I love sleep. I don't mean that in a small sense but rather I literally love sleep. If I could sleep 13 hours I would and add a nap in during the day than call me satisfied.. however that is not realistic since I have two small children and too many responsibilities (insert me crying a small tear). I'm sure many people can relate when I say that when you do get a solid good nights rest you are jumping for joy and feel like a million sprinkles were dumped on your cupcake that day. So about three years ago as my life seemed to get busier and I became more community involved I began having major trouble going to sleep and staying asleep.
As I would lay in bed trying to wind down, Anxiety Annie would knock on my brains doorstep and allow herself in. All of a sudden, I'd be overwhelmed with thoughts that would worry me about conversations I had that day or three days ago. I'd begin to get scared if I forgot to lock the office door at my job, if I had finished sending out information emails for the non-profit I was involved in or have I completed those darn expense reports. It would even be as simple as fretting over the dishes, why my child had a meltdown before bed or as big as if I'm making the right choices in life.
I tried searching ways to calm the mind before bed; Counting backwards, doing yoga, working out, less screen time... none of this was a permanent fix for me. It would give me temporary relief to fall asleep but not stay asleep.
This is where I was introduced to passion flower. I would take one capsule before bed and found it to really sooth my racing thoughts. Instead of hearing Anxiety Annie, "Kendra, do you think that the way you talked to Amanda today offended her?" turned into silence. Oh that sweet sound of silence.
It works for me so well that I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night worrying. NOW.. please understand it had taken me awhile to find that this is what works for me and truthfully, there are different effects that you can experience than what I do as with any herbal medication. I've tried two different brands and one of which made me hyper and kept me up at night worse than Anxiety Annie ever did. The brand that I now take on a regular basis, allows me to feel very calm throughout the night.
Since I've been able to get a good nights rest, my body feels rested, my mind feels rejuvenated and overall my spirits are up. It's sometimes incredible to think that for awhile I was suffering and didn't really know it but once I recognized what was happening, I was able to figure out a plan to better my sleep health.
Don't allow yourself to suffer. If you have those racing thoughts before bed or if they come in the middle of the night like a freight train figure out a way to help calm your mind. You deserve to be the best you and don't let anything come in the way of it. Anxiety doesn't need to hinder you but rather think of it as an obstacle to which there is a solution to move around the hurdle.
If you have other ways of calming the mind, I'd love to hear what works for you.
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