Sleep! It can be a challenge!

In last Friday’s Soul Searching with Sierra, we chatted about sleep. The heroine of my upcoming book, Seven Day Dom, had a bad experience, and she goes out with friends. But afterward, she can’t sleep, even though she took a nice long bath.

Thank you for sharing your tips for finding a restful night’s sleep. You gave me some ideas that I’ve never tried before.

This is one that several people: Listening to some white noise, such as a gentle storm, rain, or waves on the beach

These ideas fascinated me:

Thinking about something mentally challenging. One reader concentrates on complex math calculations (I have to admit, I have never tried anything more mentally challenging, math-wise, than counting sheep!). Another imagines an airplane coming in for a landing and all the steps that would be involved.

Some people choose to do something active.

Yoga, going for a walk, pacing. One person gets back out of bed and goes to do some work.

Other mental strategies:

Prayer, reading a meditation, focusing on happy thoughts and telling herself to relax from head to toe! Saying, “blank, blank, blank” and focusing only on that word. (I am going to try that.)

Here are some other marvelous tips:

Reading, watching something mindless, drinking herbal tea or hot milk/milo/chocolate, listening to an audio book, taking a Benadryl or other sleep aid.

This one really interested me: Sitting in a dark room, turning on a fan or heater and looking at the orange light on it. The idea behind this is that blue light can keep us awake. And orange light can make us sleepy.

I loved hearing your stories. Are you going to try any of these?

Or do you have anything to add to the list? I’d love to hear your tip! Here’s to a restful night’s sleep!