I have a secret…I don’t have sleeping problems.
In fact, I sleep like a babe each night.
And if you read till the end, you will also know how to do it.
Why must you have enough sleep
Sleep is important to everyone, regardless of age. But when you reach 60 and beyond, it is crucial that you get enough of it each night. Never mind the common belief that old people need a lesser amount of sleep. That smacks of urban legend.
But how many hours is considered “enough?” Sleep experts cannot agree on a specific figure but suggest an average of 7.5 hours of sleep each night.
I average 6 hours of sleep but take an hour of daytime sleep each day. Missing a few hours will make me sluggish, lethargic and dizzy.
Sleep deprivation is not to be taken lightly. It cannot be shrugged off as part of aging because it can affect your health and well-being. Among others, it can cause:
- loss of strength and endurance
- Balance problems resulting in falls
- Lapses in memory lapses
- Increased wearing of vital organs
- More sensitivity to pain
- Increased risk of diabetes
- Immune system problems
While the importance of good sleep cannot be over-emphasized, the question is “How?”
According to the NIH (National Institutes of Health), 13% of men, aged 65 and above, and 35% of women find it hard to sleep at all.
Reasons cited are frequent trips to the bathroom, aches, and pains, anxiety, or past traumatic experiences.
But it can be done. If you belong to this group, it is still possible to have good quality each night.
How to sleep well each night
The following steps may take time to set in. It requires practice until it becomes a habit. If you don’t nail it the first time, don’t lose heart. Just keep on doing it. In time, they become second nature to you.
1. Have a specific schedule:
I make it a point to be in bed by 10 p.m. You can choose your own time. But whatever it is, stick to it.
This will program your biological clock to send a signal to your brain to produce more melatonin, the sleep-regulating hormones. Once it becomes an evening habit, your brain takes over.
2. Make your bedroom conducive for sleep:
Make sure your bedroom is conducive for pleasant and restful sleeping. A place for the body to recover after a hectic day. That said, a work-table or a TV set has no place in a bedroom.
Make sure your bed is comfortable to sleep in, i.e., the mattress is soft, and the bed sheets are clean.
Have as many pillows as you prefer (I have three and three other smaller cushions), and the pillowcases should not smell muggy.
Before turning in, turn off the major lights, except for a small lamp beside your bed or somewhere near your bathroom door. A pitch-black bedroom is risky for toilet-runs in the middle of the night.
3. Tire your eyes:
Nothing puts you to sleep faster than lunch break rush than a couple of tired eyes.
You can do this by reading the Bible or watch Old Western on your iPad – the smaller the screen and the older the movie, the better.
This is my first secret in sleeping like a babe. I watch YouTube movies from my laptop beside my bed until my eyes are about to pop out from their sockets.
Reading just don’t tire the eyes, it also tires the brain.
4. Say a mantra:
Repeat a mantra.
A mantra is a sound, word or sentence you repeat over and over again as an aid in concentrating.
Mystical Bee has 8 mantras to help promote better sleep. Take note that mantras are good if you sleep alone. Otherwise, they will have the same effect as snoring on whoever sleeps with you.
How to sleep like a babe
I can’t remember how or when I developed this habit. I guess it just evolved on me. But since observing that it allows me to sleep fast they have become my routine even if I sleep somewhere.
Here they are:
1. Lie flat on your back:
Lie flat on your back and relax. Empty your mind of all concerns of the day. Relax your entire body, and make your mind as blank as possible.
Say a mantra or do deep breathing exercises.
When you are sufficiently relaxed, and no images are fluttering in your mind, go to step 2;
2. Lie on your right side
Lying on your right side preps you up for the next step.
Stay in this position until your pillow starts to warm under your head, then go to step 3.
Note: It is possible that you would have fallen asleep at this stage if you did step 1 right.
3. Lie on your left side:
Turn, and lie on your left side.
Sleeping on the left side is ancient Ayurvedic’s medicine to modern science. Not only does it promote faster and better sleep, but it also health benefits like:
- Better lymphatic drainage: The body’s lymphatic system is on the left side. This system carries important elements like protein, glucose, metabolites, and others that have to be filtered by the lymph nodes and drained towards the left side of the body.
- Promotes better digestion: Both the stomach and the pancreas (an organ that helps convert the food we eat into fuel for the body’s cells and regulates blood sugar), are on the left side of the body making it easier for these organs to function efficiently.
- Promotes better heart health: Eighty percent of the heart leans towards the left and the aorta leaves the heart by arcing to the left. This makes the heart pump blood easily.
- Promotes better spleen health: Spleen (an organ that filters blood as part of the immune system and helps fight certain kinds of bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis), is also on the left side of the body. Sleeping on the left side will help direct body fluids to the spleen by natural gravity.
It is to be expected that you may not get the desired results after a few tries. The body needs to be taught several times before it sinks in. Besides, old fogies take time to learn. But even old dogs can be taught new tricks. And you must. The importance of sleep cannot be over-emphasized.
Sleep is as important as food and water for your over health and well-being. It is crucial for your mental health.
Chronic lack of sleep or sleep deprivation can cause headaches, memory loss, and deprivation. On the more serious side, it can result in cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s.
Not to mention being called a “cranky old man.”
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~oOo~
