3 Steps For A Stress Free Night’s Sleep – Sue Lester
1. At the End Of Your Working Day:
Just before shutting down your PC, plan out your next day, transferring any unfinished tasks across. Prioritise the top 3, and allocate specific time slots to complete them. Be realistic about what you can achieve, and either delegate or put excess task on another day. Tidy your desk so the next day you get a sense of being in control when you come in. This applies to both business and home management.
2. At the End of Your Day:
Spend the last half hour before bed unwinding, whether listening to relaxing music, cuddling with your partner, pottering around etc. Avoid stimulation like TV, reading, caffeine, alcohol. If you need to, dump down all the worries of the day into at least 3 pages of continuous writing, rip it up with great satisfaction, then do your unwinding bedtime routine.
As you get into bed, set your intention for the next day e.g. productive, signing up a new client at the end of the meeting, have fun with the kids etc, and ask for all flashes of inspiration to assist in this to come after your alarm goes off (NOT ‘when I wake up’ )
3. If You Wake During The Night:
Note any flashes of inspiration on a notebook by your bed and tell yourself you will work on that (never ‘worry about that’ ) during business hours. Focus on relaxing breathing, in for a count of 3 (or 4) and out for count of 6 (or 8). If your mind wanders, bring it gently back to focussing on your breathing until you sleep again. If you keep having lots of churning thoughts, get out of bed and write them all down, continuously writing until you have it all out, you’re tired, cold and more than ready to get back into bed to sleep. Use the relaxing breathing to focus on settling into a deep, restful sleep.
4. Children
Children need a wind-down routine too, to ensure they get all the sleeping and growing time they need to thrive. Set a regular bed time and a routine which transitions them from playtime to bedtime. Tidying up, cleaning teeth, reading a story etc, before they get overtired and cranky, works best. When they learn that bedtime is quality time with you, there will be less fuss. If you have an early riser, put up dark curtains to block the light, and encourage playing quietly in bed until they hear you get up, or see a certain time on the clock. Training is always easier than re-training, but getting more Me and Us time for you and your partner is worth it!
If you consistently apply these strategies, and still struggle with night time worries, please book yourself in to discuss your concerns with Sue Lester, Master Practitioner of NLP, and Personal Results/Transition Coach, so she can help you easily make those changes you want to see in your life right now. Email Sue@growingcontent.com.au
(c) Sue Lester, Growing Content. www.growingcontent.com.au
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