Do you worry when you can’t sleep well? Most people that understand and appreciate the importance of a good night’s sleep do. You should know that some people require far more sleep than others and that you should not worry if you are not sleeping like you did when you were younger. I know people that get by with five hours sleep and others that need twice as much and still complain about being tired.
However, if you are one of those people that think they have insomnia, you should know that worrying about insomnia will hurt you far more than insomnia. One of our customers called us and visited us obsessively after purchasing a mattress. She actually thought that she was going insane because she was suffering from chronic insomnia.
We did whatever we could to help her. We took the mattress back four times and re-worked it to a different configuration each time based on what she thought was going to help her sleep better. In the end we left loose foam layers inside the cover so that she could play around with them and replace them easily without having to bring her mattress back every time.
Evelyn went to see her mother’s family Doctor. He was an older fellow and he had known Evelyn all her life. After a few visits this Doctor let her have it. He turned to her and said, “Evelyn, I can’t help you! In fact, no one can help you, because you have brought this thing on yourself”.
He told her to go to bed at night and if she couldn’t fall asleep, to forget about it and not to worry. Instead, she should just say to herself, “I don’t care if I don’t fall asleep”. And that, “it’s alright with me if I lie awake until morning”. He told her to keep her eyes closed and to think, “as long as I just lie still and don’t worry about it, I’ll be getting rest anyway and there is nothing to worry about”.
Evelyn did that and in two weeks time she was dozing off to sleep. In less than a month she was sleeping eight hours and her nerves were back to normal. It wasn’t insomnia or the feel; instead, it was the little voice in her head and the constant worry about not sleeping well.
What Causes Insomnia?
Without going into all the medical details you should know that insomnia is basically a symptom and not an illness. It either prevents people from falling into a deep restful sleep, or wakes them prematurely and does not allow them to sleep long enough to provide effective rest.
The main causes of insomnia as reported by doctors are:
- Drinking large quantities of alcohol in the evening
- Emotional problems
- Physical disorders
- Stress and constant worrying
- Sleeping on a surface that is not conducive to rest and relaxation
Nature will force a person to sleep in spite of all their will power to stay awake. Nature will let us go without food or water far longer than she will let us go without sleep. Think about that the next time you are lying awake at night and worrying about not getting any sleep.
Talk Yourself to Sleep
Learn how to relax your mind and your body. Talk to your body. According to all these positive thinking gurus, “You are who you think you are”. The same applies to the quality of your sleep. It is as good or as bad as what your thoughts make it out to be. The way to get rid of the insomnia is by talking yourself out of it. Let go of all your worries, loosen up and relax.
We already know that the mind and nerves can’t relax while the muscles are tense. So if you want to go to sleep you should start by relaxing your muscles and all your other body parts. Try putting a pillow under your knees to ease the tension on your legs. Tuck another small pillow under the arms for the same reason. Then, tell your jaw, eyes, arms, head, shoulders, knees and toes to relax.
If you have labelled yourself an “Insomniac” and you worry about it, I can’t help you. Nobody can! Instead, you have to help yourself.
Start every day with a good night’s sleep…
Sincerely,
FOAMITE INDUSTRIES INC.
R.C. (Bob) Dimas
Be the best that you can be by doing whatever is necessary to improve the quality of your sleep!
