I put this together for a couple of friends that were having problems sleeping so i thought you might like to see it. Do add your own tips.
Rules
“Sleep is for mankind not mankind for sleep” to reinterpret a famous scripture. It is to bless you, not for you to become so regulated in your life that you can not do other good things. Below I write guidelines to help you, but they are not rules that have to be followed always. Learn which are most important and how much you can vary from them. But if you have a pattern of problems it might be an idea just to do everything you can to overcome it and then later when you are sleeping well to find out how much you can break these “rules”.
Timing
Setting a time for getting up and sticking to it is the most important rule. It is much easier for you to change your getting up time and that will change when you will fall asleep. If you are having a real problem with sleeping it is worth sticking to it even at weekend and during holidays. Normally you can probably sleep in by a couple of hours at weekends, but don’t sleep in till midday or later. If you occasionally need extra sleep take an early night, as that doesn’t upset your pattern of sleep.
During a holiday you might have been sleeping later. At the end of that you need to take time to readjust your pattern of sleep. I often take a week to do it before term starts.
Your body has a natural cycle of wakefulness. Over a 1½hr period you go from alertness to tiredness back to alertness. If you are at 11:30pm and feeling tired you might think that you just want to do a little more, read a bit more of your book etc. But if you do, remember that it might be 1½hrs till you can get to sleep. Learn to recognise what your body is doing and work with it.
Exercise
Do exercise regularly, aiming for about 4 times a week or more, but take at least one day’s break. Exercise can be something quite small and easy, a 20 min brisk walk to work or a 10 min run, but look for something that you can fit in to your life easily.
If you have not been able to do this then find a small exercise routine that you can do at home. Perhaps some squats, sit-ups and press-ups. Start with a little warm up, perhaps jogging on the spot and finish with a good stretch. If you are really pressed for time the stretch is probably the most important part. Touch your toes, twist at the hips, reach up high. In turn tense each muscle and then slowly let it relax. Breath deeply for a while then repeat this. If you are really pressed for time this tense and relax can be done in bed. Start at your fingertips, work up your arms to your neck then face and then down your body, then back up again.
Being outside in the open air, letting the sunlight get on your skin also helps.
Eating
Don’t eat a large meal before you go to bed, but a small sweet snack can help you feel sleepy. One dietician recommends a tablespoon of honey to help you maintain benefits of training and lose weight.
Don’t fill your body with lots of stimulants. Tea, coffee and coke are all worth cutting right down on if you are having problems sleeping.
Putting your mind to bed
Winding down before you go to bed is useful. Don’t try to go straight to bed from having done homework or having a significant conversation. Avoid using your mobile just before you go to bed Listening to a little music while you have supper, or just sitting quietly, lets you think through the day and put your thoughts to sleep so you are not going to bed with your head full of unresolved thoughts.
Praying and dealing with issues with God is good, before you go to bed or once you are there. Forgive anyone that you have things against and receive cleansing from your own sins. Place into God’s hand’s any concerns and trust Him to deal with them and give you wisdom when you need it. Give Him any temptations. Thank God for rest and ask Him to give you good sleep knowing He has promised: PS 127:2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat– for He grants sleep to those he loves. And He does love you.
Find the place of rest for your mind. You will have a little time before you sleep, so enjoy the quiet and warmth and find the place that your mind can rest. Perhaps it is thinking about your favourite holiday spot or the walk through the park. Get to know the set of things that you can think about that relax you and you can enjoy. There are other things like planning what you will say to a difficult person tomorrow that can make you alert and anxious. Hand them over to God if they come to mind and leave them with Him.
Learn to enjoy that time that you have; thanking God for it is a good starting point.
When to get up
Even doing all these things right can still leave you not able to get to sleep. Sometimes it is a good idea to get up and do something rather than tossing and turning in bed. First thing is not to get up unless you really need to; give it your best shot just going to sleep. But if you have, it might be time to try getting up because you don’t want to reinforce the association of bed as a place where you toss und turn uncomfortably waiting for sleep that doesn’t come. You want to train yourself to really look forward to bed as a place you enjoy. So sometimes it needs getting up and reading a book or doing something else until your sleep cycle comes round and you are ready to sleep.
If you have had problems going to sleep it may be an idea not to lie on your bed to do homework or read during the day. You need to create in your mind the association of bed as a place you go to sleep.
If you have had the experience of times of frustration at trying to get to sleep, then take that to God and ask for His cleansing from that frustration of the association of wakefulness in bed.
