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“If I can just get some sleep…”
Many people experience periods of insomnia after a death. The stress of bereavement often makes our thoughts race, making it difficult to fall asleep. Here are some suggestions to aid sleep.
- Try not to become overly upset about not sleeping as this just perpetuates your inability to sleep. Have confidence that eventually you will sleep again.
- Go to bed and get up about the same time every day, including weekends. A regular routine keeps your inner clock set. Sleep in a comfortable bed in a dark, quiet room.
- Don't try to force sleep. If you cannot fall asleep after 30 minutes, get up and do something unexciting or peaceful, like knitting or reading. Then go back to bed. Repeat this if necessary.
- Take time to unwind. Do not go to bed after a flurry of activity, either physical or mental (like balancing your checkbook). Take a warm bath and/or drink warm milk before going to bed.
- Read light books so the last thing you're thinking about is the book instead of your grief and other worries. Don't watch television in bed. Even dull, boring shows may keep you awake.
- Learn some kind of relaxation technique such as meditation or biofeedback. Try alternately tensing and relaxing your muscles as you lie in bed. Exercise daily, but not close to bedtime.
- Avoid soft drinks, coffee, (tea hot or cold), cocoa, chocolate, or medicines which contain caffeine!
- Be aware that sleeping pills, alcohol and cigarettes may even cause insomnia. Alcohol or sleeping pills may aid us to go to sleep, but as soon as they are out of our systems we wake up. We build up a tolerance and then require a higher dosage to promote sleep. Barbiturates can cause death when taken with alcohol.
- Try not to spend daytime hours in your bedroom. Reserve that room for sleeping at night. Do not nap during the day. Avoid heavy meals before retiring.
- The hum of an air conditioner or special bedside machines that produce soft noises may induce sleep.
Copyright Hope for Bereaved. © All rights reserved. Hope for Bereaved. Inc., 4500 Onondaga Blvd., Syracuse, NY 13219. Article from Hope for Bereaved handbook, available at above address: $16.00 plus $4.00 shipping and handling. (315) 475-4673, 475-9675.
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