zzzzz...

There was a time, in the not too distant past, when I would self medicate with a shot of Nyquil before bed. It was impossible for me to quiet the thoughts racing in my head each night when I tried to go to sleep. The soft fuzzy feeling of Nyquil was just the thing I needed to doze off. Until it didn't work anymore.

I tried Ambien, but it kind of freaked me out. I didn't like the idea of needing a prescription to sleep at night. Additionally, I was not able to guarantee that I would have the necessary 7hrs per night of sleep to avoid the hallucinations and crazy feeling that go hand in hand w the Ambien induced sleep.

I am happy to report that these problems are now in my past. And I looooooove sleeping.

Here's some tips to help you recover your right for a good night's sleep:

Eat early and try to make dinner your smallest meal.-- Your body works hard to process what you put in it. You want it to be able to relax and rejuvenate while you are sleeping. Give it the time it needs to do its work before heading to bed. Eat a good breakfast and lunch, you don't need as much energy in the evening after dinner. Give yourself the time to wind down.

Turn down the lights.-- Give yourself time before you try to sleep for your body to know that it is night time. In our modern age where it can be as bright as day 24-7 it can be hard on your internal clock. When the lights go down you release the melatonin that tells your body it's time to sleep. How can you expect your body to know it's time to sleep if you don't let it get the message. It especially helps if you can make this happen at the same time every day.

Take time for yourself and treat yourself well.-- Get the exercise, relaxation, meditation, that you need to keep your mind and body healthy. Drink water, eat whole foods.

Your body needs this time to relax and enjoy the state of lowered blood pressure and rejuvenation. This will help you to reduce your risk for high blood pressure, and boost your immunity, as well as give your body a chance to protect itself from other ailments such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Keep in mind, there are certain things we all crave (food, water, intimacy, sleep) and when one is out of balance we crave another. If you don't get enough sleep it is normal to crave that "morning cake." Hope you are well, big kiss xxtbone