asleep in seconds and then sleeps really soundly! It’s a blessing, I think!
I can see how stressing about sleep can make us sleep less! Many years ago, when working as a manager, and relaying to one of the dentist that I’d been up since 2am, she told me that just lying in bed resting, even though unable to sleep, is still rest. Just knowing that helped me have the energy to get on with my day! There are times when my sleep is disrupted, and sometimes I’ll put on a Spotify Sleep playlist to help get back to sleep. Other times I count Mississippis, and make my mind picture the Mississippi river. It really is getting control of my runaway mind that helps me to get to rest state again.
Some of those quotes and ideas are so helpful! And I think will help me not to worry when I have trouble sleeping (which has happened much more frequently in the last little bit). I can just rest. Thank you for that!
Love the quotes. They too made me giggle, then relax with relief. I go to sleep easily but seem to wake up about two hours later, then awake off and on for awhile, then sleep soundly till morning. I pray, sometimes I read. To be honest, I pick up the phone even though I know I shouldn’t. sometimes I walk the house. I do feel rested but it has been a long time I slept a night fully through.
This sounds like an interesting book. I generally sleep ok but occasionally have periods when I don’t, and I agree that at those times sometimes the anxiety about not being able to sleep can make it worse. These quotes are reassuring.
Thank you for recommending this book. My husband has terrible insomnia, and I will show this to him. Visiting from the Hearth and Soul link party!