Healthy Changes, Day Four: ENOUGH SLEEP!

Today's change is something that has been a goal of mine for years. I've slept poorly for as long as I can remember. I used to get in trouble a lot for not being asleep by midnight, one, two, three... but it's not like I didn't try. I would lay in bed in the dark for hours but my brain would not shut off, even as early as first grade. When I DID manage to fall asleep, I would still wake up several times during the night and not be able to go back to sleep. This continues to this day.

I feel as if a good night's sleep has been evading me for years. But I recently decided I'd had enough of spending my days feeling lethargic and irritable. I did some research and set a bedtime routine for myself (and Nathan).

I get up around 7-ish, so I try to go to bed at 10. I take melatonin at around 9:30 and turn off most of the lights. Ideally I would fall asleep by 10:30 but it usually ends up being closer to 11. But even so, it's still about 8 hours of sleep! Also I bought an eye mask to block out the light when it's finally time to sleep. Then I listen to an audio book (one that I've heard a million times, like Harry Potter) and fall asleep!

I've found that having a routine has been helping a lot. Going to bed at the same time every night has definitely made a difference. My body is like, okay, now it's time to wind down because you need to fall asleep in less than an hour. And 9 times out of 10, I am falling asleep in the time frame I set.

Now, my problems aren't completely solved. I still wake up in the middle of the night almost every night. I would rather not take something like Ambien that makes me hallucinate so I think I'll keep going with my routine and see if it lessens as it goes on.

Do any of you have problems sleeping? Any solutions you've found? Please share some ideas!