In middle school and sometimes in high school, falling asleep was not easy for me. While my sister could go upstairs, climb into bed, and be asleep in no time, I’d stare at the ceiling for a good thirty minutes to an hour before finally nodding off.
I tried everything: Warm milk, trying not to exercise right before bed (although my soccer coach wasn’t about to change our 7pm practices just for my sleep problems!), counting sheep, lavender on my pillow, etc. etc. etc.
Thankfully, I don’t seem to have the problem anymore. Perhaps it was just a teen-hormone thing; maybe it was due to the fact that I didn’t keep a similar schedule on weekends. Whatever the case, I’m glad to finally be like my sister and doze off within 10-15 minutes of “lights out.”
Today’s post is not about food, unlike the My Morning Routine post.
Here’s how my nighttime routine goes down:
1. Get into comfy pjs
2. Brush teeth, etc.
3. Climb into bed with Killer Jigsaw Sudoku.
I highly recommend jigsaw sudoku. It’s a really fun challenge (especially the diabolical ones). And focusing on numbers is a good way to quiet my thoughts and lull me to sleep. Halfway through a puzzle, my eyes can hardly stay open.
Lazy Henry has no problem falling asleep.
What’s his secret?? Henry’s not sharing.
If I really can’t get to sleep, I’ll take tylenol pm as a last resort. I know it’s not good to take it all th time, but once in a while can’t hurt.
I love your posts because they’re always so informative and full of great tips. How do you know so much for such a young girl?!
Happy Friday, Katie 🙂
Hahaha don’t drink TOO much tea before bed 😉
Reading by the fireplace knocks me our in ten minutes. I think it’s the blanket, the warm fire, and the soft light that do it.
Summertime is another story. When the sun is shining from 4 AM to 11 PM, blackout curtains are the only refuge.
I have trouble sleeping sometimes…it happens off and on. I try not to go to bed until I’m really tired, otherwise I just lay there thinking about what I have to do the next day. It really helps when I block my thoughts and breathe deeply.
loooooove tea! and that puppy. so cute.
no matter what i do to fall asleep, my upstairs neighbors are guaranteed to get up at 3 am and make a huge racket! i think they have a boxing kangaroo up there, a la bugs bunny cartoons.
That sudoku looks awesome.
As a kid I used to have reocurring nightmares about giants eating my house (I know..) so I would do everything I could to stay up as long as I could to prevent the dreams. Ever since, I’ve had trouble falling asleep. I’ve even experienced periods of day-night reversal (and then I watch House where that’s a symptom of a patient dying of liver failure and I start to freak out and wonder if I’m okay…House is so bad for your health) but I’m finally getting my sleep schedule under control. Except last night – coulda used these tips then!
My nighttime routine – I change into sweats, I do a sweep down of the kitchen, do all the bathroom things like face and teeth and whatever else, then make a cup of tea (usually chamomile) and get into bed. I need sound when I sleep so usually I’ll pick something on Hulu that I’ve seen a hundred times (like House…which is probably why I try to self-diagnose a hundred times a day)…
Katie I love these posts of yours. So smart and cute.
I left this on the other link too but I think EVERYONE should try my favorite tea so I am going to put it here too
http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/detail.html/herbal-teas/honey-vanilla-chamomile
I am telling you YUM!