Counting sheep not the answer to occasional bouts of insomnia
I can never get my brain to be quiet.
This is not normally a problem as it has lots of mildly entertaining thoughts on things like the best bread to make a delicious sandwich (sourdough), whether we’d rather be Han or Luke (Han in the original trilogy, Luke by the end) and which bike part we want to buy next (all of them.)
But it is an issue when I’m trying to sleep.
While I’m not a full-blown insomniac, I do occasionally have trouble getting to — or getting back to — sleep. Over the years, I’ve developed several different strategies, tools and tricks to get my zzzzzs, most of which do not involve counting sheep or anything else (one bike wheel, two bike wheels, three bike wheels ...)
Regular exercise is definitely a key component.
While mental or emotional fatigue does not necessarily guarantee a good night’s rest — far from it, actually — physical exhaustion usually does the trick.
I have biked my butt off during the pandemic (sometimes literally) and cycling is perfect because it makes me really tired but rarely to the point where my body hurts.
For a good number of years, I used alcohol to speed things along sleep-wise. As I’ve gotten older, however, that seems both less effective and really not a great idea, healthwise. Plus, it makes me need to pee in the middle of the night which kind of defeats the purpose.
I have otherwise avoided using pharmaceutical sleep aids, even over-the-counter ones like melatonin. My concern is that I will become dependent on them, either physically or mentally, and won’t be able to sleep without them. I reserve the right to change my mind about this if the need arises in the future.
White noise also helps. For years, I slept with a fan close to my bed or blasted the air conditioner year-round, the droning sound and the cosy covers making a sleep-inducing combination. But my wife hates it and it turns out getting a good night’s rest at the expense of your significant other not getting a wink of shut-eye is not a recipe for matrimonial bliss.
I’ve also used bad podcasts or audiobooks on repeat. It can’t be too interesting otherwise I’ll fight to stay up and listen but the words are usually enough to get my own, constantly whirring thought process to settle down just enough. Listening to Charleston Heston read “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway is my “break glass in case of emergency at 3 a.m.” recording.
YouTube is also filled with all kinds of white noise videos including “Box Fan on Medium Speed for 12 hours.” That’s the one I’ve been using lately and it has the added benefit of actually making me feel cooler on warm summer nights even though, you know, there isn’t an actual fan running. Like I said, my brain is weird.
Eventually, the box fan recording will stop being as effective and I’ll need to find a new trick to calm my overactive imagination (what would it be like to be a Wookie? Probably pretty cool!) But one day I hope to master not only the basic art of sleeping but the advanced level as well.
Napping.