I know people jokingly say things like “have kids and you won’t sleep until they are 18” and stuff like that but I didn’t realize how badly having a baby would disrupt my sleep. In the beginning, sure he wasn’t sleeping through the night and I was a zombie. Well, Teddy figured out how to sleep through the night but my bad sleep patterns continued. He turned one but I was still sleeping as if he was four months old.
The pattern goes a little something like this. Either I’m lying in bed unable to sleep until midnight/1 am or I’m not able to stay asleep throughout the night. Over the past six months or so, I noticed that after a handful of bad nights, I’ll end up in bed with a migraine. Almost as if it’s my body’s way of forcing me horizontal to recover and rest. None of these things are great on a standard Tuesday but it’s even worse when you have a toddler.
Well, I’m not a glutton for punishment so I’ve been trying to treat my insomnia naturally for the past several months with some success. It’s a matter of making some big life and diet changes along with changing some of my smaller habits. While I’m not perfect every day, I haven’t had to reach for Benadryl to help me stave off insomnia induced migraines in a while.
Here’s what I’ve been doing to help naturally cure my insomnia.
5 Ways to Help Cure Insomnia
Limit Caffeine
I used to live on black coffee. Not only was it slowly destroying my stomach lining, but it also caused me to have poor sleep. So I started limiting it until I was completely caffeine-free. Here was my process to cut caffeine out of my life (I’ve done this more than once and it works every time)
From coffee all day to just in the morning. Then to just two cups, then to just one cup, then I switched to one cup of English breakfast tea (it has a comparable bitterness), then to green tea, then off all caffeinated drinks.
I was completely off all caffeinated drinks for a good long while but then I had a baby and couldn’t get through the day without a little help. Currently, I’m only having one cup of English breakfast tea a day.
No Screens Before Bed
We all know this but it’s WAY harder in practice. Nothing is more relaxing than laying in bed vegging out on my phone. I’ve been making a concerted effort to limit screen time before bed and to stick to reading instead. I still have a really long way to go before I’m off all screens for two hours before bed but I’m making an effort.
Workout in the Morning
For years I’ve always worked out at night as a way to relax after the stress of a workday. I did this for years and never had issues sleeping. However since becoming a mom, if I workout in the evening I’m wired for hours afterward. Even late afternoon workouts are too much. It’s AM or bust when it comes to my workouts these days.
Try the Military Sleep Technique
Andrew told me about this military sleep training technique and I’ve been giving it a go. You basically sit on the side of your bed and go through a relaxation/meditation series for 2-3 minutes. You can read the details in this article from Fast Company. The studies have shown that after 6 weeks of practicing this 96% of people can fall asleep within two minutes afterward! What a dream! I’m so hopeful!
When All Else Fails: Melatonin
I personally fought taking melatonin for a long time. I don’t like that I have to take a pill to get myself to do something that my body should do automatically and naturally. However, there’s a time and a place for everything. If I’ve had several bad nights in a row, I’ll take a sleep aid to stave off a lack of sleep induced migraine. Personally I think that taking a sleep aid like melatonin is better than reaching for something like Benadryl which isn’t made for that purpose.
