Maxine woke me up in the middle of the night last night to accompany her on a trip to the bathroom and for some water. Instead of falling back to sleep after I got back into bed, I laid awake for well over an hour while my mind went around and around with all the things that have been accumulating on my mental to-do list.
I remembered something I heard Jillian Michaels talk about on her radio show once, that when she can’t sleep she gets up and writes down everything she has to do and then she feels like once it’s written down, she can rest.
Normally a to-do list in my head is all I need, but sometimes it does get too long and I start to feel overwhelmed, so writing it all down can be one way to alleviate some stress. Around 4am I finally got up and put it all on paper, scribbling every task and item that came to mind – even down to the most mundane things like “fold laundry”.
And it worked! I fell back to sleep almost immediately and then next thing I knew it was 8:45! It helped knowing my morning work out has been pushed back to later in the day when my mom comes out to visit with the girls this afternoon.
First thing on my to do list for today?
Make GREEN JUICE.
I’m down to my last two cucumbers from the garden. Being the last two, they are of course the black sheep of cucumbers.
Meet Shorty and his brother Albino.
Fortunately their stature and color of their skin make no difference to me or the juicer.
Today’s juice contained romaine, cucumbers, an apple, a lemon and some ginger.
We’ve got a couple things going on after lunch but have the morning free to play and work on this to-do list of mine.
Got any good tips or tricks for falling back to sleep?
No great tips from me…I don’t normally have sleeping problems but last night I just couldn’t stay asleep.
sigh
now I am groggy!
boo
ohhh you are talking to the queen of the monkey mind – i try to clear my mind and focus ONLY on breathing. when my mind wanders, i bring back the focus to the rise and fall of my belly. i know, how yogic of me!
wow that is actually a really great idea, next time my mind is going a mile a minute i will do that. i am an avid list maker! luckily i usually don’t have trouble sleeping, but when i do i am like holly, but this may sound weird, i cuddle up with one of the dogs and just try to time my breathing the same as theirs.. and it puts me to sleep. yeah, you can criticize 😛
Alison that was totally me last night. for some reason i couldnt fall asleep because of stuff i had on my mind, so i literally got outta bed and did what was bothering me (i thought i lost something so i just HAD to look for it ) otherwise i wasnt going to bed! Alas i found it ,and went right to sleep
have a good morning and workout later
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I usually don’t have sleep issues but every once in a while I’ll have something on my mind and I’ll start to think about it after I’ve been up for some reason. I’ll try writing it down next time and see if that works. I’m glad you were able to get back to sleep.
I love the cucumber brothers. (haha)
Shorty and Albino?!?!? Ha! You always make me laugh! I didn’t have any tricks for falling asleep…. I’ll have to try the list thing. I normally end up grabbing my cell phone and playing a few rounds of soduko or solitaire until I fall back asleep. The list seems like a MUCH more productive thing to do in that moment! 😀
-A
what a good idea with writing the to-do list! im definitely trying that out next time. usually it try taking deep slow “yoga” breathes or try to count sheep (this is not an attempt at a joke- i literally try it all the time but my eyes get tired from tracking the sheep jumping over the fence hahaha)
I try counting backwards by three’s starting with 87. I’m not good with numbers works occasionally. Otherwise, I’ve been meaning to try writing everything down. I try doing that before I even go to bed to help clear my mind.
I’ve heard the same thing about making a list. I also try focusing on corpse pose, and mindfully letting my body relax, starting from head down to toes. That has worked for me in the past.
Shorty and Albino are some cool lookin cukes
When I’m anxious about something at night, I do the same exact thing- write everything down! It works everytime!
I also write things down/make a list when I can’t sleep. I have usually only sleep problems when I have a lot going on and feel totally overwhelmed. I’m glad you were able to fall back asleep! 8:45 isn’t bad!
I hope you enjoyed Shorty & Albino! 😉
Lady friend, that is MY trick NOT Jillian Michaels. She must have taken it from me…the only reason I ever lose sleep is over things wherring round my head. Writing it down is the best way to clear all those crazy running thoughts…although sometimes I’m not so great at taking my own advice!
K, now I have to catch up on your weekend!
Wish you had my phone number because you could’ve called me – I got up at 3:45 AM for NO FREAKING REASON!!! Ugh. If you find out how to go back to sleep, let me know….!
i do this breathing technique where i take deep breaths, and whenever i breathe out i count….like counting sheep and meditating at the same time
I wish I had tips for falling asleep, I was up the whole night last night for no reason! I just could not fall asleep! I’m glad you finally did, though, and maybe tonight I’ll try making a list like you did to see if that helps
Black sheep cukes are way better than those uniformly shaped stuff from the groceries. 😀
I also make mental lists to make me go back to sleep. Or recall my day, about things that I’m grateful for.