I am a morning person. Today, I have the day off....it is the first day of spring break, it is 6:15 and I've already made coffee, done a few chores around the house, and now, here I am typing up this post in the darkness. The best part---I did not have to set an alarm, I woke up when my internal clock was ready to be awake.
When I wake up, usually I am wide awake. Especially if I go to bed at a decent time. If I stay up too late, it is harder to get up early. I like to go to bed between 9:15 and 10:45 almost every night. That is a pretty big window, but if I stay up any later, it wrecks my whole next day, and I want to have as much time as possible to decompress and relax. I am not much of a night owl because of my internal clock. I've been at a party, room full of family, music playing, and around 11:00, if I am comfortable, I can fall asleep on the couch. If I am really tired at night (like after class on Wednesdays), sometimes I get the giggles. Full on, uncontrollable laughter, the bed shaking, eyes watering as I try to calm myself down and think about something that won't make me laugh. When I was in college, I stayed in a hotel that subscribed to a relaxation program for its guests. The rooms had the most comfortable bed and bedding. In each room, there were personal CD players with a disc that you could play to help you fall asleep. On the disc, I remember hearing soft music, a soothing voice, telling me to lay completely still, on my back, and start relaxing each part of my body individually. First, relax the very tips of your toes, keep as still as possible, breath deeply and count to 25 while focusing on relaxing only my toes. Then my feet, then my ankles, and then my legs, and so on until each and every body part had been relaxed as completely as possible. If I moved any part that I had already 'relaxed', then I have to start all the way over. Usually, if I have to start over, on the 2nd round, I never make it past my knees---I'm out cold! Now, if I can't sleep, I use this technique to help me. Another thing that helps me fall asleep is listening to the drone of voice or a sound----probably why I can fall asleep at a party---the sound actually overwhelms my senses. At night, sometimes if I need to turn my brain off, I will listen (with earbuds) to an audiobook or a podcast. If I am really desperate, I will have my husband read aloud from his book, even though I don't know what is going on in his book, the drone of his voice helps me relax and tune out my own thoughts. When I travel, I always pack earplugs. Some people can't sleep with earplugs, but it helps me block out everything that might keep me awake in a strange place. I have all sorts of tricks to help me fall asleep at night, but in the morning, when my eyes pop open with thoughts of the day ahead, there is nothing I can do to settle back down and fall asleep. I am most productive in the morning.
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Mrs. Mitchell
This is my 'slice of life' blog. Archives
March 2020
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